The Unbelieving

Show Info

By Marin Gazzaniga
Directed by Steve Cosson

With David Aaron Baker, Jeff Biehl, Sonnie Brown, Dan Domingues, Nina Hellman, Joshua David Robinson, and Richard Topol

In the classic tale of religious conversion, finding God holds the promise of a life filled with purpose and meaning. But what happens when this transformation occurs in reverse, and a faith you have built your life around begins to fall away? THE UNBELIEVING takes a penetrating look into the lives of practicing clergy members—Catholics, Episcopalians, Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, Jews, Mormons, Muslims—who have stopped believing in God. 

Staged by NYC’s acclaimed downtown theater company The Civilians in the brilliant investigative-theater style they pioneered, THE UNBELIEVING tells the intimate stories of these faith leaders. Using their actual words, obtained during a groundbreaking study by philosopher Daniel C. Dennett and qualitative researcher Linda LaScola, the play explores the struggles, courage, and great humor of these “unbelievers” as they face the hardest decision of their lives—whether to continue living in secret or to risk everything by telling the truth.

Based on interviews conducted for the book Caught In The Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind (2013) by Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola