Kate Cohen is an avowed and public atheist. Which is why it is surprising (perhaps even a little cussed) that the story she chose to tell on SongWriter is about a profound moment of religious ritual. This was during her marriage ceremony, after she grudgingly agreed to repeat a Hebrew phrase, under duress from the rabbi officiating the marriage. To her astonishment, this was the most intensely emotional moment of her carefully curated wedding.

“I remember feeling smaller than I was, and larger,” Kate recalls. “I remember disappearing from that moment, and at the same time appearing in thousands of moments. I remember the sensation of erasure.”

Dr. Arielle Levites, who is a scholar of contemporary Jewish American life, was particularly struck by this line in the story. To her, Kate is reflecting not just the power of religious ritual, but importantly, the breadth of religious experience.

“To me, this is a profoundly religious experience that she is describing,” Dr. Levites says, “because I believe that religion produces all kinds of feelings, and all kinds of dispositions, and all kinds of stances.”

Religious rituals are often used to bring communities together – after all, many of our holidays and gatherings have some element of, or vestigial link to, religion – but Dr. Levites says this can also cause people to feel alienated and alone. Religion is large enough to contain all of these experiences.