ReligionForBreakfast
An educational channel dedicated to the academic, nonsectarian study of religion. We promote improving the public's religious literacy by exploring humanity's beliefs and rituals through an anthropological, sociological, and archaeological lens.
Religion for Breakfast does not endorse any particular religious tradition or non-religious perspective. Please be respectful in the comments!
The host, Dr. Andrew M. Henry, is a scholar of religious studies. His research focus is early Christianity and late Roman religion. He earned his PhD at Boston University. Follow him on Twitter @andrewmarkhenry.
fan Made. no infringement intended.
Links:
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewmarkhenry
Blog: http://www.religionforbreakfast.com
Sigmund Freud: Famous psychoanalyst with famously eccentric research. But did you know some of his research focused on theories about religion? @andrewmarkhenry www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast www.religionforbreakfast.com Thanks to our Patreon patrons!: Brian B. Kalei W. Alex B. Mark H. Alice C. Wilson Cain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Compare news coverage. Spot media bias. Avoid algorithms. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription by going to https://ground.news/religionforbreakfast Why do fictional religions feel so fake? This video explores what fantasy and sci-fi often miss about real-world religion—like ritual, syncretism, and lived practice—and how adding these elements can make your worldbuilding feel more authentic and alive. Join our Patreon community! https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters 00:00 Intro 3:00 Syncretism 6:45 Ritualization 11:08 Religious Materiality 13:26 Lived Religion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join Dr. Wilensky-Lanford for a FREE guided reading of A God-Shaped Nation this summer. Read the book alongside the author and a community of fellow nerds: https://www.religiondepartment.com/godshapednation Was America founded as a Christian nation? Historian Brook Wilensky-Lanford on 500 years of religion in America, including Squanto's real story, Puritans executing Quakers, and who actually fought for church-state separation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Dome of the Rock is one of the most iconic buildings in the world and one of the most sacred buildings for Muslims today. But what is the Dome of the Rock? What is its history? Support the show on Patreon! www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast www.facebook.com/religionforbreakfast Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry Check out my religious studies book recommendations at: http://amazon.com/shop/religionforbreakfast Bibliography: Rina Avner, "The Dome of the Rock in Light of the Development of Concentric Martyria in Jerusalem: Architecture and Architectural Iconography," Jodi Magness, “The Archaeology of the Holy Land," Cambridge University Press, 2012. Oleg Grabar, "The Dome of the Rock," Harvard University Press, 2006. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When we think about animal sacrifice, ancient societies such as the Greeks come to mind. But why did they ritually slaughter animals? What did this do for their society? Part 1: The Origins of Animal Sacrifice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw8JD972M78 Thank you to our patrons on Patreon who support this channel! Patreon: www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Facebook. www.facebook.com/religionforbreakfast Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry Andrew's religious studies book recommendations: http://amazon.com/shop/religionforbreakfast Photo attributions: Sphageion: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sphageion_01_pushkin.jpg Roman Procession image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turquie_2009_212a_Pamukkale_Hierapolis.jpg Hermes altar, Agora of the Competaliasts on Delos: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient_Greek_Altar_Hermes_Delos_102292.jpg limestone Cypriot priest: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/74.51.2466/ Demeter votive: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Votive_relief_sacrifice_Louvre_Ma756.jpg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Compare news coverage. Spot media bias. Avoid algorithms. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription by going to https://ground.news/religionforbreakfast Join our Patreon community! https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters In parts of Appalachia, a few Pentecostal Christians handle live venomous snakes during worship, following a literal reading of Mark 16. This video explores the history, psychology, and faith behind one of America’s most dangerous religious traditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Register for our online lecture with Dr. Sara Rahmani!: https://www.religiondepartment.com/offers/zsbQ2xsX/checkout Atheism series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHsXddZFR9ANbj-eq169yTeOmNenCs8ZB Māori atheism is on the rise, but it's more than just disbelief—it’s tied to colonial resistance. A new study shows how Māori atheists frame rejecting Christianity as a political act. Atheism isn’t just Western—it’s global. Production Team: Producers: Andrew Henry; Andrew Aghapour Writer: Kira Kieffer Consultants: Sara Rahmani; Peter Adds Editor: Mark Henry Join our Patreon community! https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters Thumbnail art by @hotcyder This video was made possible through the support of Grant 61928 from the John Templeton Foundation managed by The Queen’s University of Belfast. