Rod Dreher's Spiritual Journey in 'Living in Wonder' Challenges Secular Norms
A New Kind of 'Coming Out': Faith in a Secular Age
Rod Dreher isn’t looking for dramatic miracles or lightning-bolt conversions. His book Living in Wonder tells the story of a different search—a gradual, sometimes awkward step into faith that happens in the middle of real life. Jack Nicholson’s recent piece for The Critic peels back the layers of Dreher’s spiritual autobiography, calling it a 'spiritual coming out.' That term alone is enough to spark debate, especially when faith has become something people often keep private or even hide.
Dreher comes to faith as many do: not with certainty, but with questions. The unique twist in his story is his openness about doubt. Nicholson points out that Dreher starts from a place of skepticism, wrestling with big questions about meaning, purpose, and whether the universe is just an accident. Instead of skipping past the awkwardness, Dreher embraces it. He describes moments—often during the daily grind—where the surface of ordinary life thins and something sacred shines through. These aren’t fireworks-style revelations. They’re the kind of tiny, strange moments that anyone could miss if they weren’t paying attention.
Bumblers, Everyday Miracles, and the Search for Enchantment
What stands out is Dreher’s honesty about being a 'bumbler.' He doesn’t claim to have it all figured out. Instead, he approaches faith the way people actually live it—incomplete, messy, and sometimes clumsy. Nicholson connects this approach to the way more people, especially in the West, are now turning to spirituality on their own terms, often without the support of traditional institutions. The impact here is subtle but powerful: Dreher’s story isn’t just about him. It touches on something happening in culture right now—a wide, restless search for meaning that goes beyond old religious boundaries.
Nicholson, with his Oxford background in philosophy and theology, brings another layer to the discussion by putting Dreher’s story next to his own worldview. In past interviews, Nicholson has admitted to a kind of 'God sense'—a feeling that maybe there’s something more, even if he’s skeptical about churches and religious dogma. His review doesn’t hide this tension. He uses Dreher’s story as a springboard to explore how faith and doubt are not always enemies. Sometimes, they coexist, making the journey all the more human.
The big shift happening here is the move from collective religious certainty to personal spiritual searching. Nicholson picks up on this and highlights how Dreher’s story feels both foreign and deeply familiar. People are hungry for meaning, and as organized religion fades in the public eye, more are reaching for spiritual experiences that make sense in the messiness of modern life. Nicholson’s review doesn’t try to gloss over how complicated this search can be, or how faith sits uncomfortably with doubt. Instead, he treats Dreher’s spiritual awakening as a mirror of what’s happening in society—a mix of wonder, confusion, skepticism, and occasional glimpses of the sacred in the everyday.
The real payoff in Nicholson’s article is the way it frames Rod Dreher not as a preacher but as a fellow traveler, stumbling through questions the same way many do. The small, mundane moments Dreher writes about aren’t just personal anecdotes—they’re invitations to look for meaning in unexpected places. And that might be the most relatable takeaway of all.