In February 2024, well-known Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson came to the Scheel’s Arena to promote his book, “We Who Wrestle with God” and have a discussion, attracting a sizable crowd here in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Peterson has gained attention for his views on cultural and political issues in recent years, and is often characterized as a conservative.
And as a skeptic when it comes to religion, he’s been something of a bridge between the non-believing and believing sectors.
Like few others, Peterson has helped open up dialogues on faith in ways that had not been happening previously, but lately, I’ve wondered about his ability to be completely authentic in his views.
This questioning comes from a situation in his personal life, which was revealed publicly a few years back: his wife Tammy’s reversion to Christianity.
She’d been struggling with an aggressive cancer when a friend, wanting to support her, suggested they pray the Rosary. That prayer became a staple of hope, and Tammy survived the ordeal and is doing well now.
As this was unfolding publicly, I wondered how her experience might affect her husband and his beliefs. As spouses, we are one flesh, and though individuals, tied deeply.
I knew it was a tender area for Peterson, based on an interview he gave recounting that time in their lives as she neared re-entry into the Church. I could see he was truly wrestling with God and, perhaps, wondering if God was worth considering anew.
Peterson has been studying Christianity lately and seems to be gaining an understanding of it, drawing closer to the precipice leading to belief. But in this, I have wondered at times: is the jig up, so to say, for him?
To explain, his life’s work in recent years has been bound up in being an intellectual who is adverse, in many ways, to religion, yet now, it seems he’s tiptoeing closer to belief in God. If he takes that one last leap across the divide, might his career suffer?
Recently, Peterson agreed to take on 20 atheists in discussion, and one pointedly called him out on his true position. The young questioner demanded that Peterson be honest about his Christian affinity.
The episode originally billed him as a Christian before being renamed, and a clip of that discussion has drawn varied commentary.
I do feel for Peterson right now. The journey of a soul is a tender thing. Does he jump in fully and risk his career? What holds him back? Is it possible that he’d find embracing the Christian faith more gain than loss, with new freedom and potential?
The internal struggle, whether he wants to admit it, seems apparent.
It seems that Peterson has reached a crucial point of decision, and I’ll be praying for him to be brave.
Being a Christian is not for the faint of heart in these times, but it is the adventure of a lifetime that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss — nor would I want him to.
[For the sake of having a repository for my newspaper columns and articles, I reprint them here, with permission, a week after their run date. The preceding ran in The Forum newspaper on June 15, 2025.]
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