The right's favorite atheist

As for Cupp, the latest rumor around the gossip mill is that she is pretending to be an atheist. Which she finds amusing, considering she’s trying to sell a book defending Christianity to Christians. “It’s fairly insulting, not to mention condescending. But I try to laugh it off.”

If anything, Cupp sees her book’s outreach to the Christian community as an exercise in interfaith relations. While defending a God she doesn’t believe in, she’s attempting to prove her own point: That beliefs shouldn’t interfere with reporting. The book has becomes an ode to her own “responsible journalism” philosophy.

It’s times like this, under the weather and under attack, when Cupp wonders what a faith-filled life would look like. “With God, you have a partner in life all the time regardless of the trials and tribulations. You have something that is constantly challenging you to be better,” she says. “I’ve always been envious of people who have had that connection and ability—to fully and wholly believe. It seems really great to be a person of faith. I think it sounds really comforting.” She pauses, as if to contemplate what she’s just revealed. “And I don’t mean that in a condescending way, but I mean that genuinely and sincerely.”