Praxis Circle is pleased to introduce our newest Contributor, Dr. Molly Worthen! She is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Christianity Today. She is also the author of her most recent book, Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump (2025). As Dr. Worthen shares in our Praxis Circle interview, her intellectual curiosity is what led her deep into the study of Christianity—not as a believer at first, but as a historian fascinated by the evolution of ideas. Yet it was through this very study that her heart and mind began to change. Watch our full conversation by starting the playlist above, or continue reading to get a glimpse of some of our favorite moments.
From Agnosticism to Christianity
Fascinated with Worthen’s conversion story, we made sure to ask her about the events that led to this massive worldview shift from “outsider looking in” to committing to Christianity personally. A good portion of the interview is dedicated to this retelling, and what she shares is an inspiring testimony of coming to faith through an open mind and the pursuit of truth. Worthen explains how her first serious reexamination of Christianity’s historical claims was sparked by a correspondence with author, apologist, and pastor J.D. Greear. What began as academic inquiry became a personal reckoning with the supernatural, the Resurrection, and the reality of faith. As she puts it, “If I was willing to suspend disbelief in the supernatural, then the Christian account of the Resurrection is actually the best explanation for all the events that follow.” Here is that clip below:
Addressing the Problem of Evil
Worthen’s interview also covers a whole range of religious, theological, political, and philosophical questions, with one of the most interesting being perhaps how she has processed the problem of evil (a topic she has requently taught on) as a recent convert. Drawing on Timothy Keller’s insights (the gifted pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, who personally recruited her to the faith) and her own study of scripture, she explores how Christianity uniquely faces suffering head-on through the incarnation: a God who weeps with His people. “The thing that makes the Christian God different,” she notes, “is that although He knew He would raise Lazarus, He wept.” It is this personal God who transforms pain into participation and questioning into communion. From a philosophical standpoint, she talks about her shift to the belief that the moral framing of good and evil requires theism, and for anyone to reject Christianity because of the existence of evil might not realize that they are using a set of principles that are inherently Christian.
Charisma & Spirituality
We also ask Worthen to summarize her recent book, Spellbound, which is a sweeping cultural study that asks what happens when humanity’s innate spiritual impulse detaches from traditional religion. The project began, she explains, with two questions: how could Donald Trump provoke such powerful, polarized reactions, and what does that say about charisma, belief, and modern faith? At the same time, Worthen observed that while pollsters told a story of religious decline, the human hunger for meaning had not disappeared but simply found new objects of devotion.
“I’ve always believed humans are, in some fundamental way, religious creatures,” she says. “We seek to connect our puny mortal existence to a big transcendent narrative that lends it meaning.” In Spellbound, Worthen traces this impulse across four centuries of American history, exploring how our modern “secular” world remains charged with sacred energy—whether through political movements, celebrity culture, or personal quests for transcendence. Her work suggests that even in an age of disbelief, we cannot escape our longing for the divine.
Christian Orthodoxy Amidst Diversity
Worthen reflects on the remarkable breadth of Christian orthodoxy and how the church’s many traditions fit together within what C.S. Lewis famously called “mere Christianity.” Responding to a question about unity across Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox streams, Worthen affirms the deep common ground shared through the Nicene Creed, despite long-standing doctrinal debates such as the Filioque clause. What makes her answer especially compelling is how personal it is. Worthen explains that God “humbled” her by converting her within a context she never expected: a Southern Baptist megachurch. For someone who spent years in a secular academic world shaped by certain assumptions about evangelicalism, this experience opened her eyes to the diversity of Christian expression and the need for humility within it.
Worthen goes on to describe how different Christian traditions serve the varied temperaments, cultures, and spiritual needs of believers around the world. She urges Christians to remain attentive both to the strengths and blind spots of their own churches and to draw from the wider Christian heritage to deepen their understanding. In her teaching, she often introduces students—most of whom were formed in American Protestant contexts—to the radically different emphases of Eastern Orthodoxy on mysticism, free will, sovereignty, and knowing God. The result is a powerful reminder that Christian orthodoxy is not narrow or provincial but a rich, global, and historically layered tradition that expands our imagination and sharpens our faith.
Taking Lessons from the Christian Church
Towards the end of our interview, Dr. Worthen turns her historian’s eye toward the academy, suggesting what universities might learn from America’s fast-growing churches. She points out that many traditional churches—across very different denominations—are seeing new growth, often from young adults. What these churches share, she says, is a willingness to be openly and confidently supernatural. They don’t try to blend in with the broader culture. Instead, they present a clear identity and a clear message, even when it runs against mainstream assumptions. That sense of purpose is drawing people in.
Worthen argues that universities have lost this kind of countercultural clarity. Instead of being places where students explore big questions, study difficult texts, or wrestle with ideas for their own sake, many institutions have become highly utilitarian—focused on job preparation, narrow skill sets, and whatever the marketplace currently rewards. In her view, higher education would be stronger if it remembered its original role: a space where thinking deeply, learning widely, and asking questions that don’t have immediate “usefulness” is not only allowed but expected.
Conclusion
We won’t give it all away—now’s your turn to watch the rest of her interview. Dr. Molly Worthen is truly on a remarkable worldview journey. Her academic insights combined with her personal experience provide us with analysis that’s increasingly hard to find. We at Praxis Circle feel optimistic knowing professors like Worthen are helping lead the next generation toward worldviews where faith and truth can co-exist in an intellectually honest way. Keep an eye out for Worthen and her future work—we’re sure she’s just getting started!
