Oludamini Ogunnaike

In this engaging discussion, philosopher Oludamini Ogunnaike explores Yoruba beliefs about the supreme deity Olodumare and Orishas. Hindu monk Swami Medhananda shares insights on personal and impersonal aspects of the divine, while Buddhist nun Venerable Dr. Yifa outlines the lack of a creator God in Buddhism, discussing various realms of deities. Yujin Nagasawa provides a comparative overview of monotheism, polytheism, and non-theism, revealing diverse understandings of the ultimate across cultures.

What better topic for discussion than beauty, muses Oludamini Ogunnaike, a regular contributor to Renovatio and a scholar of Islam in north and west Africa. Beauty is inseparable from truth, goodness, and justice, yet reference to it is missing from many of our most important discussions on those matters. The neglect of beauty has been detrimental to communities everywhere, notes Ogunnaike; it’s often seen as superfluous, compartmentalized from other values, or reserved for the elite when, in fact, beauty remains an existential need for every human being. Ubaydullah Evans engages with Ogunnaike on the quiddity of beauty, beauty as it relates to a fuller understanding of God, and the correlation between beauty and spiritual maturity. Oludamini Ogunnaike is assistant professor of African religious thought at the University of Virginia.Ubaydullah Evans is the scholar-in-residence of the American Learning Institute for Muslims (ALIM) and an instructor with the Ta’leef Collective.For show notes, visit our website: 

Garrick Allen, scholar of manuscripts who traces shared framing across sacred texts; Kutter Callaway, media and theology expert on collaborative art fostering empathy; Jamal Elias, scholar of Islamic visual culture on contested imagery; Oludamini Ogunnaike, philosopher exploring arts in social and metaphysical meaning. They discuss art as a silent theology, paratextual similarities, interfaith collaboration, controversies over images, and art’s role in social cohesion.