Believe Audiobook By Ross Douthat cover art

Believe

Why Everyone Should Be Religious

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Believe

By: Ross Douthat
Narrated by: Ross Douthat
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.74

Buy for $22.74

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Read by the author.

Do you ever wish you had more faith, but struggle to make religious belief fit with modern assumptions about the world and human life? With a rare combination of empathy, open-mindedness, and persuasive argument, Ross Douthat offers a blueprint for thinking one's way from doubt to belief.

As a columnist for the New York Times who writes often about spiritual topics for a skeptical audience, Ross Douthat understands that many of us--whether we are agnostic, somewhat religious, or longtime believers—want to have more faith than we do. But we think we can't believe the way our ancestors did, knowing what we know now—can we?

With clear and straightforward arguments, Believe shows how religious belief makes sense of the order of the cosmos and our place within it, illuminates the mystery of consciousness, and explains the persistent reality of encounters with the supernatural.

Douthat argues that in light of what we know today it should be harder to not have faith than to have it. With empathy, clarity, and rigor, Douthat explores:

  • Why nonbelief requires ignoring what our reasoning faculties tell us about the world
  • How modern scientific developments make a religious worldview more credible, not less
  • Why it's entirely reasonable to believe in mystical and supernatural realities
  • How an open-minded religious quest should proceed amid the diversity of religious faiths
  • How Douthat's own Christianity is informed by his blueprint for belief

Highly relevant for our current moment, Believe offers a pathway for thinking your way from doubt into belief, from uncertainty about our place in the universe into a confidence that we are here for a reason.

©2025 Ross Douthat (P)2025 Zondervan
Apologetics Christianity Philosophy Religious Studies Theology Paranormal Fantasy Agnostic

What listeners say about Believe

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very timely and compelling.

Well-reasoned propositions that are out of step with current Western culture. All the more reason to consider the propositions with vigor.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling

Douthat accomplishes exactly what he set out to do - this book is an extremely compelling case for belief in a world that seeks to stamp it out. His writing is dense but (mostly) accessible and his common-sense analogies successfully unpack some of the most challenging topics. Perhaps most pleasantly surprising: this book contains only a sensible amount of repetition eg to make a point clear. In contrast to the all-too-common "I have 40% of a book so I'll just repeat myself for the next 120 pages" pattern I've observed elsewhere. I'm recommending this book to everyone I know.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfection

This is Douthat at his absolute best. It is the best conceived, best reasoned defense of faith — or even the nature of the world around us — that I have ever encountered.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent

I'm going to immediately give it a second listen, and probably by a physical copy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!