Originally broadcast at 1:00 p.m. ET Wednesday, July 7, 2021.

Gary Laderman, the Goodrich C. White Professor of American Religious History and Cultures at Emory University, has been described as “an exceptional speaker: lively, informed, and made for Chautauqua! The Future of Religion in America is his area, and he does very interesting work on contemporary religion and the spiritual habits of millennials.”

Professor Laderman is the author of many books, including Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States, and Don't Think About Death: A Memoir on Mortality. He has co-edited two encyclopedias, Religion and American Cultures: An Encyclopedia of Traditions, Diversity, and Popular Expressions (4 vols., ABC-Clio, 2003, updated with additional volume, 2015; voted best reference by Library Journal) and Science, Religion, Societies: Histories, Cultures, Controversies (2 vols., with a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; ME Sharpe, 2007).

Dr. Laderman been interviewed on various topics on American religious cultures, ranging from death and funerals to horror films and psychedelics; in a variety of media, including the NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post; US News and World Report, Ebony, The Lutheran, and Vice; on On Point, Odyssey, and other radio shows; as well as on the NBC Evening News, The Today Show, Charles Osgood CBS Morning Show, and other television and documentary broadcasts. He is also a founder of the online religion magazines, Religion Dispatches and Sacred Matters. He recently launched his podcast, Sacrilegious with Gary Laderman.

Gary is continuing to research, write, and teach on the sacred in American life generally, and is currently working on a book project exploring religion and drugs, “Sacred Drugs.” He has been involved in a variety of collaborative projects that have received funding from the Lilly Endowment, Center for Theology and Natural Sciences, the Ford Foundation, and Emory. He received his B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Northridge, and his M.A. and Ph. D. from the Religious Studies Department, University of California, Santa Barbara.

This program is made possible by the Mackenzie Fund for Chautauqua the Gertrude Elser Schroeder Fund.

About Chautauqua Institution: Chautauqua Institution is a community on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York state that comes alive each summer with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities. As a community, we celebrate, encourage and study the arts and treat them as integral to all of learning, and we convene the critical conversations of the day to advance understanding through civil dialogue. CHQ Assembly is the online expression of Chautauqua Institution's mission.