Rejected Religion Podcast RR Pod E39 Free Content - Dr. Tristán Kapp: “Secret Self-Knowledge:” Sexuality Practices in Eastern & African Esotericism
*This is the Free Content version of my interview with Dr. Tristán Kapp. To access the full interview, please consider joining Tier 1 by becoming a Patreon member; alternatively, this episode is also available for a one-time purchase at Patreon. www.patreon.com/RejectedReligion.
My guest for the month of June is Dr. Tristán Kapp.
Tristán is an interdisciplinary researcher, writer, and speaker specialising in comparative religion, esotericism, secularism, and conspirituality. His work examines new and alternative religious movements, secularism, and the intersections of religion, politics, and sexuality. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Pretoria, where his thesis explored sex magick as post-theistic spirituality across Eastern, Western, and African esotericism. He also holds an MDiv (focused on Systematic & Historical Theology) and BDiv (focused on Dogmatics & Christian Ethics).
As an advocate for the normalisation and destigmatisation of secularism, alternative religions, and marginalised spiritualities, Tristán engages in public education, media commentary, and community support. His insights have been featured in podcasts, news media, and academic conferences worldwide.
He is also the founder of Alterity Counselling, a virtual counselling practice supporting individuals from diverse spiritual and non-religious backgrounds across the globe. His non-profit advocacy with the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA)—as an executive member, spokesperson, and interfaith officer—along with his community paralegal work, informs his approach to research, activism, and counselling.
In this interview, Tristán discusses portions of his captivating dissertation, titled, “Secret self-knowledge: considering sex magick as post-theistic spirituality in Eastern, Western, and African Esotericism.” Highlights of this engaging discussion include:
- Tristán’s ideas about a ‘post-theistic spiritual practice,’ that distances itself from an external deity and moves toward a non-traditional or non-religious spirituality, with creativity in terms of co-existence between the divine and the individual;
- The underrepresentation of Eastern and African regions with regard to esotericism;
- The negativity surrounding sexuality and the expression of it, including taboos and fetishes (drawing for example on Foucault);
- The inclusion of Conspirituality in this discourse, and how it relates to the notion of the Self;
- Examples of Eastern esoteric sexual practices and what these offer with regard to knowledge of the Self;
- The issue of colonialism and slavery as it relates to Africana esoteric religions;
- How sexuality and the Self are understood in both African Traditional Religion and the Sangoma Tradition;
- The syncretic expressions of the African diaspora as found in African-American Conjure or Supernaturalism;
- The notion of ubuntu, that states a person is a person because of other people;
- His conclusions after all of his research and his future endeavors.
PROGRAM NOTES
📩 Contact: tristan@paganrightsalliance.org
🔗 Website: http://www.drtristankapp.wordpress.com
📚 ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tristan-Kapp-2
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristankapp
🎧 Podcast Fundraiser: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/voices-of-the-other-my-podcast-fund
Tristán’s Research Interests:
• Christofascism & Religious Nationalism – Christian nationalism, conspirituality, and Afrikaner right-wing extremism
• Esotericism & Contemporary Spirituality – Occult traditions, new religious movements, and alternative spiritualities
• South African Secularism & Religious Freedom – Marginalised belief systems, policy, and advocacy
• Decoloniality and Whiteness in Post-Apartheid South African Religion & Religious Education
🔍 Current Projects:
🎙 Voices of the Other – Podcast (Fundraising campaign underway)
📄 Academic Research – Christofascism & religious nationalism in post-apartheid South Africa | Afrikaner witchcraft & boererate | Occult Crime and Moral Panics in South Africa
Tristán is available for guest lectures, media appearances, and research collaborations.
All Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea