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Protected: Discourse #3: Essi Mäkelä and Benjamin Marcus

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Featuring

Benjamin P. Marcus

Essi Mäkelä

David G. Robertson

About this episode

Welcome to the third issue of “Discourse”, where our editors and guests take a critical look at how the category “religion” is being used in the media, the public sphere, and the academic field. In this episode, David Robertson is joined by Essi Mäkelä and Benjamin Marcus to discus everything from Finnish metal bands and the Pope, to Sabrina the Teenage Witch ripping off the Satanic Temple, to hijabs in the House of Representatives, to Trump supporters as a “cult”. In closing, we discuss the AAR’s newly-minted Mission Statement, and how that reflects what we see as our task as critical scholars of religion. (Links to news articles below) (Be sure to check out the first and second episodes of “Discourse” too!) Shownotes:

Online Conspiracy Groups Are a Lot Like Cults

Democrats seek rule change to formally allow hijabs, yarmulkes on House floor

AAR Mission Statement Jonestown in American Religious Life

Sabrina sued by Satan? Satanic Temple pursuing legal action against Netflix series

Netflix reaches settlement with Satanic Temple over Sabrina statue

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