Exploring the Religious Roots of Transhumanism

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This chapter delves into the religious undertones of transhumanism, tracing its connections to historical theological beliefs about immortality, resurrection, and divinity. It reflects on the parallels between futuristic aspirations for eternal life through technology and traditional religious ideas about the afterlife and the importance of the physical body. The speaker shares personal experiences of how their crisis of faith intertwined with the familiarity of a Millenarian Christian narrative, leading to a deep exploration of the intersection between religion, technology, and the future.

Paris Marx is joined by Meghan O’Gieblyn to discuss parallels between transhumanism and Christian narratives of resurrection, despite the fact many transhumanists identify as staunch atheists.

Meghan O’Gieblyn is an advice columnist at Wired and the author of God, Human, Animal, Machine.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Meghan wrote about transhumanism and religion for n+1.
Paris wrote about the religion of techno-optimism in Disconnect.
Amy Kurzweil wrote about her father’s chatbot of his own father.
In China, AI “deathbots” are being used to help people grieve.
Richard Dawkins now identifies as a “cultural Christian” (not Catholic, as Paris mistakenly said in the episode).

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