Religion for Atheists

English language

ISBN:
978-0-14-104631-0
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5 stars (3 reviews)

Religion for Atheists: A non-believer's guide to the uses of religion is a book by Alain de Botton published in 2012. It argues that while supernatural claims made by religion are false, some aspects of religion are still useful and can be applied in secular life and society. Religion for Atheists was published in the UK in hardback edition by Hamish Hamilton, and in the US by Pantheon. Religion for Atheists was a New York Times non-fiction bestseller, and has been widely reviewed, with mixed results.

2 editions

A Book of Interesting Ideas But Left with a Feeling of Can't Get There From Here

4 stars

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this (bought it on a whim having read the back cover blurb and a couple of the first pages). The format of numbered sections & sub-sections, each relatively brief, was a bit off-putting at first but I warmed to it as I read on – a sort of microcosm for what the book was talking about, using a format more usually found in a religious text to frame secular matters.

Overall it was very much up my street – I was brought up in a religious family, attending a (very) High Church Anglo-Catholic church throughout my childhood, but even though my faith lapsed long ago I find myself at times missing the ritual and framework of it. At times I find myself googling in a not-very-hopeful way for secular contemplative rituals (and never finding anything that's not twee or new age or …

An insightful look into the pitfalls of modernity, and a path to holistic healing

5 stars

One of my favorite books on secularism, Religion for Atheists is at once extremely approachable, funny, profound, and reverent. It's a rarity to find a combination like this in a secular book, since, so often, atheists in the public eye tend towards sardonic attacks on religion. To find a book that's not only free from meanness, but that actually explores how ancient traditions, functional rituals, and mindful celebration can have a positive impact on our daily lives, is surprising and wonderful.