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Christopher Lane considers the case of a man who has lost his faith, but continues to practice his religion.
‘I continue to believe that religion brings the potential for a great many good things” says the man. “I could probably continue going through the motions, except that I believe in morality and honesty, and I hate pretending to be something that I’m not. It would be very hurtful for my wife to hear about my loss of faith, but it might be even more damaging for me to continue lying. Should I maintain my secret as long as possible in the hopes that it never becomes necessary to reveal it?”
He concludes by quoting John Patrick Shanley
Doubt “requires more courage than conviction does, and more energy; because conviction is a resting place and doubt is infinite.” Doubt is, he says, “a passionate exercise” we have to undertake if we’re to test our beliefs and assess whether they might be misplaced,”
Lane is the Pearce Miller Research Professor of Literature at Northwestern University and the author of Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness.
Shandley is the author of Pulitzer prize-winning play Doubt: A Parable
Read: Losing Our Religion: “Why Doubt Is a Passionate Exercise.” by Christoper Lane
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