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Why People Replace Religion with Politics | with Martin Gurri
04 November 2026

Why People Replace Religion with Politics | with Martin Gurri

Schweizer Monat

About

Author and former CIA analyst Martin Gurri argues that the premises of the Enlightenment have collapsed. In conversation with Lukas Leuzinger, he talks about the consequences for democracy and why AI doom scenarios are overblown.



0:00 Intro



0:47 Is AI going to doom humanity?



1:18 Two possible futures for AI



2:27 Who benefits from AI alarmism?



4:50 AI as an oracle and its priestly caste



5:31 Will AI accelerate the disruption of public discourse?



7:05 The Revolt of the Public and elites fighting back



8:53 Free speech: who gets to decide what's true?



11:15 What is post-Enlightenment democracy?



13:47 Equality without a creator



16:18 Are Enlightenment values borrowed from Christianity?



18:03 Can values exist without religion?



20:06 Where does that leave us now?



22:47 Classical liberalism's blind spot on meaning



24:46 Should meaning be private or shared?



26:15 Closing



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