Posts Tagged ‘assimilation’


Linda Weiser Friedman on Jewish Humor (Encore Presentation)

Yep, we’re still on summer break, but please enjoy a laugh or two and learn something about Jewish humor with Linda Weiser Friedman as she talks about her book “God Laughed,” co-written with her husband Hershey Friedman. In such serious times when our ability to joke has seemed to fade, this interview is a great reminder the role that humor can play in our spiritual and secular lives.

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Claire Adida on Discrimination Towards Muslims in France

France has a sizable and growing Muslim population, but how well are they integrated into national life? Prof. Claire Adida discusses a multi-pronged study conducted with David Laitin and Marie-Anne Valfort assessing the extent of discrimination on religious grounds and why it occurs. We discuss “rational” and “non-rational” Islamophobia (listen to the podcast for full definition of these terms) and the self-reinforcing “discriminatory equilibrium” that has resulted in the country. She also discusses the field experiments conducted as part of this research.

Research on Religion is available for free on iTunes. We have over 270 unique episodes in the archives.

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Elie Estrin on the History and Traditions of Chanukah

With Chanukah season upon us, we invite Rabbi Elie Estrin, director of the University of Washington’s Chabad, to explain the history, meaning, and traditions of the holiday. We cover recent archaeological discoveries in Israel, different ways Chanukah has been celebrated over time, and what it is like celebrating Jewish holidays in a predominately Christian nation. For those not familiar with Chanukah, this is a wonderful introduction and Rabbi Estrin also connects it to the importance of religious liberty in our contemporary world.

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Linda Weiser Friedman on Jewish Humor

A Jewish statistician walks into a podcast … and hilarity and enlightenment ensues thanks to Linda Weiser Friedman, the co-author (along with Hershey Friedman) of “God Laughs: Sources of Jewish Humor.” We talk about why Jews are so funny, the types of humor Jews employ (including Holocaust humor), and how comedy can be found in sacred texts if one looks closely. We also discuss the boundaries of religio-ethnic humor and how religion can bring us closer to God.

Find some additional bits of humor from the Friedman’s book on our Facebook Fan Page.

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Christopher Scheitle’s Religious Road Trip

What do you get when to take a seasoned sociologist and a senior research associate, put them in a rented Dodge Charger for six weeks, and them tell them to find academic enlightenment? A religious road trip, that’s what! Christopher Scheitle tells us tales of his trip with Roger Finke to far flung places such as Memphis, Houston, Colorado Springs, San Francisco, Detroit and Brooklyn in search of what the American religious experience is all about. They visit a wide variety of congregations and take away some important lessons about the diversity and similarities of religious folks in the United States. We also find out who is the better driver – Chris or Roger.

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