Religion’s Refusal to Die

“God is dead”—or so Friedrich Nietzsche famously said toward the end of the 19th century. A century earlier, Jean-Jacques Rousseau observed that “religion, discredited everywhere by philosophy, had lost its ascendancy even over the people.” And yet, with the 21st century well underway, God refuses to die His predicted death. Over the past few years, religion seems to be becoming more—not less—politically relevant. Why has God refused to retreat from the public square, much less die, despite the Enlightenment critique of religion?

In this conversation, as part of a conference at the American Enterprise Institute, Rabbi Soloveichik explores these questions and more with the professor Patrick Deneen and Tikvah Senior Director Jonathan Silver.