Sociologist Sam Perry believes that religion still matters. And we need to understand it now more than ever. But “religion” is changing. Our cherished assumptions about what “religion” is and how it works are being overturned by transformations brought on by modernity and political polarization, on the one hand, and insights from the social sciences, on the other. In this talk, Dr. Perry, the Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma, will push us to approach “religion” in a new way, both in our personal understanding and as an academic endeavor. And he’ll explain how a more enlightened, evidence-based approach to “religion” can help shed light on the dramatic and disturbing transformations we see taking place in our society and around the world.