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation or The Queen’s University of Belfast. 00:00 Māori atheism rising 1:36 Māori history in brief 6:15 Atheism defined 7:26 Māori atheism and moral critique 10:36 Māori atheism and indigenous "authenticity" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Compare news coverage. Spot media bias. Avoid algorithms. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription by going to https://ground.news/religionforbreakfast Join our Patreon community! https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters Ancient Christian art often shows Jesus holding what looks like a magic wand. Was he being portrayed as a magician? This video explores the cultural meaning behind these images, and what they reveal about early Christian views of power and miracles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Compare news coverage. Spot media bias. Avoid algorithms. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription by going to https://ground.news/religionforbreakfast Join our Patreon community! https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters In Genesis 14, a priestly king named Melchizedek randomly appears and gives bread and wine to the patriarch Abraham. And then...he's never mentioned again in the story. Who is this mysterious man? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Want to restore the planet’s ecosystems and see your impact in monthly videos? The first 100 people to join Planet Wild with my code RELIGION2 will get the first month for free on me: https://planetwild.com/r/religionforbreakfast/join/2 If you want to get to know them better first, check out their mission supporting Brazil’s Xingu region: https://planetwild.com/r/religionforbreakfast/m29/2 Thumbnail by @ECHenry 00:00 Intro 1:24 Part 1: Magic is Mundane 8:39 Part 2: Magic as a Profession? 14:10 Part 3: Magic as Energy? 22:08 Part 4: Good vs. Evil 27:47 Conclusion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Watch my Nebula video on the Temple of Ramesses III here!: https://nebula.tv/videos/religionforbreakfast-sacred-spaces-inside-the-temple-of-ramesses-iii?ref=religionforbreakfast Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/religionforbreakfast If you try to Google Dagon, chances are you'll see some sort of "fish" god. And if you look him up in the Bible, you'll learn that he was a Philistine god. But, these two claims are actually wrong. He wasn't a Philistine god, nor was he a fish god. Join our Patreon community! https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters Thumbnail art by @hotcyder 00:00 Dagon, the Philistine fish god? 1:19 Philistine Religion Explained 5:31 Dagon Explained 7:40 Did the Philistines really worship Dagon? 9:28 Was Dagon a fish god? 11:57 Check out my Nebula Plus series Sacred Spaces! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join our Patreon community!: https://patreon.com/religionforbreakfast One-time donations here!: https://www.paypal.me/religionforbreakfast Check out my favorite religious studies books: https://www.amazon.com/shop/religionforbreakfast FULL INTERVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTK_a-VaHHs&feature=youtu.be Whether we're talking about race or economic class, most religious congregations in the United States are super homogeneous. This reflects the sociological principle called "homophily," or in simpler terms, "birds of a feather flock together." But why is this? Why are religious congregations so divided? Special thanks to Dr. Tricia Bruce for co-writing this episode. You can find her on Twitter: @TriciaCBruce or her website: triciabruce.com. Also check out her book "Parish and Place: Making Room for Diversity in the American Catholic Church." This video was brought to you, in part, by support from Sacred Writes: Public Scholarship on Religion, funded by the Henry R. Luce Foundation and hosted by Northeastern University: https://www.sacred-writes.org/about Check out my favorite religious studies books: https://www.amazon.com/shop/religionforbreakfast Follow me on Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry Shout out to the awesome work of Sacred Writes at Northeastern University: https://www.sacred-writes.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We have passed 6000 subscribers and are growing more every day! Thank you so much everyone for supporting Religion for Breakfast. Religious literacy is needed more than ever in this day and age, and I hope, in some small way, RFB can help. All summer I have been working at the Newseum Institute's Religious Freedom Center developing educational material for religious studies teachers. Part of this project involved creating videos on a variety of religious studies topics. So stay tuned in the coming months, and you will see some new videos in this different format. I hope you like them! Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry blog: www.religionforbreakfast.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/religionforbreakfast Patreon: www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Subscribe to Sacred & Profane's newsletter here!: http://eepurl.com/gjbzuX Jesús Malverde is a Catholic folk saint particularly popular in Mexico. He has a bad reputation of being a "narcosaint." But is it an unfair stereotype? Join our Patreon community!: https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast One-time donations here!: https://www.paypal.me/religionforbreakfast Sign-up for my mailing list to be notified of online classes: https://classes.religionforbreakfast.com/ Thumbnail art by @hotcyder Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
