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Alpha God

Photo by Lawrence OP, CC via Flickr

  For some, God is a violent and fearsome deity. It's an idea used to justify atrocities and oppression committed in His name. The psychologist Hector Garcia says that we have created this God in our own image, and to understand Him, we first have to understand how our own psychology has evolved over eons. Tuesday, Garcia joins Doug to talk about the way humanity's quest for evolutionary success resulted in an "Alpha God" who is more a reflection of us than we are of Him.

Hector A. Garcia is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Center at San Antonio and a clinical psychologist at the Veterans Health Administration. His book is called Alpha God: The Psychology of Religious Violence and Oppression [Indiebound|Amazon]

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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