Two weeks ago I was speaking with an atheist about religion. She said to me that faith exists because it provides people comfort.

My instinctive reaction was to push back.

I replied by stressing Judaism’s intellectual tradition, its thousands of years of debate and philosophy, and the fact that faith and science do not necessarily have to be seen as alternatives. Those are all things I genuinely believe. For me, the strongest arguments for Judaism are not simply that faith provides comfort, but that there are deeper philosophical, historical and theological reasons that make it compelling.

Even so, I kept thinking about what she had said.

Perhaps she was wrong to reduce religion to comfort alone. But her comment raised an important question: what is it about religion that people find comforting? And perhaps more importantly, what is it providing that many people seem to be searching for today?

One of the defining features of modern Western society is its focus on the individual.

This has been one of the great achievements of the West. The recognition of human dignity, individual rights and freedom of conscience arose as a consequence of valuing the individual. These have, in my view, transformed societies in an overwhelmingly positive way.

The problem is not that we value the individual. The problem is what happens when the individual becomes disconnected from responsibility.

Over recent decades, the self-care movement has arisen: a cultural trend built around self-expression, self-love, self-improvement and personal fulfilment.

Again, much of this has had really positive consequences. The attention to self-care has resulted in people reflecting on themselves more. This has led to more people attending the gym, more people attending therapy and more people being in touch with how they feel. People are encouraged to reflect on their lives and think seriously about how they can improve.

Judaism has always valued this.

Chassidic thought places great importance on self-reflection. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi teaches in his book, the Tanya, that a........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)