One day, I was trying to write my dissertation while sitting in my room in east Jerusalem. I was writing about ancient soundscapes...how the lack of ambient sounds in ancient cities would have made conversation and religious chants audible from over 100 feet away. Then a traffic jam happened outside my window. It was very loud. So I made this video. (The ancient city you see in some of these clips comes from the city of Hippos, a Roman city in the Galilee). Andrew's religious studies book recommendations: http://amazon.com/shop/religionforbreakfast https://www.instagram.com/andrewmarkhenry/ Sources: Bruce Smith, “The Acoustic World of Early Modern England." Massachusetts Birth rate stats: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/infant_mortality_rates/infant_mortality.htm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
500 subscribers! Thank you everyone! Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry Facebook: www.facebook.com/religionforbreakfast Blog: www.religionforbreakfast.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Religion for Breakfast videos take a lot of research and collaboration. Patreon support helps fund editors, scholars, and future episodes. Support us here: https://www.patreon.com/c/religionforbreakfast Read Dr. Schmidt's Christmas publications here: https://tcschmidt.com/christmas-publications/ The Bible doesn't say when Jesus was born...so why December 25th? New Testament scholar Dr. Tom Schmidt explains. 00:00 Intro: The Debate Over December 25th 01:20 What We Know for Sure (John Chrysostom) 05:25 The History of Religions Thesis (Sol Invictus) 07:43 Problems with the Sol Invictus Theory 11:20 The Winter Solstice in Ancient Culture 13:05 The Calculation Theory: Passover & The Equinox 15:34 "Cosmic Perfection": Linking Conception & Crucifixion 19:42 The Hippolytus Statue (222 AD) 22:36 Deciphering the "Genesis of Christ" Inscription 27:14 Calculating the Birth Date from Creation 30:04 Other Early Chronographers (Julius Africanus & Clement) 34:12 How December 25th Spread & "Won" 53:29 Other Holidays: Saturnalia, Kalends, & Brumalia 56:44 Conclusion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Ritual." We all think we know what it means...right? Ritual, though, is a lot more complicated than you think. Patreon: www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry Facebook: www.facebook.com/religionforbreakfast Blog: www.religionforbreakfast.com Thanks to our Patreon patrons!: Brian B Dan D Alex B John M Wilson Cain D Manny Mark H Image Attributions: Fasting Buddha: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fasting_Buddha#/media/File:Siddhartha_Gautama_meditating.PNG https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Prayer_in_art#/media/File:Teodor_Axentowicz,_Anachoreta.jpg wedding: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Marriage#/media/File:%22The_Moldavian_wedding%22_(the_end_of_60th_years)._(6149079487).jpg Orthodox Eucharist: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Eucharist#/media/File:%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%83%D1%8E%D1%89%D0%B8%D1%85_(1801436812).jpg Eucharist portions: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Communion_Baptist.jpg Army priest: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Eucharist#/media/File:US_Navy_041024-N-6495K-028_Chaplain_Lt._John_Burnette_prays_over_the_Blood_and_Body_of_Christ_during_Sunday_Roman_Catholic_Mass_aboard_the_Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier_USS_Harry_S._Truman_(CVN_75).jpg Altar pic: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Eucharist#/media/File:StJamesAltar.jpg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/religionforbreakfast Watch QAnon Bonus Video: https://nebula.tv/videos/religionforbreakfast-why-people-still-believe-in-qanon?ref=religionforbreakfast Get Lifetime memberships!: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=religionforbreakfast Join our Patreon community! https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters When prophecies fail, religious movements don't always collapse. They adapt. From TikTok’s Rapture predictions to 19th-century millenarian movements, this video explores why religious groups often grow stronger after being proven wrong, and how communities survive disappointment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Want to learn Coptic? Join our 8-week Intro to Coptic course and start reading the Gospel of Thomas: https://www.religiondepartment.com/coptic Special thanks to the Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church Macon, GA for the Port Said icon footage. For the original footage, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUjqmUGxbfo&ab_channel=ArchangelMichaelCopticOrthodoxChuchMacon%2CGA Coptic Orthodox Christianity is one of the oldest branches of Christianity, tracing its roots to first-century Egypt. This video explores its history, theology, saints, and unique traditions. Join our Patreon community! https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices