Atheist though I am, my wife's rabbi insisted on parading me around on his shoulders as part of recent Simchat Torah festivities. As a volunteer security guard for the synagogue, I was weighed down with weapons and body armor, so it's good he doesn't skip leg day during his trips to the gym. Less vigorous was my adult son's baptism at a Tucson church earlier this year. My Jewish wife, Wendy, and I were bemused by congratulations from members of the congregation on Anthony's thoughtful pre-dousing speech. We knew we'd raised a good man, but we had little to do with his faith. For that matter, I'm not really sure how an atheist married to a once-secular woman ended up in a multi-faith household.
But I'm not alone in seeing changes in the religious landscape and (maybe) a religious revival. And while I'm not a believer, I see people grasping for meaning. For me, the reinvigoration of time-tested belief systems compatible with a free society beats the adoption of newer and explicitly illiberal religion substitutes.
