
We of Little Faith
Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (and Maybe You Should Too)
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Narrated by:
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Kate Cohen
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By:
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Kate Cohen
An atheist’s impassioned call for nonbelievers to be honest with themselves and their families about their lack of belief—and help change the American cultural conversation.
Even though a growing number of Americans don’t believe in god, many remain reluctant to say so out loud. Kate Cohen argues that not only is it rewarding for those of little faith to announce themselves, it’s crucial to our country’s future.
As she details the challenges and joys of fully embracing atheism—especially as a parent—Washington Post contributing columnist Kate Cohen does not dismiss religion as dangerous or silly. Instead, she investigates religion’s appeal in order to explain the ways we can thrive without it.
Americans who don’t believe in god call themselves atheists, agnostics, humanists, skeptics, and freethinkers. Sometimes they are called “nones,” based on the box they checked on a survey identifying their religion. And sometimes they call themselves Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist.
Whatever you call yourself, if you don’t believe there’s a supernatural being in charge of the universe, it’s time to join the chorus of We of Little Faith.
©2023 Kate Cohen. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
“We of Little Faith is a deeply personal, often funny, and always astute look at what we stand to gain when we question not just the existence of God, but all of the ways in which our societies, cultures, traditions, and tropes assume there's a big man in the sky. A trenchant and thoughtful read, this is the perfect book for people who are atheism-curious, and for those who are religious but open-minded.”—Jill Filipovic, CNN columnist, author of The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness
“This is a wonderful book. While many popular books about atheism are written with a goal of deconverting readers, Kate Cohen takes a welcome detour in We of Little Faith. By sharing her own religious journey, Kate shows us that atheism doesn't come from a place of rebellion, but rather a desire to embrace radical honesty. We of Little Faith is a delightful journey through both the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of atheism.”—Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist podcast
“We of Little Faith is a must-read for every American, whether atheist or Zoroastrian or somewhere in between. Cohen’s witty, compassionate take on America’s religious culture is atheism as it should be, as it truly is: fulfilled, happy, and true to one’s self. This is the quotidian atheism your friends and family may be too timid to discuss, but which Cohen illuminates with absorbing eloquence. If you think about religion, you owe it to yourself to read this book.”—Andrew L. Seidel, author of American Crusade
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A must read for the modern atheist
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Highly recommended
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"beautiful"
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Encouraging!
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What we all need to hear.
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If you don’t believe in god - don’t be afraid to own it!
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The author, Kate Cohen, is a Washington Post columnist and as such this is really well written, and I listened to the Audible book which she narrates which is always a plus.
Kate Cohen grew up Jewish but never really believed in a god and and met her husband, who she met in college was also raised Jewish but is a non-believer. For a while she pretended to believe to appease family members and associates but came to the conclusion it was better to be true to herself and openly embrace reality. When raising their children Kate and her husband decided to be truthful with their kids about how the world really worked. This caused some friction between her family and her the older generation of believers as one would expect.
The book is divided in to two parts: The Making of an Atheist, in which Kate describes her upbringing and path to rejecting belief and raising her own kids in the truth; and, What We Lose is What We Gain, in which she describes how she navigates this supernatural-haunted country in terms of religious rites of passage, holidays, and church attendance.
The two main parts are sandwiched between a prologue and an epilogue. In the prologue she recounts the story of Rebecca Vizmun, who in in 2013 was interviewed on CNN after a tornado destroyed her home and killed 24 people in her town. Vizmun was asked by Wolf Blitzer if she was thanking the Lord for saving her daughter and husband and she responded by saying "I'm actually an atheist". Post-disaster piety thrown in the mud where it belongs. The epilogue includes a delightful story of her young daughter setting an adult straight about Santa Claus in a post-Christmas conversation and puts an exclamation point on her message to get out there be honest - "everyone who conceals the truth makes it harder for other people to be honest".
In the section Why I Don't Call Myself an Agnostic she explains that she is sure god does not exist and offers her four key points for non-belief:
1. The Greek myths are obviously stories, the Norse myths are obviously stories, L Ron Hubbard and Joseph Smith obviously just made that shit up. Extrapolate!
2. Life is confusing and death is scary, naturally humans want to believe that someone capable is in charge of everything and we that somehow continue to live after we die, but wanting doesn't make it so.
3. The holy books that underpin some of the biggest theist religions are riddled with "facts" now disproved by science and "morality" now disavowed by modern adherence. Extrapolate!
4. The existence of child rape and other unfathomable cruelties.
She goes on to say, "If you are not using the term 'god' to mean a deity with the capacity to design, to choose, to create a being actively engaged in human affairs and instead are using it describing nature itself then you're falling in to the trap that Daniel Dennett calls "belief in belief in god."" I think a lot of people think this way. It's obvious there is no one up in the clouds pulling puppet strings or watching over us. We are on our own and need to face up to that, but until society comes to its senses, us atheists will continue be the oddballs.
I loved this. I've read a lot of similar types of coming out books so some of it felt repetitive but I appreciate how well written this one was and the confident, unabrasive tone. 4.5 stars.
Excellent Argument for Embracing the Truth
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I think this is a worthy read whether you are an atheist or not. If you are not, then it’s a non-judgmental look at another group’s perspective. If you are, it has a lot of insight on how to stay true to your beliefs while maintaining the best parts of religious practice, such as the community.
Highly recommend, well worth the read.
Excellent reflective book
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Outstanding
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