Altar Ego

About Altar Ego

Hosted by two close friends, one a therapist raised Southern Baptist, now agnostic; the other a spiritually curious ex-Catholic who believes in ghosts and is terrified of demons... we dive into dark tales and crimes committed in the name of God (or the devil). Through ethical retellings of possessions, prophecies, cults, and beliefs, we investigate spirituality, belief systems, and the ambiguous psychological spaces in between.

Publisher

Altar Ego

Category

true crime

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Sept 2025

Latest episode

9 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

46 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Sept 2026

   41: Why Did Southern Baptists Boycott Disney?

   For years, millions of Southern Baptists were encouraged to boycott Disney—but why? What transformed the "Most Magical Place on Earth" into the center of one of the largest Christian consumer boycotts in modern history? In this episode of Altar Ego, Jeri unpacks the rise of the Southern Baptist Convention's campaign against Disney, exploring the cultural and theological battles that led an entire denomination to take a stand against one of the world's most recognizable brands. From LGBTQ+ representation and "family values" debates to the broader culture wars of the 1990s, we examine how this movement began, what it hoped to accomplish, and why it ultimately faded. Along the way, we'll separate fact from folklore, revisit the headlines that fueled the controversy, and explore what this chapter reveals about the intersection of faith, politics, and popular culture. Whether you remember churches encouraging families to avoid Disney—or you're hearing about the boycott for the first time—this episode offers the historical context behind one of evangelical America's most talked-about cultural flashpoints. In this episode: • Why the Southern Baptist Convention targeted Disney • The events that sparked the boycott • How Disney responded • The role of the 1990s culture wars • Why the boycott eventually ended • What this story can teach us about faith and influence today Have memories of the Disney boycott? We'd love to hear your story. Connect with us on social media or leave a review to let us know what you remember.

2. 

