(Episode 509): So Glad You Asked…Why We Do This???

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Shownotes!

Because citations are political…

On today’s episode of So Glad You Asked, Ilyse and Megan are here to tell you their own scholarly origins stories and why it is that they chose to do what they do! The killjoys are here to remind you, as always, that in the wise words of JZ Smith, “religion is not a native category.” This means that scholars have an important and consequential role in creating knowledge when it comes to studying religion. And our killjoys take this role very seriously! So, they are here to tell you how they got here…

“Religion is not a native category. It is not a first person term of self-characterization. It is a category imposed from the outside on some aspect of native culture”

-JZ Smith

The 101: Where the killjoys BECAME the professors…

Why would someone choose to think about this stuff like….all of the time??

Professors Goodwin and Morgenstein Fuerst have different beginnings when it comes to religion. But, they have one thing in common and that is the fact that they both at one point realized that they had more questions, challenges, and ideas about why and how religion is deeply important in their own lives and in the world.

Here were some great IRMF quotes from today’s episode….

“I was a declared Political Science and History major when I got to Colgate. And on week, three a week after 911, I was a religion major, because it didn't make sense to think about politics or history without thinking about religion” (IRMF 13:28)

“So I stayed in school, but I guess now it's religion is everything everywhere all at once. But people still don't get it, especially around those issues, right? Exclusion, inclusion, diversity and racism. So that's kind of where I come from, but why I'm still doing it is. Because IF RELIGIONS EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, AND PEOPLE STILL DON'T GET IT, THEN WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO DO THAT BETTER” (IRMF 16:21)

Some awesome quotes from Megan in today’s episode…

“So I got to think more critically about like, religion and gender Sure, but also about like race and white supremacy, and which kinds of religious expressions in communities might feel appealing to me and why those might not feel like welcoming why those might not be welcoming or inclusive spaces for everyone” (MG 8:19).

“So I realized when I had finished college, oh, wow, this religious studies thing is more and bigger and more interesting than I even realized. And so yeah, I decided it was what I wanted to keep asking questions about.” (MG 6:17).