How to pray when you don’t believe in God

And why you should.

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June 18, 2026 2:30pm EDT

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Matte tone:

I’ve long been a fan of Casper ter Kuile’s writing about rituals, spirituality, connecting to something bigger than yourself, so I’m delighted that he’ll be a regular contributor to Vox as the author of a new monthly column, Soul Searching.

The first installment covers a great topic: how to pray if you don’t believe in God — and why you should. Given Casper’s areas of focus and his background (he has a Masters in Divinity from Harvard!), I was surprised to learn he’s actually a non-believer. But that’s what makes his take on this topic so empathetic and refreshing. Prayer, he writes, has less to do with a deity (or anyone!) listening to you, and more to do with telling your own truth. You can start by simply naming — out loud, or in a journal — the issue, problem, or thing you need in a given moment. “Honoring the hurt I feel, or the anger, the shame or the sadness,” Casper says, “is what unlocks something deeper than my everyday thinking can reach.”

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—Rachel Wilkerson Miller, senior editor