Category: Philosophy of Religion

Two new paperbacks of two new genius books!

The end of the year 2025 has seen the release of two paperback versions of the books I recently co-edited and published with Brill. The first is, “Sigmund Freud as a Critical Social Theorist: Psychoanalysis and the Neurotic in Contemporary Society,” co-edited with Seyed Javad Miri. The Second is, “The Many Faces of Populism: Perspectives from Critical Theory and Beyond,” co-edited with Mlado Ivanovic and Jeremiah Morelock. The paperbacks were published by Haymarket Books in Chicago, as part of the Studies in Critical Social Sciences series, edited by David Fasenfest.

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Artificial Intelligence and St. Augustine’s Just War Theory – St. Mary’s University – Edinburgh

On September 3rd, 2025, I had the opportunity to present my work on the ethical problems of AI in warfare at the “Catholic Social Teachings and AI” conference at St. Mary’s University-Twickenham-London, Edinburgh campus. Stephen Dolan was the genius who organized the conference and I’m especially grateful that he invited me to address the attendees. My presentation discussed the ethical issues regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence in warfare, with Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza as a particular egregious case. While I’m no expert on the technical side of AI, the ethics of its use for military means seems deeply problematic, especially as it relates to the 7-point Just War Theory.

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New Book Chapter: St. Paul, Carl Schmitt, and Alexander Dugin on the Katechon

The book, The Many Faces of Christianism: The ‘Russian World in Europe, edited by Mariëtta van der Tol, Sophia R.C. Johnson, Petr Kratochvíl, and Zoran Grazdanov, has just been published by DeGruyter-Brill, in their Political and Public Theologies series. In this book, I have a chapter entitled, “From St. Paul and Carl Schmitt to Alexander Dugin: The Katechon as a Political Category in Empire building,” wherein I trace the development of the notion of the “Katechon” (The Restrainer of the Apocalypse) through St. Paul’s theology, Schmitt’s political theology, and Dugin’s political philosophy. This book chapter came out of a paper I presented at a 2023 conference, Political Theologies after Christendom, at the University of Oxford, New College. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has written the forward. I’d like to send a big thanks to all those who contributed to the book, and to all those who edited the book; it is a work of sheer genius!

An email response from a colleague: “Having just read your excellent article “The Russian Restrainer of the Apocalypse: The Katechon in St. Paul, Carl Schmitt, and Alexander Dugin,” I would like to express my admiration and hope that your astute analysis will be widely read.” ~ Dr. Michael Hagemeister (Ruhr University Bochum Germany, Department of East European History).

If you’d like to read my chapter, you can download it below:

Byrd – Katechon – 2025Download

To purchase a copy of the book, see Brill: The Many Faces of Christianism, or see Amazon: The Many Faces of Christianism

Or, as the book is open access, download the whole book for free here:

Book – The Many Faces of ChristianismDownload
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“Critical Theory in an Age of Social Disintegration” – ICST Conference in Bristol, UK

On July 17-19, the Institute for Critical Social Theory hosted their inaugural conference at the University of Bristol, UK. I was a great honor to welcome so many scholars to the ICST event. We had thirteen presentations, two plenary addresses, and a round table discussion about critical theory during times of war (See the schedule below). We are looking forward to our next conference in 2026, with Istanbul being the agreed upon destination. Keep an eye out for that Call for Papers.

ICST 2025 Conference ScheduleDownload

If you’d like to listen to my plenary address, wherein I discuss what it means to be critical in an age of social disintegration, you can find it on YouTube:

For more information on the Institute for Critical Social Theory, please visit our website: ICST

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“Terribilis Occidentalis: A Dialectical Critique of Oikophobia,” just released:

My latest article, “Terribilis Occidentalis: A Dialectical Critique of Oikophobia,” was just published in Critical Perspectives (Vol. 1, no. 1). This is the new journal of the Institute for Critical Social Theory, of which I am the founder and co-director. In this article, I deal with the problem of Leftist oikophobia, the pathological hatred for all things “ours” (Western), arguing that this pathology is extremely dangerous, as it forecloses on that which is still salvageable, rescuable, and good within Western civilization, especially its intellectual tradition. Additionally, I argue that once the Left abandons the West via “abstract negation,” as opposed to “determinate negation” (Aufheben) they leave a powerful tradition and legacy in the hands of the far-right, who will use it as a weapon against all those they deem “other,” i.e., those they view as not belonging to the West. The new journal will be published bi-annually, so consider submitting your work!

Critical Perspectives Vol 1 No 1Download
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Discussing the life and legacy of Pope Francis with Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert

On May 31st, 2025, I sat down with the critical theorist and Catholic theologian, Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, to discuss the life, work, and legacy of Pope Francis. We discussed the Pope’s life before the papacy, the twelve years of his papacy, and the numerous ways in which he “changed the tone” of the Catholic Church, making it more inclusive and open to the world. Elected in 2013, Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, 2025. To the end, he maintained his positions against Russia’s war on Ukraine, Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, and the need to address Global Climate Change before it is too late. In many ways, Pope Francis was a force unto himself, as he, as Dr. Siebert says, put the poor at the forefront of faith, as the church should be a “field hospital” as opposed to a bunker. Our discourse was sponsored by Ekpyrosis Press and the Institute for Critical Social Theory.

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Resisting Fascism: Father Alfred Delp

On May 3rd, 2025, I had the opportunity to discuss with the critical theorist and theologian, Dr. Rudolf Siebert, the life, times, and martyrdom of the Jesuit priest, Father Alfred Delp. Born of his Catholic faith, Delp was a staunch anti-Nazi, and was part of the Kreisau Circle that envisioned a new and radically different society that would come after the fall of the Nazis. Because of this, and because of his tangential connection to Claus von Stauffenberg’s failed assassination plot against Hitler, Delp was arrested, imprisoned, interrogated, beaten, and eventually stood trial in front of the communist-turned-fascist judge, Roland Freisler. Found guilty, Delp was executed on February 2, 1945. This discourse was sponsored by Ekpyrosis Press and the Institute for Critical Social Theory.

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“Where Id is, Ego shall be”: A Freud Portrait for a Freud Book

On April 1st, 2025, I had the opportunity to meet with the great portrait artist, Mahalia Stelter, an alumna of The University of Olivet, to celebrate the publication of the new book, Sigmund Freud as a Critical Social Theorist: Psychoanalysis and the Neurotic in Contemporary Society, edited by Seyed Javad Miri and I. Mahalia’s portrait of Freud was used for the cover of the book, and was photographed by Aubrey Helfrich. The book is published by Brill (Leiden, Netherlands), and is available for purchase via Brill’s website, or through Amazon. Get your copy of the Freudian goodness now, or have your institution order a copy.

For a discussion on Freud and his relevance to the Frankfurt School, see my discussion with Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert.

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