#1779 Community After God: Why the Left Needs What Church Provided

<p class="p1"><strong>Air Date: 3/24/2026</strong></p> <p class="p2">Today we explore what happens when people reject religious dogma but still hunger for ritual, meaning, and the concrete benefits of community. We'll hear from secular assemblies building "church without creed," atheist Quakers finding silence sacred, and a Caribbean thinker designing a naturalistic pagan practice built around science and seasonal ritual — all asking what religion can be when you strip away the supernatural.</p> <p class="p1">Be part of the show! Leave a <a href="https://podline.fm/best-of-the-left"><span class="s1">voice message</span></a>, message us on Signal at the handle <a href="https://signal.me/#eu/62GSpPKEljyYCb0TuYTEUm3D6Nv8G0xSV_GVP8Q13TkQxVeP04lJ8pGOUEqUdHdn"> <span class="s1">bestoftheleft.01</span></a>, or email <a href="mailto:Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com"><span class="s1">Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com</span></a></p> <p class="p1"><a href="https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1779">Full Show Notes</a></p> <p><strong>Check out our new show, SOLVED! on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@BestOfTheLeft">YouTube</a>!</strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://www.bestoftheleft.com/support" rel="noopener" target="_blank">BestOfTheLeft.com/Support</a> (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)</strong></p> <p><strong>Use our links to shop <a href="https://www.bestoftheleft.com/bookshop">Bookshop.org</a> and <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=25361&amp;awinaffid=262399&amp;ued=https%3A%2F%2Flibro.fm%2Fswitch"> Libro.fm</a> for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience!</strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://discord.gg/dhyZE3WMJn" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Join our Discord community</a>!</strong></p> <hr /> <p><strong>TOP TAKES</strong></p> <p>KP 1: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfZOqer5iVA">GOD IS NO-THING - Pete Holmes - Air Date 3-3-26</a></p> <p>KP 2: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/28/1227487416/non-religious-americans-seek-community"> Non-religious Americans Seek Community - All Things Considered - Air Date 1-28-24</a></p> <p>KP 3: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iev1vds8Rz8">Why Atheists CAN Be Quakers. - Quake It Up - Air Date 8-30-25</a></p> <p>KP 4: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKSF1huXOuw">Why Are Black People Still Christian? - Garrison Hayes - Air Date 4-7-24</a></p> <p>KP 5: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnwismT4ncQ">What Is Liberation Theology & Can It Help The Left? (TMBS 145) - The Michael Brooks Show - Air Date 6-25-20</a></p> <p>KP 6: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-mER19j3-4">Its Time To Rethink Religion Part 1 - Andrewism - Air Date 3-11-26</a></p> <hr /> <p><strong>(00:49:04) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR</strong></p> <p>On the Left's Community Crisis and What We Can Learn from Megachurches</p> <hr /> <p><strong>DEEPER DIVES</strong></p> <p><strong>(01:00:06) SECTION A: LIBERATION THEOLOGY</strong></p> <p>A1: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFrm8kgTJIE">Cornel West: Can Socialists Reclaim Christianity? - Jacobin - Air Date 3-4-26</a></p> <p>A2: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-palestinian-theology-of-liberation/id1214644619?i=1000633115431"> A Palestinian Theology of Liberation - The Magnificast - Air Date 10-30-23</a></p> <p>A3: <a href="https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-us-vs-liberation-theology"> Brief: US V. Liberation Theology (Part 1) - Conspirituality - Air Date 11-1-25</a></p> <p>A4: <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/soul-search/visions-of-freedom-liberation-theology-and-advent/104453240"> Visions of Freedom — Liberation Theology and Advent - Soul Search - Air Date 11-27-24</a></p> <p>A5: <a href="https://swaj.substack.com/p/the-swaj-briefing-how-christianity">The Sunday Interview: How Christianity Shaped America: Matthew Avery Sutton on Power, Evangelicals, and the "Chosen Land" Part 1 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 3-15-26</a></p> <hr /> <p><strong>(01:44:22) SECTION B: WHY IS AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY SO CONSERVATIVE_</strong></p> <p>B1: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmPMcWAuuVo">How