Rediscovering Jesus: Diana Butler Bass

Almost a decade ago, our guest Diana Butler Bass wrote Christianity After Religion, and it got her thinking. She realized the implications of her arguments in the book would require more elaboration, and that has led to three other books: Grounded, Grateful, and most recently, Freeing Jesus.

We welcome Dr. Bass back to Things Not Seen to talk with us about the origins of the book, and the journey of re-discovery she traveled in learning what the book was really about. Along the way, she talks about the genre of “memoir theology,” and the value of experience as a source for spiritual reasoning.

Diana Butler Bass is the author of eight books on American religion. She holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Duke University, has taught at the college and graduate level, and is currently an independent scholar. She was a columnist for the New York Times Syndicate, and blogs for the Huffington Post and the Washington Post on issues of religion, spirituality, and culture. Bass is a popular speaker at conferences, colleges and universities, and churches across North America. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband, daughter, and dog. Her website is dianabutlerbass.com and she can be followed on Twitter at @dianabutlerbass.