Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Rabbi David Wolpe has spent his career thinking seriously about belief. He debated the New Atheists at the height of their influence, led one of the largest synagogues in the country, taught at Harvard Divinity School, and has written widely about theology in the modern age. Along the way, Newsweek once named him the most influential rabbi in America, and The Jerusalem Post listed him among the 50 most influential Jews in the world.
Wolpe now sees liberal religion in clear decline, and argues that a vast and often neglected space exists between believing in an old man in the sky who dispenses rewards and punishments, and dismissing religion as absurd.
I sat down with Wolpe to talk about the challenge modernity poses to faith, and his case for religion without literalism. Without a religious foundation, he argues, societies begin to drift toward anomie and meaninglessness. When we see these trends emerging in America, we’re really seeing a society that has absorbed religious moral norms while abandoning the beliefs behind them.
In our conversation, we also discussed rising antisemitism, what he saw on Harvard’s campus after October 7, and whether Zionism is still a useful concept.
0:00-Intro
1:10- Who Are You—and What Does Being a Rabbi Mean Now?
4:17- The New Atheists: What They Nailed, What They Missed
6:45- Why Judaism “Belief” Doesn’t Look Like Christianity’s
12:13- Why Judaism Modernized (and Islam Didn’t, at Scale)
15:50- Trump, Musk, and “Paganism”: What Wolpe Actually Meant
19:48- When Politics Turns Religious: Activism, Faith, and Moral Certainty
34:28- Defining Antisemitism: How It’s Different From Other Bigotry
36:43- Campus Antisemitism vs. Free Speech: Where’s the Line?
42:21- Slogans as Weapons: “River to Sea” and “Globalize the Intifada”
49:16- Zionism: Why the Word Still Exists (and Why It’s a PR Disaster)
53:51- Enlightenment Values vs. Religious Values: Friends or Enemies?
56:23- Cancer, Brain Surgery, and the Medical System (Not God)
1:00:50- Wrap-Up + Where to Find Wolpe
Rabbi David Wolpe has spent his career thinking seriously about belief. He debated the New Atheists at the height of their influence, led one of the largest synagogues in the country, taught at Harvard Divinity School, and has written widely about theology in the modern age. Along the way, Newsweek once named him the most influential rabbi in America, and The Jerusalem Post listed him among the 50 most influential Jews in the world.
Wolpe now sees liberal religion in clear decline, and argues that a vast and often neglected space exists between believing in an old man in the sky who dispenses rewards and punishments, and dismissing religion as absurd.
I sat down with Wolpe to talk about the challenge modernity poses to faith, and his case for religion without literalism. Without a religious foundation, he argues, societies begin to drift toward anomie and meaninglessness. When we see these trends emerging in America, we’re really seeing a society that has absorbed religious moral norms while abandoning the beliefs behind them.
In our conversation, we also discussed rising antisemitism, what he saw on Harvard’s campus after October 7, and whether Zionism is still a useful concept.
0:00-Intro
1:10- Who Are You—and What Does Being a Rabbi Mean Now?
4:17- The New Atheists: What They Nailed, What They Missed
6:45- Why Judaism “Belief” Doesn’t Look Like Christianity’s
12:13- Why Judaism Modernized (and Islam Didn’t, at Scale)
15:50- Trump, Musk, and “Paganism”: What Wolpe Actually Meant
19:48- When Politics Turns Religious: Activism, Faith, and Moral Certainty
34:28- Defining Antisemitism: How It’s Different From Other Bigotry
36:43- Campus Antisemitism vs. Free Speech: Where’s the Line?
42:21- Slogans as Weapons: “River to Sea” and “Globalize the Intifada”
49:16- Zionism: Why the Word Still Exists (and Why It’s a PR Disaster)
53:51- Enlightenment Values vs. Religious Values: Friends or Enemies?
56:23- Cancer, Brain Surgery, and the Medical System (Not God)
1:00:50- Wrap-Up + Where to Find Wolpe
