Episode
Religious Motivation Is Real by Russell Blackford
- Podcast
- Free Inquiry Audio Edition
- Published
- Mar 30, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 465
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Summary
Russell Blackford argues that religious motivation—particularly in cases of jihadist violence—is often downplayed or denied in Western discourse despite clear evidence to the contrary. Using a recent terrorist attack as a case study, he contends that labeling such acts as unrelated to religion obscures their ideological roots and hinders honest analysis. Read this article and find accompanying references at: secularhumanism.org/2026/03/religious-motivation-is-real/ About the Author: Russell Blackford is a conjoint senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Newcastle (Australia) and a regular columnist for Free Inquiry. His latest book, The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism (2019), is published by Bloomsbury Academic. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/