Not Everyone Believes, Ross Douthat

This podcast examines, page by page, the ideas proposed by Christian writer Ross Douthat in his book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.

In his book, Ross Douthat claims that religious belief in general, and Christian belief specifically, is the rational choice. Do his arguments hold up to scrutiny?

Why make this podcast? Well, not everyone believes. We want to know why Ross Douthat thinks that’s so terrible, and why he’s using his power as a member of the media elite to try to get everybody in America to believe the same thing.

Clifford Cook 11/11/26 Clifford Cook 11/11/26

Why Should We Let Ross Douthat’s Church Control Our Sex Lives?

Ross Douthat ends chapter 6 of his book Believe by presuming that allowing celibate priests to control the details of people’s sex lives is a normal thing that people should have no trouble agreeing to. How does Douthat not see how weird that is? Ross Douthat ends chapter 6 of his book Believe by presuming that allowing celibate priests to control the details of people’s sex lives is a normal thing that people should have no trouble agreeing to. How does Douthat not see how weird that is? Does he think we don't remember how the Catholic Church helped its priests to sexually abuse little children?

Clifford Cook 11/3/26 Clifford Cook 11/3/26

Following Magical Omens Is Not Rational, Ross Douthat

Following omens is the opposite of building a logical line of thinking. In chapter 5 of his book, Ross Douthat is advising his readers to presume that they should choose a religious path on the basis of vague intuition, not by thinking about the choice rationally.

Clifford Cook 11/2/26 Clifford Cook 11/2/26

The Flawed Logic In Ross Douthat’s Arguments For Christianity

Ross Douthat promised to provide readers with a reasonable, logical argument in favor of religious belief, but his writing frequently blunders into profound failures of simple logic.

Clifford Cook 10/24/26 Clifford Cook 10/24/26

Christianity Is A Map Into Fantasyland, Ross Douthat

On page 114, in chapter 4 of his book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, Ross Douthat argues that if everyone else is jumping off a cliff, you should do it too. Also, Douthat writes that he has a map that takes you from Bangor, Maine to an invisible city that doesn’t exist. Yes, Ross Douthat’s book is that kooky.

Clifford Cook 10/21/26 Clifford Cook 10/21/26

Ross Douthat Won't Face Facts Of Faith Healing And Near Death Experiences

In chapter 3 of his book Believe, Ross Douthat completely ignores the deadly consequences of faith healing, and doesn't bring up studies that find that only a tiny minority of people bring up even the most banal reports of lights or sounds in near death experiences in non-biased research.

Clifford Cook 10/9/26 Clifford Cook 10/9/26

The Chaos of God Does Not Support Science, Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat argues that the Christian universe is full of magical monsters and spells but then says that Christianity is about an ordered universe. Douthat can't have it both ways.

Clifford Cook 10/6/26 Clifford Cook 10/6/26

Catholic Fascism Is Not An Obligation, Ross Douthat

In his book Believe, Ross Douthat insists that his trad Catholic religion is an obligation for everybody on Earth. That's not a moderate position.

Clifford Cook 10/5/26 Clifford Cook 10/5/26

You Can’t Blame Atheists For A Christian Disaster, Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat claims that loss of Christianity has ruined American society even as the USA remains majority Christian and the American government is exclusively controlled by Christian Nationalists.

Clifford Cook 10/4/26 Clifford Cook 10/4/26

Nonbelief Is Bigger Than Regret and Christianity, Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat demonstrates his inability to grasp the vast conceptual space of atheism in comparison to the narrow scope of religion and Christianity in particular.

Clifford Cook 9/29/26 Clifford Cook 9/29/26

Can Reason Ever Begin In Fear?

Ross Douthat, in the book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, claims that he will make a rational argument, but even in the acknowledgements, he tells his readers that they should BEGIN by being afraid of the Christian god, motivated by religion first, not by reason.