{"product_id":"religion-for-atheists-isbn-9780307476821","title":"Religion for Atheists","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat if religions are neither all true nor all nonsense? \u003c\/i\u003eAlain de Botton’s bold and provocative book argues that we can benefit from the wisdom and power of religion—without having to believe in any of it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe suggests that rather than mocking religion, agnostics and atheists should instead steal from it—because the world’s religions are packed with good ideas on how we might live and arrange our societies. De Botton looks to religion for insights into how to build a sense of community, make relationships last, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, inspire travel, get more out of art, and reconnect with the natural world. For too long non-believers have faced a stark choice between swallowing lots of peculiar doctrines or doing away with a range of consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas. \u003ci\u003eReligion for Atheists\u003c\/i\u003e offers a far more interesting and truly helpful alternative.\u003c\/p\u003e“A serious but intellectually wild ride. . . . One has to appreciate his pluck as much as his lucid, enjoyable arguments.” —\u003ci\u003eMiami Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Commonsensical and insightful. . . . The wealth of knowledge and felicity of phrasing that de Botton brings to his task make for a stimulating read.” —\u003ci\u003eSeattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Quirky, often hilarious. . . . Focusing on just three major faiths—Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism—he makes a convincing case for their ability to create both a sense of community and education that addresses morality and our emotional life.” —\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Compelling. . .  beautifully and wittily illustrated.” —\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A wonderfully dangerous and subversive book.” —\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A new book by Alain de Botton is always a treat. . . . De Botton is literate, articulate, knowledgeable, funny and idiosyncratic.” —\u003ci\u003eForbes.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“De Botton writes at his best when he confronts our abiding human frailty. . . . If only all writers wrote with such unabashedly kind intentions.” —\u003ci\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Provocative and thoughtful. . . . Particularly noteworthy are de Botton’s insights on what education and the arts can borrow from the formats and paradigms of religious delivery.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The eminently quotable de Botton holds forth on the deliberately provocative premise that ancient traditions can solve modern problems. . . . The premise he is testing is a worthy one: The secular world worships consumerism, optimism, and perfection to its doom, and would do well to make room for a little humility, community, and contemplation instead.” —\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[De Botton] demonstrates his usual urbane, intelligent, and witty prose. . . . This book will advance amicable discussion among both believers and disbelievers.” —\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Highly original and thought-provoking. . . . De Botton is a lively, engaging writer.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlain de Botton\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of essays on themes ranging from love and travel to architecture and philosophy. His best-selling books include \u003ci\u003eHow Proust Can Change Your Life, The Art of Travel\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Architecture of Happiness.\u003c\/i\u003e He lives in London, where he is the founder and chairman of The School of Life (www.theschooloflife.com) and the creative director of Living Architecture (www.living-architecture.co.uk).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003efrom Part One:\u003ci\u003e Wisdom without Doctrine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe most boring and unproductive question one can ask of any religion is whether or not it is \u003ci\u003etrue\u003c\/i\u003e – in terms of being handed down from heaven to the sound of trumpets and supernaturally governed by prophets and celestial beings. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eTo save time, and at the risk of losing readers painfully early on in this project, let us bluntly state that of course no religions are true in any God-given sense. This is a book for people who are unable to believe in miracles, spirits or tales of burning shrubbery, and have no deep interest in the exploits of unusual men and women like the thirteenth-century saint Agnes of Montepulciano, who was said to be able to levitate two feet off the ground while praying and to bring children back from the dead – and who, at the end of her life (supposedly), ascended to heaven from southern Tuscany on the back of an angel. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e2\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003eAttempting to prove the non-existence of God can be an entertaining activity for atheists. Tough-minded critics of religion have found much pleasure in laying bare the idiocy of believers in remorseless detail, finishing only when they felt they had shown up their enemies as thorough-going simpletons or maniacs. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThough this exercise has its satisfactions, the real issue is not whether God exists or not, but where to take the argument once one decides that he evidently doesn’t. The premise of this book is that it must be possible to remain a committed atheist and nevertheless find religions sporadically useful, interesting and consoling – and be curious as to the possibilities of importing certain of their ideas and practices into the secular realm. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOne can be left cold by the doctrines of the Christian Trinity and the Buddhist Eightfold Path and yet at the same time be interested in the ways in which religions deliver sermons, promote morality, engender a spirit of community, make use of art and architecture, inspire travels, train minds and encourage gratitude at the beauty of spring. In a world beset by fundamentalists of both believing and secular varieties, it must be possible to balance a rejection of religious faith with a selective reverence for religious rituals and concepts. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIt is when we stop believing that religions have been handed down from above or else that they are entirely daft that matters become more interesting. We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not been able to solve with any particular skill: first, the need to live together in communities in harmony, despite our deeply rooted selfish and violent impulses. And second, the need to cope with terrifying degrees of pain which arise from our vulnerability to professional failure, to troubled relationships, to the death of loved ones and to our decay and demise. God may be dead, but the urgent issues which impelled us to make him up still stir and demand resolutions which do not go away when we have been nudged to perceive some scientific inaccuracies in the tale of the seven loaves and fishes. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe error of modern atheism has been to overlook how many aspects of the faiths remain relevant even after their central tenets have been dismissed. Once we cease to feel that we must either prostrate ourselves before them or denigrate them, we are free to discover religions as repositories of a myriad ingenious concepts with which we can try to assuage a few of the most persistent and unattended ills of secular life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301778149605,"sku":"NP9780307476821","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780307476821.jpg?v=1767735614","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/religion-for-atheists-isbn-9780307476821","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}