Is devout faith a blessing — or curse?

The story of a man who lost his Catholic faith has implications for both sides of the secular-religious divide

Devout faith
(Image credit: (Dima Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images))

Among the devoutly religious — fervently pious Catholics, fundamentalist Protestants, Salafist Muslims, ultra-orthodox Jews — you'll sometimes hear it said that the rampant anxiety, depression, and other forms of emotional suffering in modernity are a product of the decline of faith.

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." That's how St. Augustine famously put it: we want, we crave, we long for God, with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might. When we find him, we rejoice, at last feeling at home in the comforting arms of a father who will guide us, protect us, decide for us; who will relieve us of the crushing burden of groping our way through life, lost, aimless, confronted by endless choices.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.