This is the first Q&A of The Future of Religion, and the questions did exactly what good questions do — they pulled the lecture into places I had not planned to take it. Ilia opens by reframing my religion before belief lecture in her own cosmological key, and then we are off: three centimeters per second and the C-fibers, the knife edge at fifty bodies where the old bonding mechanisms fail and religion has to be invented, the fallacy of misplaced concreteness, the Baptist accidentally serving Eucharist at an Episcopal cathedral, and the line that closed it — what if success as clergy is not rewriting the score, but learning to play the music that is already in the room? More than a thousand of you are in this class now. The questions are doing the work.

You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube

Join our online class – THE FUTURE OF RELIGION⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Tripp and Ilia Delio are teaming up for a brand-new four-week online class, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Future of Religion ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠— for everyone who’s read the books, asked the questions, and realized the faith they inherited doesn’t quite fit anymore. Together they’ll trace religion’s evolutionary arc and map what’s emerging on the other side. Includes 4 video lectures, 4 live Q&As (replays available), and a community of fellow travelers. Donation-based, pay what you’re able (including $0). Live sessions start this month — register at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thefutureofreligion.com⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices