The only question that matters with regard to a religion and its mythology is “What do these stories mean?

Over the last few years, the Islamic world has produced more female presidents and prime ministers than both Europe and North America combined.

I'm interested in the origins of the religious experience, how the history of religion has evolved over the last umpteen thousand years, and where religiosity is going in the future. I think that's a topic I've been chewing on for a few years; I would love to eventually work on and produce a book out of it.

Authoritarians tend to consolidate support by using fear, but more importantly by driving a wedge among the people that they want to control.

The language of religion holds the most currency for the masses.

Religion is never going to go away, and anyone who thinks it will doesn't understand what religion is. It is a language to describe the experience of human nature, so for as long as people struggle to describe what it means to be alive, it will be a ready-made language to express those feelings.

When you forcefully suppress religious nationalism, you radicalize it.