   2 Sept 2026

   40. The Satanic Panic Around Yoga

   Sources: The Bible ⁠⁠ Mark Singleton — Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice (Oxford University Press, 2010) Oxford Academic — Yoga Body (https://academic.oup.com/book/32847?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Andrea R. Jain — Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture (Oxford University Press, 2014) Oxford Academic — Selling Yoga (https://academic.oup.com/book/7406?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Andrea R. Jain — “Modern Yoga,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion Oxford Academic — Modern Yoga (https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/62249/chapter-abstract/551356569?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Andrea R. Jain — “Postural Yoga as a Body of Religious Practice” Oxford Academic — Postural Yoga as Religious Practice (https://academic.oup.com/book/7406/chapter-abstract/152254573?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Anya P. Foxen — Inhaling Spirit: Harmonialism, Orientalism, and the Western Roots of Modern Yoga (Oxford University Press, 2020) Oxford Academic — Inhaling Spirit (https://academic.oup.com/book/32157?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Smithsonian Magazine — “Early Films (Including One by Thomas Edison) Made Yoga Look Like Magic” Smithsonian Magazine — Early Films and Yoga (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/early-films-including-one-by-thomas-edison-made-yoga-look-like-magic-180947717/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Hindu American Foundation — “Take Back Yoga: Why Hinduism and Yoga Are Inextricably Linked” Hindu American Foundation — Take Back Yoga (https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/take-back-yoga-why-hinduism-and-yoga-are-inextricably-linked?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ R. Albert Mohler Jr. — “The Subtle Body: Should Christians Practice Yoga?” (2010) Albert Mohler — The Subtle Body (https://albertmohler.com/2010/09/20/the-subtle-body-should-christians-practice-yoga/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ R. Albert Mohler Jr. — “Help from Hindu Quarters — The New York Times on ‘Take Back Yoga’” (2010) Albert Mohler — Help from Hindu Quarters (https://albertmohler.com/2010/11/29/help-from-hindu-quarters-the-new-york-times-on-take-back-yoga/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Candy Gunther Brown — “Christian Yoga: Something New Under the Sun/Son?” Church History (2018) Cambridge University Press — Christian Yoga (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/christian-yoga-something-new-under-the-sunson/78FE706E80E4639116CD85D443F89C59?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Holy Yoga — “Christian Yoga” Holy Yoga — Christian Yoga (https://holyyoga.net/christian-yoga/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠; Holy Yoga — About (https://holyyoga.net/about/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Elliot Miller / Christian Research Institute — “Do Yoga Exercises Work With Christianity?” Christian Research Institute — Do Yoga Exercises Work With Christianity? (https://www.equip.org/articles/do-yoga-exercises-work-with-christianity/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ ABC Religion & Ethics — “How Problematic Is Christian Yoga?” (2016) ABC — How Problematic Is Christian Yoga? (https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sundayextra/how-problematic-is-christian-yoga/7365836?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Allyson Huval — “How American Christians Practice Yoga,” Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies (2024) Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies — How American Christians Practice Yoga (https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/jhcs/vol37/iss1/32/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Pew Research Center — “Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths” (2009) (Pew Research Center (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2009/12/09/many-americans-mix-multiple-faiths/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠) Pew Research Center — Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2009/12/09/many-americans-mix-multiple-faiths/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠; Pew Research Center — New Age Beliefs (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠; Pew Research Center — Americans’ Spiritual Practices (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/12/07/spiritual-practices/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Christianity Today — “Experts on Nontraditional Religions Try to Pin Down the New Age Movement” (1985) Christianity Today — Experts on Nontraditional Religions (https://www.christianitytoday.com/1985/05/experts-on-nontraditional-religions-try-to-pin-down-new/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Christianity Today — “Americans Get Religion in the New Age” (1986) Christianity Today — Americans Get Religion in the New Age (https://www.christianitytoday.com/1986/05/americans-get-religion-in-new-age-anything-is-permissible/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠⁠ Christianity Today — “Is the Antichrist in the World Today?” (1983) Christianity Today — Is the Antichrist in the World Today? (https://www.christianitytoday.com/1983/09/is-antichrist-in-world-today/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Lausanne Movement — Deliver Us From Evil: Consultation Statement and Report Lausanne Movement — Deliver Us From Evil (https://lausanne.org/content/lop/lop-29?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Derek Prince Ministries — Deliverance Teaching Derek Prince Ministries — Deliverance Teaching (https://www.derekprince.com/teaching/02-1?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Joseph P. Laycock — Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds (University of California Press, 2015) University of California Press — Dangerous Games (https://www.ucpress.edu/books/dangerous-games/paper?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Chick Publications — “Dark Dungeons” (1984) Chick Publications — Dark Dungeons (https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=0046&utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠⁠ Kenneth V. Lanning / FBI — Investigator’s Guide to Allegations of “Ritual” Child Abuse (1992) U.S. Department of Justice — Investigator’s Guide (https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/investigators-guide-allegations-ritual-child-abuse?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ American Psychological Association — Questions and Answers About Memories of Childhood Abuse APA — Memories of Childhood Abuse (https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma/memories?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Christianity Today — “Pokémon Power” (1999) Christianity Today — Pokémon Power (https://www.christianitytoday.com/1999/11/pokemon-power/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠⁠⁠ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — “Karl Popper” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Karl Popper (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Raymond S. Nickerson — “Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises” (1998) SAGE Journals — Confirmation Bias (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠ Dan W. Grupe & Jack B. Nitschke — “Uncertainty and Anticipation in Anxiety” (2013) Nature Reviews Neuroscience — Uncertainty and Anticipation in Anxiety (https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn3524?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠ Paul Rozin & Carol Nemeroff — Research on Magical Contagion ScienceDirect — The Laws of Sympathetic Magic (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0065260108603123?utm_source=chatgpt.com)⁠⁠ ⁠

3. 

   26 Aug 2026

   39: Therapist of the Satanic Panic: Barbara Snow

   CW: Discussions of SA and ritual abuse. In the 1980s, at the height of what's now widely known as the Satanic Panic, a Utah social worker Barbara Snow, and a colleague by the name of Teena Sorenson developed a framework for how children supposedly disclose abuse. A framework where denial, inconsistency, and even retraction could all be read as steps toward eventual confirmation. Snow’s work in one Utah community led to accusations of ritual and cult abuse against dozens of adults and at least one conviction, which was later overturned by the Utah Supreme Court over concerns about her interviewing techniques. Decades later, similar allegations resurfaced, but this time involving Snow's own family, and a teenage client named Teal Swan. Teal’s influence and story have drawn renewed attention in recent years. Despite Snow’s continued controversial therapy practices public records indicate she continues to practice in Salt Lake City today.

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

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