Intellectual historian Wayne Hudson returns to the show for a discussion of his recently published book, Beyond Religion and the Secular: Creative Spiritual Movements and Their Relevance to Political, Social and Cultural Reform (Bloomsbury, 2023). Wayne and Jonathan ponder what religion has to offer humanity in advanced technological societies (a question posed in the book), and along the way explore Wayne's critique of the concept "religion," the role of the Enlightenment in the problematic category of "religion," false ontological and epistemological assumptions underpinning contemporary critiques of "religion," problematic dualistic notions of "religion" and the "secular," problems with the new concepts of "post-religion" and "post-secular" and the positive and essential role of spirituality to the processes of human evolution and our future as a species.

Wayne Hudson is an Adjunct Professor at Charles Sturt University, the Australian National University and the University of Tasmania. His most recent book is Beyond Religion and the Secular: Creative Spiritual Movements and Their Relevance to Political, Social and Cultural Reform.

The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.

Jonathan posts regularly about political theology, political philosophy and conservatism on Facebook and Twitter.

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