Lance Grande: The Evolution of Religions: A History of Related Traditions

Homebrewed Christianity

Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian, Philosopher, Minister

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.6 • 612 Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I am joined by evolutionary biologist and curatorial scientist Dr. Lance Grande. Lance shares insights from his extensive career examining the dynamics and changes in evolution, culminating in his exhaustive 600-page book, The Evolution of Religion: A History of Related Traditions. The discussion delves into the application of modern evolutionary theory to the study of organized religion, the impact of religion on human culture, and the challenges and future of religion in an interconnected world. Given the unique and expansive thesis of the book, I was thrilled when Lance agreed to walk us through it with slides at the beginning of our recording session. Don't miss the video version on YouTube to see all of Lance's slides. Lance Grande is the Negaunee Distinguished Service Curator Emeritus of the Field Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Chicago. He specializes in evolutionary systematics, paleontology, and biology and is deeply interested in the interdisciplinary applications of the scientific method and philosophy. His many books include Curators: Behind the Scenes of Natural History Museums (2017) and The Lost World of Fossil Lake: Snapshots from Deep Time (2013). Theology Beer Camp | St. Paul, MN | October 16-18, 2025 3 Days of Craft Nerdiness with 50+ Theologians & God-Pods and 600 new friends. A Five-Week Online Lenten Class w/ John Dominic Crossan Join us for a transformative 5-week Lenten journey on "Paul the Pharisee: Faith and Politics in a Divided World."This course examines the Apostle Paul as a Pharisee deeply engaged with the turbulent political and religious landscape of his time. Through the lens of his letters and historical context, we will explore Paul’s understanding of Jesus’ Life-Vision, his interpretation of the Execution-and-Resurrection, and their implications for nonviolence and faithful resistance against empire. Each week, we will delve into a specific aspect of Paul’s theology and legacy, reflecting on its relevance for our own age of autocracy and political turmoil. . For details and to sign-up for any donation, including 0, head over here. _____________________ Hang with 40+ Scholars & Podcasts and 600 people at Theology Beer Camp 2025 (Oct. 16-18) in St. Paul, MN. This podcast is a Homebrewed Christianity production. Follow the Homebrewed Christianity, Theology Nerd Throwdown, & The Rise of Bonhoeffer podcasts for more theological goodness for your earbuds. Join over 80,000 other people by joining our Substack - Process This! Get instant access to over 45 classes at www.TheologyClass.com Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, friends, this is Tripp.
0:07.9	And today on the podcast, we are talking to Lance Grand.
0:12.3	He is a evolutionary thinker.
0:16.1	And he's been working at this throughout his career, looking at all sorts of different dynamics and
0:21.9	changes in evolution.
0:23.0	But what happens when you take the evolutionary framework and then take a giant step back
0:30.3	and look at the evolution of religion across the whole history of Homo sapiens?
0:35.7	Well, it turns into a ginormous 600-page book, one that I absolutely loved.
0:42.7	It was provocative, it's compelling, it challenges a host of assumptions those of us that
0:47.7	happen to be philosophers and debate about religion bring into it.
0:51.9	And it's a strongly argued thesis. And I just, I messaged him after getting to read the book
0:57.5	and was pumped that he would come on. And on top of that, because the book has such a long
1:02.4	thought out thesis in it, he agreed to open up the conversation to walk through the text itself.
1:10.0	So the front part of this episode will be a kind
1:14.2	of mini lecture from Lance, including a lot of slides. So if you've never checked out the YouTube
1:19.9	channel or gone over the substack where we'll put the video, it's definitely a good time to do it
1:25.5	because one, the images and everything really help,
1:28.5	but he'll not only kind of unpack how he uses the framework as an evolutionary scientist
1:34.6	to understand the transformation in all sorts of different species.
1:38.8	But what is it like to take that and then look at it in the history of religions?
1:42.5	It's a wonderful book. It's a fascinating
1:44.8	conversation. And then after he introduces the book, we spend some time wrestling with a host
	...

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