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Frequent guest and popular academic author Rodney Stark joins us to discuss his new book “America’s Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists.” We discuss whether or not spiritual life in the United States is actually on the decline, and then review how the activities of religious Americans have positive spillover effects for society as a whole in a wide range of areas including health, voluntarism, pro-social behavior, the economy, and intellectual life. We even talk about “s-e-x.” This is a wonderful “starter” podcast for new listeners as it covers a number of different themes we have addressed over the past three years.

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The past few decades have witnessed numerous business and financial scandals that have tarnished the reputation of the free enterprise system. Dr. Theodore Malloch discusses the role that virtue should play in the corporate world and why America’s spiritual capital is essential to a free society. As a champion of business ethics that includes more than just mere compliance with legal regulations, Dr. Malloch urges us to understand how Judeo-Christian values have shaped the American economy, making it an exemplar for other nations around the world. He also discusses the “hard” and “soft” virtues that are essential for corporate executives to promote. And finally, we discuss how secularization may be leading us away from this virtuous path.

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We are now in the midst of celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Second Vatican Council, which began in the fall of 1962 and lasted three years. Why was Vatican II called? What happened during this monumental gathering of Catholic prelates? And what impact has VCII had on the contemporary Church? Prof. James Felak, a popular guest on the show, returns to answer all of these questions and more. We explore the historical nature of Church councils and where Vatican II sits in the list of important councils.

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How does a Christian economist approach the religious charge of helping one’s neighbor? We talk with Art Carden about the relationship between Christian ethics and economic growth. The podcast starts out with a dose of good news in these troubling times, and we try to figure out why the past two centuries have been truly unique in human history. While a good portion of our discussion relates to economic history, we dip into the issue of how Christian ethics can assist or retard economic growth. Prof. Carden reminds us that economic growth is about getting the institutions right and getting the rhetoric right; it is the latter theme where Christian theologians and followers can make a big difference.

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Rev. Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute discusses his new book, “Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy.” Our discussion delves into Fr. Sirico’s personal history, the nature of greed and envy, the role of profits in an economy, volutarism & individual charity, and why capitalism is a morally superior system than socialism. Along the way, we talk about the communal organization of the early Church Fathers, the Pilgrims, and Rev. Sirico’s thoughts on Ayn Rand. We conclude our discussion with an examination of President Bush’s faith-based initiative and the recent controversy involving the US Catholic bishops and the Obama administration’s health care mandates.

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We celebrate our 100th episode with return guest Margarita Mooney discussing Pope Benedict XVI’s historic visit to Cuba. We cover the religious landscape of this island nation since the 1959 revolution and the everyday hardships that both religious and non-religious people must endure, as well as the slow religious opening that has been occuring for the past two decades. Pope John Paul II’s visit is also discussed, but the majority of our discussion is reserved for the impact that Pope Benedict’s visit had on the Catholic faithful. Prof. Mooney details Benedict’s “Homily in Havana” and relates some vivid stories from people still living in Cuba.

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Pastor Doug Johnston of the First Baptist Church of Redmond (Washington) recalls various tales about his six mission trips to Romania. These short trips, each roughly ten days, were designed to support the Emmanual Baptist Church, its orphanage, and the Timisoara Bible Baptist Institute. Pastor Doug relates the purpose of those trips, various observations he made about Romanian religiosity and culture, and even tells us how an inflatable, remote-controlled shark becomes a vital missionary tool.

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Why do people bother to go to church when a recent Barna Group survey revealed that 60% of all regular attendees could not recall any new insight from their most recent church service? Prof. Richard Flory discusses this finding and several others and speculates on the role the churches play in our lives, arguing that the communal aspect of gathering may be highly underrated when compared with the spiritual education aspect of churches. We also discuss the role that churches can play in the community and whether or not such engagement will help to make church more relevant for youth.

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How does a small group of invididuals in a religiously-hostile environment build a sectarian movement of Judaism into the world’s largest faith tradition? Prof. Rodney Stark (Baylor) discusses the important sociological ingredients for Christianity’s success in the first three centuries of its existence. We examine the religious landscape at the time of Jesus’s birth (including both paganism and Judaism), as well as the sometimes surprising role of that mercy, persecution, wealthy individuals, and gender played in the growth of Christianity.

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To what extent can religious organizations assist immigrants adopting to a new country? Prof. Margarita Mooney (UNC) explores the role of the Catholic Church in assisting individuals of the Haitian diaspora in three communities — Miami, Montreal, and Paris. She discusses the role of personal faith and religious institutions in helping immigrants make the often difficult transition to living in a new environment, and notes that the efforts of Notre Dame d’Haiti in Miami were much more successful than similar efforts in Canada and France. She explains why this is the case and what importance that has for society at large. Our interview also digs into various methodological concerns of doing direct participant observation, a great discussion for students and non-academics who want to understand how social scientific research is conducted.

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