India, March 21 -- For many young Indians, their faith is in a perennial state of flux. They roll their eyes when they are asked to perform religious rituals but seem to enjoy being a part of things from afar. Their participation is non-committal, the kind that maintains a safe distance. This allows them to dismiss faith's regressive aspects while also leaning into its more aesthetic parts. Are they cool atheists or even cooler agnostics? Then there are, of course, the overly religious folks. So, is there an in-between?

In Tripping Down The Ganga, author Siddhartha Kapila asks a pertinent question: Why, in some liberal Indian circles, is atheism considered a more sophisticated, socially-acceptable position to take? Why is being overly re...