Conspirituality

Brief: Prospirituality Predictions for 2026

January 24, 2026

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  • The episode introduces the concept of "prospirituality" as a dialectical response to "conspirituality," highlighting religious traditions grounding resistance against fascism, climate collapse, and labor precarity. 
  • Jewish religious resistance is emerging against Israeli state violence, exemplified by figures like Peter Beinart, who critiques ethno-nationalism by tracing his evolving Jewish identity toward universal justice and away from unconditional Zionism. 
  • Mona Haydar models a form of Muslim prospirituality that blends feminism, anti-genocide activism, mutual aid mobilization (like using mosques as food banks), and public theology, resisting both Islamophobia and conservative Muslim critiques by asserting agency within her faith. 

Segments

Podcast Introduction and Thesis
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(00:00:59)
  • Key Takeaway: The host introduces the podcast’s mission and posits the existence of a ‘prospirituality tendency’ responding to fascist spiritual influences.
  • Summary: Matthew Remsky introduces Conspirituality and outlines the dialectical framework for the episode: predicting three positive religious responses to global fascism, AI threats, and climate disaster.
Judaism: Religious Justification of War
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(00:02:49)
  • Key Takeaway: Israeli leaders mobilized apocalyptic rhetoric, like invoking ‘blot out Amalek,’ to justify military revenge, using the story of Shechem’s massacre as precedent.
  • Summary: Discussion of how Israeli leaders used religious texts (Amalek, Psalm 79, the story of Simeon and Levi) to rationalize the war in Gaza, highlighting the irony that the biblical story condemns such actions.
Jewish Religious Resistance
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(00:07:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Progressive Jewish rabbis are mounting religious resistance against ethno-nationalism, with figures like Peter Beinart evolving their stance toward universal justice.
  • Summary: Analysis of anti-war Jewish religious voices, including Weiss and Rosen, and a deep dive into Peter Beinart’s ideological shift, emphasizing his focus on Jewish ethics and rejecting the worship of the state (avodah zara).
Islam: Challenging Islamophobia
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(00:11:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Progressive Muslim voices, like Mona Haydar and Zoran Mamdani, are challenging monolithic, Islamophobic narratives by emphasizing pluralism, social justice, and agency.
  • Summary: The host discusses the difficulty of accessing radical Muslim thought due to media gatekeeping, highlighting Mona Haydar’s work blending spirituality and activism, and Zoran Mamdani’s materially grounded political expression.
Mona Haydar’s Public Theology
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(00:16:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Haydar uses her faith and public platform for decolonial politics and mutual aid, uniquely employing New Age concepts like interconnectedness to support progressive theology.
  • Summary: Focus on Haydar’s ‘Ask a Muslim’ project, her mobilization of Uma for mutual aid, and the surprising use of quantum entanglement concepts to support a theology of community bonds against hate.
Pope Leo and Anti-Fascist Catholicism
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(00:22:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Pope Leo is predicted to be a thorn in the side of the Trump administration by spotlighting liberation theology and challenging U.S. Catholics on immigration hypocrisy.
  • Summary: Review of Pope Leo’s political interventions regarding immigration and Venezuela, contrasted with pushback from conservative U.S. bishops like Robert Barron, who condemned collectivism.