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July 2022

July 05, 2022

Why Rites of Passage Are Painful

At the podcast "How God Works," I discuss the worldwide phenomenon of painful adolescent rites...

July 31, 2021

The Catholic Latin Mass is a Strong Credibility-Enhancing Display

Pope Francis recently restricted the Catholic Tridentine Latin mass. The resulting firestorm of controversy may...

March 2021

March 31, 2021

The End of the Conflict Between Religion and Science

Religion and science used to be at each other's throats, especially in the heady days...

February 2021

February 10, 2021

Is Academia a Failed Initiation Rite?

Now that I’m (mostly) outside the world of American higher education, I’ve been looking in...

April 2020

April 27, 2020

Liberal Democracy, Science, and the End of the End of History

Are we living through the end of the end of history – that is, the...

April 15, 2020

Maybe Modern Liberal Democracy Is a Side Effect of Protestantism

Why do some countries offer more fertile soil for democracy than others? A study in...

August 2019

August 12, 2019

The Future of Religion: What Follows the Decline of “Big Gods?”

A recent article at the BBC argues that the future of religion might be found...

May 2019

May 10, 2019

Is Ritual a Tool for Resilience?

In complex systems, too much efficiency can lead to a loss of resilience. Ritual and...

January 2018

January 25, 2018

Can secular societies sustain themselves?

Is religion headed for extinction? If we look at the rare conditions that sustain the...

January 11, 2018

Why meaning is more important for humans than comfort

Religion does many things. It can form bonds between people, foment conflicts, and inspire people...

October 2017

October 31, 2017

Yes, religion is connected with morality. Here’s how

One of the most common ideas about religion is that it’s somehow intrinsically connected with...

October 17, 2017

Individualism Is on the Rise Worldwide

Individualism is on the upswing all across the world, new research shows. How will this...

August 2017

August 15, 2017

Science Is Classist. Here’s a Solution

Science is an incredible thing. But classism and prejudice against working-class people are endemic in...

August 03, 2017

Science and democracy go hand-in-hand – and democracy is in danger

Science and democracy are mutually entwined. Both require independent thought and reasoned consensus. When democracy...

July 2017

July 18, 2017

Call for fellows: Sinai and Synapses

A few years ago, out of the blue, a rabbi named Geoff Mitelman wrote me...

July 03, 2017

In the 21st Century, Should We Be Patriotic?

Why be patriotic, since countries are often unfair, unjust, and warlike? Because humans need groups...

May 2017

May 11, 2017

Cognitive biases don’t explain religion, after all

A new study finds that the reason why Slovakians are religious, but their close neighbors...

April 2017

April 04, 2017

Is a global community really possible?

This was supposed to be an era of globalism and tolerance. But if we want...

March 2017

March 28, 2017

Is a secular America a worse America?

After centuries of being more religious than other Western societies, the United States in the...

February 2017

February 14, 2017

Why colleges need (a few) more conservative professors

Liberals can teach students about the bad side of hierarchy – oppression. Conservatives can teach...

December 2016

December 21, 2016

Social media is toxic. Religious studies tells us why.

Why does social media bring out the worst in us? Religious studies tells us that...

November 2016

November 29, 2016

Overworked? Try a little ritual

Human ritual is an evolutionary product of the behavioral instinct for play. Without that instinct,...

November 15, 2016

Why Donald Trump happened

Connor Wood On Election Tuesday last week, I flew from Boston to Norfolk, Virginia, for...

September 2016

September 06, 2016

White American ethno-nationalism is on the rise. Why?

According to historian Peter Turchin, the white American ethnicity arose out of protracted military struggles...

June 2016

June 28, 2016

The Brexit, the farmer, and the forager

Psychologists say authoritarianism is to blame for the Brexit and Donald Trump. But there's another...

June 01, 2016

Science explains why America is going off the rails

Any country's success depends on its social capital, or "asabiya." The United States is losing...

April 2016

April 18, 2016

Why the world needs liberals

Cultural liberalism is valuable. More than that: it’s something to feel patriotic towards. I’m lucky...

November 2015

November 03, 2015

No to Reason,™ yes to clear thinking

Connor Wood A couple months ago, I wrote a post here arguing that pure rational...

July 2015

July 03, 2015

Newsflash: Elite universities are supposed to produce elites. That’s their job.

What is elite education for? Academics’ self-image as noble rebels – more prominent in Ivy...

June 2015

June 12, 2015

The culture wars come for public higher education

The evangelical Christian governor of Wisconsin is about to enact a set of laws that...