A Religion-Fueled Space Race
On today’s episode, we’ll be discussing the uncanny parallels between the present billionaire-backed space race and the religiously-fueled age of colonialism and conquest. We’ll be speaking with Dr. Mary-Jane Rubenstein, author of Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race, and we’ll take a look at how humans might shift their thinking from “how the universe might belong to us,” to instead consider “how we might belong to the universe.” Get ready for a fascinating look at how deeply intertwined religious rhetoric is within the language of space exploration.
Mary-Jane Rubenstein is a Professor of Religion and Science in Society at Wesleyan University, and is affiliated with the Philosophy Department and the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. She holds a B.A. from Williams College, an M.Phil. from Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. in from Columbia University. Her research unearths the philosophies and histories of religion and science, especially in relation to cosmology, ecology, and space travel.
She is the author of Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race (2022), Pantheologies: Gods, Worlds, Monsters (2018), also Worlds without End: The Many Lives of the Multiverse (2014), and Strange Wonder: The Closure of Metaphysics and the Opening of Awe (2009). She is also co-editor with Catherine Keller of Entangled Worlds: Religion, Science, and New Materialisms (2017) and co-author with Thomas A. Carlson and Mark C. Taylor of Image: Three Inquiries in Technology and Imagination (2021).
We also want to extend a big thank you to our sponsors this year for supporting our show!Learn more about our Gold Sponsor Multiverse Media, an integrated media company focusing on space exploration, science, and technology, and check out the Cislunar Market Opportunities report produced by NewSpace Global, a Multiverse Media property, for a snapshot and user guide to the players and opportunities ahead for the cislunar economy. To get your own copy please go to cislunar.report and use coupon code citizen10 for 10% off a single user license.
Learn more about our Silver Sponsor the Colorado School of Mines Space Resources Program, a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary program that offers Certificate, Master of Science, and Ph.D. degrees for professionals around the world interested in the emerging field of extraterrestrial resources here.
