Some previous grant research revealed the importance of accounting for dehumanization in interreligious conflict, and this was confirmed by the work of the late neuroscientist Emile Bruneau who encouraged those working in peacemaking to account for elements like this. My work in monster theory also played a part in my understanding, and therefore I was pleased to find David Livingstone Smith account for this in his book Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization (Harvard University Press, 2021).

In this podcast, Smith and I dive down into a specific element of dehumanization which he has called "demonizing dehumanization."

David Livingstone Smith: https://www.davidlivingstonesmith.com/

Making Monsters: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674545564

My prior podcast with Smith on dehumanization and Making Monsters: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-aszpp-10f8c92

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Eugenia Rainey is our guest to discuss the African diaspora religion of Santeria. Rainey is associate professor William & Mary Rainey where she is a cultural anthropologist who studies religion as a negotiated process. She focuses on this process at the intersection of Lucumí (also referred to as La Regla de Ochá or Santería) and medicine in south Florida. Through examining devotees’ experiences and perceptions of the medical encounter, and being well grounded in religious practice, she seeks to better understand how the healthcare infrastructure impacts constructions of race and lived religion, as well as how African Diaspora religions in the US support the healthcare needs of devotees and the healthcare infrastructure. Eugenia Rainey at William & Mary: https://www.wm.edu/as/americanstudies/faculty/rainey_e.php Dr. Rainey's profile on Santeria at the World Religions and Spirituality Project: https://wrldrels.org/2025/05/27/santeria/ Books on Santeria mentioned in this podcast:

You can listen to Multifaith Matters on your favorite podcast platform, including Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio.

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In this episode I have a conversation with Batja Mesquita who discusses her book Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions. We unpack the ideas in her book and make application to religious and political conflict. From her book description:

A pioneer of cultural psychology argues that emotions are not innate, but made as we live our lives together.

“How are you feeling today?” We may think of emotions as universal responses, felt inside, but in Between Us, acclaimed psychologist Batja Mesquita asks us to reconsider them through the lens of what they do in our relationships, both one-on-one and within larger social networks. From an outside-in perspective, readers will understand why pride in a Dutch context does not translate well to the same emotion in North Carolina, or why one’s anger at a boss does not mean the same as your anger at a partner in a close relationship. By looking outward at relationships at work, school, and home, we can better judge how our emotions will be understood, how they might change a situation, and how they change us.

Brilliantly synthesizing original psychological studies and stories from peoples across time and geography, Between Us skillfully argues that acknowledging differences in emotions allows us to find common ground, humanizing and humbling us all for the better.

Batja Mesquita is a Dutch social psychologist, a cultural psychologist and an affective scientist. She is a professor of psychology at the University of Leuven, Belgium, where she studies the role of culture in emotions, and of emotions in culture and society. She is director of the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology in Leuven.

Official Website of Batja Mesquita: https://www.batjamesquita.com/

Between Us at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Between-Us-Cultures-Create-Emotions/dp/1324002441

You can listen to Multifaith Matters on your favorite podcast platform, including Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio.

Learn more about our work at https://www.multifaithmatters.org.

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#emotions #culture #BatjaMesquita #affect