Conservatives Co-Opted Christianity - Second Thought - Air Date 9-24-21</a></p> <p>B2: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wouIJDFarpU">America's Christian Death Cult - Michael Burns - Air Date 12-15-25</a></p> <p>B3: <a href="https://muckrack.com/podcast/conspirituality-1/episodes/6062669-299-american-jihad/"> American Jihad - Conspirituality - Air Date 3-12-26</a></p> <p>B4: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1NulOMs0n4">Donald and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad War Plus Preston Sprinkle - The Holy Post - Air Date 3-11-26</a></p> <p>B5: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkfTZEYZR58">Holy Sh*t We're Doing a Holy War - Side Burns - Air Date 3-5-26</a></p> <p>B6: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiLPRUAfNVo">You Don't Understand The Rapture | Jackie Kashian | Stay-Kashian - 800 Pound Gorilla Media - Air Date 1-30-23</a></p> <hr /> <p><strong>(02:24:24) SECTION C: RELIGIOUS FORMS</strong></p> <p>C1: <a href="https://swaj.substack.com/p/the-swaj-briefing-how-christianity">The Sunday Interview: How Christianity Shaped America: Matthew Avery Sutton on Power, Evangelicals, and the "Chosen Land" Part 2 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 3-15-26</a></p> <p>C2: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB0Xd9ptsZA">"There Is No Gen Z Religious Revival" | Religion For Breakfast Part 1 - Unsolicited Advice - Air Date 3-14-26</a></p> <p>C3: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/love-thy-neighbour-dawn-foster-on-religion-and-the-left"> Love Thy Neighbour? Dawn Foster on Religion and the Left Part 1 - Politics Theory Other - Air Date 4-21-19</a></p> <p>C4: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggddfufbcI4">Melodie Roschman: Scholar of Right-wing Evangelical Christianity, Gender, and Popular Culture - Adventist Voices by Spectrum_ The Journal of the Adventist Forum - Air Date 2-13-25</a></p> <p>C5: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-mER19j3-4">Its Time To Rethink Religion Part 2 - Andrewism - Air Date 3-11-26</a></p> <hr /> <p><strong>(03:11:01) SECTION D: BELIEF, WITH AND WITHOUT RELIGION</strong></p> <p>D1: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmZkTsdt0_4">Christian Nationalism, Leftist Politics, and Hegelianism: The Need for a New Philosophy on the Left - Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought - Air Date 10-30-25</a></p> <p>D2: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB0Xd9ptsZA">"There Is No Gen Z Religious Revival" | Religion For Breakfast Part 2 - Unsolicited Advice - Air Date 3-14-26</a></p> <p>D3: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THvqHxF5drU">The World Is Always Ending - The Magnificast - Air Date 1-13-26</a></p> <p>D4: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/love-thy-neighbour-dawn-foster-on-religion-and-the-left"> Love Thy Neighbour? Dawn Foster on Religion and the Left Part 2 - Politics Theory Other - Air Date 4-21-19</a></p> <p>D5: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/red-star-ministry-marxism-theology-the-human-condition/id1218054701?i=1000721650111"> Red Star Ministry: Marxism, Theology, & The Human Condition - Rev Left Radio - Air Date 8-12-25</a></p> <p>D6: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfu2I_LTKt4">Liberation Theology The Cold War - The Cold War - Air Date 9-6-25</a></p> <hr /> <p><strong>SHOW IMAGE CREDITS</strong></p> <p class="p1">Description: Image of a robot walking across the street holding two leather briefcases. A thought bubble shows it is thinking about, or launching as it walks, missiles.</p> <p class="p1">Credit: Internal composite design. Images/License: <a href="https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/">Pixabay</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Produced by Jay! Tomlinson</p> <p>Visit us at <a href="http://www.BestOfTheLeft.com">BestOfTheLeft.com</a></p> <p>Listen Anywhere! <a href="https://www.bestoftheleft.com/listen">BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen</a> Listen Anywhere!</p> <p>Follow BotL: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/bestoftheleft.bsky.social">Bluesky</a> | <a href="https://mastodon.social/@bestoftheleft">Mastodon</a> | <a href="https://www.threads.net/@bestoftheleft">Threads</a> | <a href="https://x.com/BestOfTheLeft">X</a></p> <p>Like at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft</a></p> <p>Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com</p>