Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Not that long ago, a collection of voices like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Chris Hitchens,

and Ian Herssey-A-Lee were loudly proclaiming that God is a delusion and that religion is a poison.

However, in a recent essay for the Claremont

review of books, Matthew Schmitz argued that the new atheism, which surged after 9-11 and

decried religion as the source of conflict and cultural decline, has now largely run its course.

In fact, in its place he contends, there's a new theism. Schmitts highlighted two

books from 2025 as evidence. Ross Douthits believe why everyone should be religious, argues

that faith is plausible and personally necessary. And Jonathan Rouch's cross-purposes,

Christianity's broken bargain with democracy, defends religion, social utility, and

sustaining liberal democracy. To that list, one could add Charles Murray's taking religion

seriously, which makes a case for religion's significance, and Rod Dreher's living in wonder,

which argues for the re-enchantment of secular society. Taken altogether, what these

works represent is an emerging theism, Schmitz thinks, which, though currently elite-driven, might

have a broader cultural influence. Now, the critical next question, of course, is which God

are we talking about in this new theism? Because dabbling with theism is certainly not the same as

encountering Yahweh, the god that actually exists. C.S. Lewis once described his shock and

encountering a living God after first dabbling in some kind of vague spirituality. Quote,

but God himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, that's quite

another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars,

hushed suddenly, was that a real footstep in the hall? Supposing we really found him. We never

...