Nearly Persuaded
Taking Religion Seriously by Charles Murray
When I started reading Taking Religion Seriously, I was expecting a social scientist’s analysis of the importance of religious institutions and communities for the civic health of society. Such a book would be in line with Murray’s previous books, such as Coming Apart. Instead, Taking Religion Seriously tells of one man’s progress from the atheism of his college days to an acceptance of the existence of the divine in his twilight years. The book is a quick read (just 100 pages, not including back matter), but it describes a journey that has taken Murray decades to make.
Whether he realizes it or not, Murray follows the typical outline of a conversion narrative: it begins with the author’s account of his early years of unbelief, then traces his journey to accepting God, and ends with a discussion of the author’s new outlook. It is a pattern that Christian writers have followed since St. Augustine in his Confessions.
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Russell T. Warne is a research psychologist who has published scholarly articles and a book about IQ and human intelligence. He currently works as the Chief Scientist for RIOT IQ and is the creator of the Reasoning and Intelligence Online Test (https://riotiq.com). Readers interested in Dr. Warne’s work can find his professional website at https://russellwarne.com and follow him on Facebook and X.
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