Religion for Atheists A Non-believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion

What if religions are neither all true nor all nonsense?The long-running and often boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved forward by Alain de Botton's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are entirely false-but that it still has some very important things to teach the secular world. Religion for Atheistssuggests 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. Blending deep respect with total impiety, de Botton (a non-believer himself) proposes that we look to religion for insights into how to, among other concerns, build a sense of community, make our relationships last, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, inspire travel and reconnect with the natural world. For too long non-believers have faced a stark choice between either swallowing some peculiar doctrines or doing away with a range of consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas. At last, in Religion for Atheists,Alain de Botton has fashioned a far more interesting and truly helpful alternative.