If you look closely, you can argue that we’re starting to see the beginnings of a religious revival. Or at least, people (including young people) seriously reconsidering religion.
Now, even if they don’t believe in God, they think that the practice of religion, like keeping Shabbat or going to church every Sunday, has clear benefits—community, a moral code to teach their kids, a rhythm of life. Religion, in other words, is a good program.
But my guest today, the brilliant Ross Douthat, has a different perspective. Ross makes the case that we should be more religious, not in order to cure society’s ills, but because it is true. Because it’s the best or most accurate way to understand the world around us. Belief in God, he says, doesn’t require a leap of faith. In fact, he says, it is entirely rational.
Ross is a best-selling author, a columnist at The New York Times, and the host of a new podcast called Interesting Times. His latest book, which we talk about today, is called Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. The release is perfectly timed to this strange moment of “plagues, populism, psychedelic encounters, and AI voices in the air,” as Ross writes. He argues that in our age of loneliness and hunger for spirituality and meaning, it’s not enough to simply argue that religion is good. We need to be religious to sustain Western civilization. He argues that it’s time for people to actually become religious. In this interview, I press him hard on that distinction.
And right before Easter, as billions of Christians get ready to celebrate the miracle, I’m wondering if this return that Ross suggests is even possible. And if it is, will it fix our many problems?
Today on Honestly, I sit down with Ross to understand why he thinks belief in God is the most logical way to understand our world, how he rationalizes his faith, and how he thinks listeners—even those who don’t think of themselves as religious—can come to be believers. It’s an amazing conversation.
