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"The Varieties of Religious Experience is William James's classic survey of religious belief. With psychological insight and philosophical rigor, James wrote a truly foundational text for modern belief. Matthew Bradley's wide-ranging new edition--the most critically up-to-date and inclusive edition of James's masterpiece available in paperback--showcases ideas that continue to fuel modern debates on atheism and faith. His introduction stresses the...
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James George Frazer attempted to define the shared elements of religious belief and scientific thought, discussing fertility rites, human sacrifice, the dying god, the scapegoat, and many other symbols and practices whose influences had extended into 20th-century culture. His thesis is that old religions were fertility cults that revolved around the worship and periodic sacrifice of a sacred king. Frazer proposed that mankind progresses from magic...
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A preeminent scientist—and the world's most prominent atheist—asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11.
With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments...
With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments...
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Thomas Jefferson collected books on all religions and required that the brand new Library of Congress take his books, since Americans needed to consider the "twenty gods or no god" he famously noted were revered by his neighbors. Looking at the Americans who believed in these gods, Manseau fills in America's story of itself, from the persecuted "witches" at Salem and who they really were, to the persecuted Buddhists in WWII California, from spirituality...
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Traces the author's upbringing in the Satmar Hasidic community in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, New York, describing the strict rules that governed her life, her arranged marriage at the age of seventeen, and the birth of her son, which led to her plan to leave and forge her own path in life.
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In this book G.K. Chesterton explains how religion-a blend of philosophy and mythology-satisfies both the human intellect and the spirit, and sets man starkly apart from any other living creature. Addressing evolution, feminism, and cultural relativism within the context of religion, the book also examines religious skepticism. According to Chesterton, the shape of the key is not important. What matters is that it fits the lock and opens the door....
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Based on five years of research, access to confidential documents, and extensive interviews with current and former Scientologists, Janet Reitman sheds some long-awaited light on the ever-elusive religion of the Church of Scientology.
Scientology, created in 1954 by pulp science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world's fastest growing religion, with millions of members and huge financial holdings. Celebrity believers keep its profile...
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The French Sociologist Émile Durkheim is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology. Principle to the work of Durkheim was his concern with regard to how modernity was effecting traditional social and religious institutions, more specifically with how societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in an era in which new social institutions have come into being. One of his principles works, "The...
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Thomas Paine's primary object in writing "The Age of Reason" was to call into question the conventional understanding of religion and to undermine the power of the Christian church. As provocative and controversial today as when Paine first wrote it, this incendiary work suggests what is necessary to transform religion into a social force that has its foundation in reason. --Amazon.com.
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"Slavitt, a poet and translator of many works of fiction, poetry, and drama, presents a new translation of this philosophical classic directed at general readers. Written under the threat of Boethius's impending execution, the work comes on the cusp between the classical and medieval worlds. In alternating prose and verse, Boethius spins a dialog concerning the harsh vicissitudes of fortune and the lasting happiness provided by the life of the mind."--[School...
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"One of Choice Reviews' Outstanding Academic Titles of 2018" Jörg Rüpke is vice-director and permanent fellow in religious studies at the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt, Germany, and has been a visiting professor at the Collège de France, Princeton University, and the University of Chicago. His many books include On Roman Religion and From Jupiter to Christ.
From one of the world's leading...
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In “The Future of an Illusion”, Freud's psychoanalysis of religion is the culmination of a lifelong thought pattern. Freud examines human nature and the role of religion in society, proclaiming that human instincts are destructive to civilization and must be restrained to maintain an orderly society. Religion, viewed as a set of false beliefs based on human desires, manifests as a God-like father figure to a helpless child, whose survival is dependent...
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Despite its reputation for religious intolerance, the Middle East has long sheltered many distinctive and strange faiths: one regards the Greek prophets as incarnations of God, another reveres Lucifer in the form of a peacock, and yet another believes that their followers are reincarnated beings who have existed in various forms for thousands of years. These religions represent the last vestiges of the magnificent civilizations in ancient history:...
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America is the most religiously devout country in the Western world and the most religiously diverse nation on the planet. In today's volatile climate of religious conflict, prejudice, and distrust, how do we affirm the principle that the American promise is deeply intertwined with how each of us engages with people of different faiths and beliefs? Eboo Patel, former faith adviser to Barack Obama and named one of America's best leaders by U.S. News...
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Ian Buruma is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Democracy, Human Rights, and Journalism at Bard College. His many books include Anglomania (Random House), Inventing Japan (Modern Library), and Murder in Amsterdam (Penguin), which won a Los Angeles Times Book Award. He is a regular contributor to many publications, including the New York Review of Books, the New Yorker, the Guardian, and the Financial Times.
Why religion must be separated from politics...
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"From the renowned and best-selling author of A History of God, a sweeping exploration of religion's connection to violence. For the first time in American history, religious self-identification is on the decline. Some have cited a perception that began to grow after Sept 11: That faith in general is a source of aggression, intolerance and divisiveness--something bad for society. But how accurate is that view? And does it apply equally to all faiths?...
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"Ireland, whether viewed from an antiquarian or an ethnological point of view, is one of the most interesting countries in the world." So begins James Bonwick's fascinating study of the mysterious and mystical Druids of Ireland and unprejudiced examination the ancient religions of the Emerald Isle.
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Noting a spiritually motivated political activism now emerging in America, Marianne Williamson claims that traditional political activists increasingly look to spiritual wisdom for inspiration while spiritual contemplatives are increasingly eager to extend their service to the world into political realms. The convergence of the two impulses forms what Williamson calls a "holistic politics." With the publication of The Healing of America, Williamson...