You Tube Theology

Dr. William Cavanaugh joins High Point University as a featured guest speaker for the Charles Franklin Finch Lecture Series. In this presentation, Dr. Cavanaugh challenges the conventional categories of "religion" and "the secular."
Dr. Cavanaugh discusses the "Constructivist" approach to religious studies, questioning why certain ideologies—like nationalism or capitalism—are often excluded from the definition of religion. He further explores the themes of his latest work on idolatry, drawing on insights from David Foster Wallace and St. Augustine to examine how "everyone worships" and the consequences of what we choose to center in our lives.

Learn more about the Finch Lecture Series: https://www.highpoint.edu/religion/cff-lecture-series/

00:00 What is the Finch Lecture at High Point University?
04:13 What is the proposed solution to religious violence?
05:24 Does religion promote violence more than secularism?
06:48 Did secular regimes cause more violence than religion?
07:53 How do theorists explain violence in secular regimes?
12:51 What is a functionalist definition of religion?
14:22 Is belief in God required for a religion?
16:59 How did the Supreme Court view religion before 1940?
21:04 How did the myth of religious violence impact laws?
26:23 Are secular individuals completely free of belief?