HeyJaredNon+Religion Research Brief
Non+Religion Research Brief is a podcast featuring short discussions of peer-reviewed social science research on nonreligion and religion. Typical episodes offer five-minute summaries of journal articles.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 26
- Latest publication
- Sep 30, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 5, 2026
Latest episodes
S02E02 - Secularization and low fertility: How declining church membership changes couples’ childbearing (opens the original)
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This research paper investigates the link between rising secularization and the falling birth rates in Finland from 1995 to 2019. By analyzing administrative records of church tax payments , the authors demonstrate that religiously affiliated individuals maintain significantly higher fertility levels than their secular counterparts. A central finding is that homogeneously religious couples are the most likely to have children, suggesting that shared values facilitate family expansion. The study
S02E01 - Catholic Schooling and Disaffiliation from Catholicism (opens the original)
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Research by Perl and Gray investigates how Catholic schooling impacts the likelihood of adults leaving the faith, a process known as disaffiliation. While previous studies on adult religious commitment yielded inconsistent results, this analysis of cradle Catholics suggests that attending Catholic high school for at least three years significantly lowers the risk of converting to other religions or becoming non-religious. Interestingly, Catholic elementary school does not show a similar protecti
S01E57 - The Magic of Secularization (opens the original)
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This podcast explores how institutional secularization influences individual supernatural beliefs in the United States. Researchers found that while traditional church participation is declining, belief in magic and the paranormal often increases among individuals who identify as secular rationalists . This phenomenon suggests that a scientific worldview does not necessarily lead to disenchantment ; instead, it encourages people to seek spiritual agency outside of religious authorities. The stud
S01E56 - Growing Up Godless: Non-Religious Childhoods in Contemporary England (opens the original)
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The review of the book by Strhan, Anna, and Rachael Shillitoe. 2025. Growing Up Godless: Non-Religious Childhoods in Contemporary England. Princeton University Press. The number of those identifying as “non-religious” has risen rapidly in Britain and many other parts of Europe and North America. Although non-religion and non-belief are especially prevalent among younger people, we know little about the experience of children who are growing up without religion. In Growing Up Godless, Anna Strhan
S01E55 - Altruistic Atheists: Secular Prosociality in a Godless Society (opens the original)
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This research article by Zuckerman and Myers investigates the prosocial motivations and behaviors of deeply secular individuals living in Estonia , one of the world's least religious nations. By interviewing participants who were raised without faith in an atheistic culture, the authors challenge widespread stereotypes that suggest godlessness is linked to a lack of morality. The study reveals that secular altruism is driven by humanistic values , such as empathy, a desire to improve society, an
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