Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious
By Ross Douthat
A Review by Dwight A. Moody
Ross Douthat is a regular columnist for the New York Times, which means he knows how to write learned, lucid prose. This 200+ page book is further evidence of that, for sure, and also of the pervasive influence of C. S. Lewis, the English scholar and author who wrote scores of books, including four that began as radio talks and were eventually gathered into one book with the title Mere Christianity. Douthat alludes to this book on page 7 when he describes his book as dealing “with mere religion, not just mere Christianity.” He quotes Lewis formally only once, note 6 in the final chapter (page 196 with reference on page 216); but he references Lewis by name on page 10 (weight of glory) and page 129 (Narnia) and alludes to Lewis on page 141 with the phrase “further up and further in.”
But on a larger plane, the entire book seems to have the feel of Lewis. The phrase on page 9—“already mystery and magic and enchantment seem to be rushing back into the world”—is such a fair summary of the influence of Lewis, not only on Douthat but upon, well, everybody. The Narnia Chronicles and the space trilogy are explicit about these things, but there are essays as well, and beyond that, the influence Lewis had of J.R.R. Tolkien must be mentioned, and all the fantastical novels that have filled our shelves and our screens since then, from A Wrinkle in Time to Star Trek and Star Wars to This Present Darkness and Left Behind and who can even name all the rest: it is an exploding universe of literature and imagination.
Imagination made Lewis famous—see The Screwtape Letters—but it was reason that made the radio talks influential: to the world and to Douthat, and for three reasons. First, there is a kindness to the rationality of both Lewis and Douthat, a gentleness, a winsomeness of spirit that is compelling and infectious. It enables Douthat to write gently of religions other than his own, of Christian denominations other than his own. Both are infected by the spirit of our age, that sees value in the other, that makes the good confession while humbly acknowledging that other people, other ways, and other reasons can be compelling and helpful and even true. This book by Douthat and the argument he makes are gentle; yes, it is strong, but it is also gentle, and that is one more reason it is so attractive, reminding me of the Generous Orthodoxy of Brian McLaren.
Both Lewis and Douthat have a similar starting point. Lewis, you remember, begins with the common awareness that all communities, all cultures accept that some things are right and some things are wrong. There is disagreement on what things are right and what things are wrong, but the point Lewis made is this: we all agree that there is right and there is wrong; and this awareness is, as he says, a “clue to the meaning of the universe.” Douthat is similar, beginning with the commonsense awareness of some sort of design in the ways created things appear to us. In fact, in the Introduction, Douthat provides a simple outline of his argument, and it seems useful to quote it in full:
“The first three chapters make the case for taking a religious perspective seriously, covering the evidence for design and purpose in the universe and the indicators that human life was specifically selected for by this design; the way that human consciousness serves a strange key fitted to the order of the cosmos; and the persistence and credibility of spiritual and supernatural experiences even in a supposedly disenchanted age” (8).
Douthat continues: “The next four chapters provide a guide for moving from a general religious disposition to a specific religious practice: a case for join a larger faith tradition rather than traveling solo on your quest; a sketch of the different issues, choices, and decision points that might push you toward one tradition or another; a consideration of the biggest stumbling blocks modern people face in accepting a religion; and finally a brief word of encouragement for the sojourner who feels like any religious choice is arbitrary” (8-9).
I will return to the first quoted paragraph in a moment, but the final sentence in Douthat’s introduction is the finale of his argument: “Only then … does the book become more explicitly Christian, analyzing my own Christianity within my taking-religion-seriously framework ….” (9). His first-person story (chapter 8, 185-206) is not a conversion story per se, and thus lacks the power of Lewis’ own story (told in Surprised by Joy). But it does have similarities to Lewis: both began in the Episcopal Church, both drifted away—Lewis into indifference and atheism, and Douthat into Evangelical and Pentecostal religion—and both came back to near where they started: Lewis all the way to his Episcopal starting point and Douthat into Roman Catholicism (although there is a lively debate in Lewis scholarship that Lewis might have ended up in Rome, as they say, had he lived longer).
I have a long-standing interest in conversion stories, so I noted Douthat’s use of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s journey from Islam to Christianity, referenced in his wonderful end-of-book Notes (full of other provocative titles). And I wish Douthat had told us more about himself, more than that he suffers from, apparently, Lyme’s Disease (159), that he is 45 years old (189), and that his wife Abigail Tucker is also a scholar and a writer (note 11 on page 210). These three things pull me back to the first paragraph quoted above, that illustrates a remarkable feature of Douthat’s book: namely, his use of the triplet.
The Apostle Paul gave us the best illustration of this when he penned, “Now there abides faith, hope, and love” (in First Corinthians 13:13). Or think of the opening lines of Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. Now read the paragraph above and note the triple style: design, consciousness, and experience. I was halfway through the book before I realized how ubiquitous is this pattern. It struck me so strongly that I started marking and counting and, finally, retracing my reading (and note the threesome in my own sentence!). Chapter one includes 29 examples of this in 10 pages, including the above referenced “mystery and magic and enchantment” (9). Or consider this sentence: “To be clear, I think there are many visions and miracles and compelling mystical experiences that speak to the credibility of Christianity” (190). There are at least 34 of these triplets in the final chapter!
I don’t know what to make of this pattern, if anything. I do know what to make of the book. It is the sort of book you might want to gift to a friend who is wandering or searching or bored. It is not a casual read even if it is rather cozy, and cogent, even compelling. I will put it on my shelf beside that of Lewis realizing, however, it will be a long while before we know whether Believe carries the literary and spiritual punch of Mere Christianity. Furthermore, I am not sure I agree with his basic premise: that everybody needs to choose a religion and, for the most part, any religion will do!
And I wonder if he is right about stumbling blocks to religious faith. He names three: evil in the world, wickedness in religion, and restrictive rules about sex. He is undoubtedly right about the question of evil, but is the issue of sexual rules more significant than millennia of patriarchy or the sheer authoritarianism imbedded in so many religions? The flood of TikTok “why-I-gave-up-religion” testimonials might push Douthat to revise his thinking.
I will be interested to hear or read what you make of the book, should you think or feel or surmise that it is just the book you need to read. Let me know if you want my copy. I will send it to you, just as a friend sent it to me!
