Dick Cavett

From Philosopedia

Cavett, Dick (19 Nov 1936 - )

A Nebraska-born entertainer, television comedy writer, club performer, and television show host, Cavett is widely known by TV viewers. With Christopher Porterfield), he wrote Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983).

On one of his programs, he mentioned that he finds it impossible to maintain any religious faith:

This is my religious problem: it would be wonderful to believe in the most fundamental way. It would make life easier, it would explain everything, it would give meaning where none is apparent, it would make tragedies bearable. If I went to a revival meeting, I have no doubt I could be one of the first to go down on my knees. It seems as if the only religion worth having is the simplest possible religion. But something about the fact that all it takes to make it so is deciding it is so puts me off. Knowing it could instantly make me much happier makes it somehow unworthy of having.

Of his grandfather, a fundamentalist Baptist minister, Cavett is quoted in Cavett, “I hope there is a God for Grandpa Richards’s sake, but don’t much care if there is one for mine.”

{CA}