The Sean McDowell Show Why Smart People Don’t Take Religion Seriously (And Why I Was Wrong)
Dec 16, 2025
Charles Murray, a Harvard and MIT-trained policy analyst and author of *Taking Religion Seriously*, discusses his transition from agnosticism to Christianity. He explores why educated individuals often dismiss religion, attributing it to cultural forces at elite institutions. Murray delves into intriguing topics like the implications of mathematics and the Big Bang, the influence of C.S. Lewis, and the historical reliability of the gospels. He reflects on personal experiences with spiritual sensitivity and the deep questions that led him to embrace faith.
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Subtle Socialization Against Religion
- Charles Murray says many well-educated people casually dismiss religion because they’ve been socialized to think “smart people don’t believe that stuff.”
- He urges unbelievers to confront religious material seriously because there’s substantial content worth engaging.
Wife’s Remark Sparked Curiosity
- Murray recounts his 1985 moment when his wife said she loved their daughter “far more than evolution requires,” which began his curiosity about spiritual reality.
- Her growth into Quaker spirituality over a decade nudged him toward exploring religion empirically and experientially.
Fine-Tuning Points To Intentionality
- Reading Just Six Numbers convinced Murray that the universe’s fine-tuning made chance implausible and multiverse speculation unsatisfying.
- He concluded intentionality behind the cosmos was the most plausible explanation.