Jon Stewart says ‘not a believer, wish I could get there’ as he opens up about religious doubt

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Jon Stewart, host of ‘The Daily Show,’ recently spoke about his struggle to embrace religious belief, saying he hopes he can “get there,” even as his doubts are partially rooted in the “specificity” of Scripture.

Stewart made this disclosure in one of the ‘After the Cut’ segments on YouTube, where a member of the audience asked about the place of faith in his life.

Jon Stewart opens up about his struggle with faith and belief

Jon Stewart, who was born into the Jewish faith, answered “No” quickly when asked whether faith had played a role in his life, saying, “I wish. I wish I could get there, I can’t.” Stewart contrasted that with his friend and colleague Stephen Colbert, who “is a faithful Catholic.”

He added, “I’ve never been, like, a belief guy. I’ve always been this guy: ‘But if he’s all powerful, why do children die?’” Stewart continued, “Like I’m that guy. It’s very f*****g annoying.”

Jon Stewart says religion’s ‘specificity’ blocks his belief

While the late-night host emphasized that he is not necessarily against faith, he said that he himself does not believe. He further stated, “Religion has given the world a tremendous amount of comfort in a world torn apart by… religion, mostly.”

Stewart then identified what he felt is the biggest obstacle to his view: “I think that’s my biggest problem is, it’s like, I know that there’s probably a gap between, like, we are here by divine intervention, or we’re just like bathroom mold that got luckier than other bathroom mold. Like, I’m sure there’s probably a middle ground there.”

He turned to the audience member and admitted, “I wish I could f*****g get… you know what it is for me, I think? It’s the specificity that f***s me up.”

Jon Stewart contrasts general spirit with detailed faith narratives

He further elaborated on the difference between a general spiritual concept and a detailed narrative. “Because, if you were to say to me, ‘There’s a spirit in the universe, and it carries a thing,’ but it’s more like, ‘And he was 33 years old and a carpenter,’ and I’m like, all right,” he continued in jest.

Stewart had asked the audience member whether she was born into her faith or embraced it later, and after she said she was born into the Jewish faith but had to come around to know she was a true believer, he said, “That’s awesome.”