Not that long ago, a collection of voices such as Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali loudly proclaimed that God is a delusion and religion a poison. However, in a recent essay for the Claremont Review of Books, Matthew Schmitz argued that the New Atheism—which surged after 9/11 and decried religion as the source of conflict and cultural decline—has largely run its course. In its place, he contended, is a New Theism.

Schmitz highlighted two 2025 books as evidence. Ross Douthat’s Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious argues that faith is both plausible and personally necessary. Jonathan Rauch’s Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy defends religion’s social utility in sustaining liberal democracy. To that list could be added Charles Murray’s Taking Religion Seriously, which offers an empirical case for religion’s significance, and Rod Dreher’s Living in Wonder, which argues for the re-enchantment of secular society.

Taken together, these works represent an emerging theism which, though currently elite-driven, could have a broader cultural influence. The critical next question, of course, is which God are we talking about here? Dabbling with theism is not the same as encountering Yahweh, the God who actually exists.

C.S. Lewis once described his shock of encountering a living God after dabbling in vague spirituality:

But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord . . . that is quite another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? . . .Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?

True faith is not merely belief in a “spiritual realm.” Rather, it is built on three baseline, eternal truths that ground the Christian worldview.

First, God exists. This assumption distinguishes theism from atheism, materialism, and agnosticism. Scripture begins with this assumption, that “in the beginning, God…” Beyond Scripture, a long line of thinkers—from Aquinas to Turretin to Shedd—have offered reasons to consider God’s existence.

Second, God is eternal and personal. This assumption distinguishes Christianity from pantheism, the idea that everything is ‘god,’ and polytheism, the idea that there are many gods. A ‘god’ that is a force is to be used, not known. If God is eternal and a person, His will is ultimate.

Third, God has chosen to reveal Himself, ultimately in Christ. This assumption distinguishes Christianity from all other religions, including other theistic religions. As Jesus prayed in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

True theism cannot be reduced to a ‘god’ of our making or who relates to us on our terms. Rather, it begins with God as He is. Thankfully, God is knowable, but that is only because He chose to make Himself known. It is to that revelation that we are primarily responsible. As Deuteronomy 29:29 teaches, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us. . .” Or as the hymnist William Cowper wrote: “God is his own interpreter, And he will make it plain.”

Christianity affirms that God also reveals Himself in His Creation and through His Word. Paul wrote in Romans 1:19–20 that God’s eternal power and divine nature are clearly perceived through Creation from the beginning. Theologians call this “general revelation,” and according to Paul, it is robust and thorough. However, the same passage reveals the human tendency to suppress that knowledge in rebellion and wickedness.

Thus, God’s full and final revelation, as the author of Hebrews wrote, is in Jesus Christ, as Savior. We must respond to this “special revelation” to be saved. Thus, Christians affirm that both God’s created reality and His divine Word impose themselves on us, and we are without excuse for ignoring either.

Perhaps the most inspiring story of this “New Theism,” is that of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who came to a powerful belief in Jesus Christ after rejecting Islam (a different theism) and atheism. Now, by Ali’s own admission, she is truly free in Christ. Her story is told in the film Truth Rising, with an even fuller account told in the new Truth Rising Study. Learn more at truthrising.com/colson.

There is good reason to hope that a New Theism is emerging and signaling a renewed openness to religion in American life. However, this is more of an opportunity and calling for those who know God beyond some vague spirituality or utilitarian appeal. We must use this moment to point to Jesus Christ, the fullness of God in bodily form and the only one who can, as the Bible tells us, “mak[e] all things new.”

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