Religion & Liberty Online

Acton Line podcast: The conversion of Kanye West; What Wilhelm Röpke has to say about our digital age

In just the first week of the release of Kanye West’s new explicitly Christian record “Jesus is King,” it’s outsold his previous album “Ye,” projected to sell 225-275k copies. In addition to comments regarding his conversion to Christianity, he’s dominated cultural conversation with increasingly conservative opinions, addressing everything from the importance of communities, to local churches and even in a recent interview, condemning abortion. Andrew T. Walker from ERLC comes on to the show to break down reactions to Kanye’s conversion, new artistic direction and cultural influence. On the second segment, Bulgarian economist Stefan Kolev explains the relevance of the 20th century German economist Wilhelm Röpke, and lays out how Röpke’s thoughts on community are applicable in our digital age.

Check out additional resources for this episode:

Read: “Kanye West’s Conversion Could Be a Cultural Wrecking Ball,” by Andrew T. Walker

Read: “Kanye, Conversion, and the Ethics of Learned Obedience,” by Andrew T. Walker

Video: Kanye West: Jesus Is King, Sunday Service, and Being Born Again | Apple Music

KNOWLES: Kanye West Demonstrates He’s Ahead Of The Culture

Read: “Is Kanye West’s Jesus Is King a digital Sunday service?” by Madeline Fry

Read: “Why are Catholics raving about Kanye West’s new album?” by Zac Mabry

Pre-order: “The Humane Economist: A Wilhelm Röpke Reader”

Conservatives going wobbly on the free market should read Wilhelm Röpke

Wilhelm Röpke: An economist for our time 

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Image credit: Kevin Winter / Staff / Getty Images. Editorial use only.

Caroline Roberts

Caroline Roberts is a managing editor at the Acton Institute and produces Acton's weekly podcast, Acton Line.