Book Review: Atheist to Catholic: 11 Stories of Conversion

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Professor Rebecca Vitz Cherico has edited eleven stories of former atheists who received the gift of faith and converted to the Catholic Church.  These men and women tell their faith stories about how they came to believe in Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.  Some of these people started out as nominal Christians, but over time lost their interest in Christianity.  Some of these people had no or very little religious up-bringing in their families.  A number describe how they searched into various religions and came to believe in Christianity.

These people did not convert lightly and many of these people are intellectuals. As graduates of schools like Yale or Sanford, they were steeped in an environment where people viewed faith, especially the Christian faith, and most especially the Catholic faith, through the lens of intellectual snobbery.  Chapter 5 contains the story of the conversion of the editor’s father, Paul Vitz, the famous psychologist.

The stories in Atheist to Catholic: 11 Stories of Conversion (Servant  Books, 2011.  115 pages) are inspiring and can be of help for atheists and agnostics to receive the gift of faith.  This book is highly recommended.

CL editor’s note: Also recommended, in the same vein, is From Atheism to Catholicism: How Scientists and Philosophers Led Me to the Truth by Kevin Vost.

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About Author

I am a Benedictine monk at St. Gregory's Abbey, Shawnee, Oklahoma. I was born in Cushing, Oklahoman in 1963. I graduated from St. Gregory's College in 1984. I entered the novitiate at St. Gregory's Abbey on July 10, 1985 and made my profession of monastic vows on July 11, 1986 and solemn profession on July 11, 1989. Graduated with a B.A. in religious studies and a minor in history from Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas in 1990. Graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Masters in Library and Information Studies in Dec. of 1992. I the cataloging librarian for St. Gregory's University, the oldest college in Oklahoma and the only Catholic college in Oklahoma. I also serve as archivist for the Abbey and the University. I have written reviews for the Sooner Catholic newspaper, Catholic News Agency website, Catholic Exchange website, Curled up with a Good Book website, the Oklahoman newspaper, Choice, Library Journal, American Benedictine Review, Seventeenth Century News, Catholic Library World, and now Catholic Lane.