‘His smart and stimulating new book, Religion for Atheists, is a sensitive analysis of the deeply human needs that faith meets.’ Financial Times
Today, debates about religion invariably descend into all-or-nothing stand-offs between religious fundamentalists and diehard atheists. But the writer and popular philosopher Alain de Botton (The Art of Travel, The Architecture of Happiness) offers a different perspective, arguing that even the most confirmed of non-believer can learn much from the religious world.
His new book, Religion for Atheists suggests that rather than mocking religions, non-believers should instead borrow from them – because they’re packed with good ideas on how we live and arrange our societies. Blending deep respect with total impiety, de Botton (a non-believer) proposes that religions can help us – to build a sense of community, make our relationships last, get more out of art, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, and much more.
De Botton’s thesis is a seductive one as it maintains that atheists can be inspired and fascinated by religion without the need to believe.