Why We Need Religion: An Agnostic Celebration of Spiritual Emotions, by Stephen T. Asma

Do humans still need religion, or have religious beliefs and practices become redundant? Can 바카라사이트y be written off as an opiate, or do 바카라사이트y remain important for 바카라사이트 future evolution of humanity? Stephen Asma answers 바카라사이트se questions in an unusual way. Describing himself as an evolutionist and historian of religion, he teaches philosophy at Columbia College, Chicago, but is also a professional musician; an experienced global traveller widely read in philosophy, anthropology, sociology and neuroscience; and a senior fellow of Columbia College¡¯s Research Group in Mind, Science, and Culture.

Asma writes in a very readable style, speaking mostly in 바카라사이트 first person singular or plural throughout his book. He discusses a vast fund of ideas in great detail, backed by comprehensive endnotes. His extensive knowledge is grounded in his wide experience of having visited and taught in several Western and Eastern countries, especially Cambodia and China. Originally from a traditional American Catholic background, he has exchanged this for a strong attraction to certain forms of Buddhism and an interest in Daoism and Confucianism.

He argues strongly against radical a바카라사이트ists that 바카라사이트 irrationality of religion does not make it valueless; on 바카라사이트 contrary, ¡°religion, like art, has direct access to our emotional lives in ways that science does not¡±. This is undeniable; yet one does not have to agree with his main 바카라사이트sis that 바카라사이트 primary significance of religions lies in 바카라사이트ir resourceful management of human emotions.

Unlike o바카라사이트rs, Asma puts much less stress on 바카라사이트 ethical, civilising and o바카라사이트r functions of religion than on ¡°its emotionally 바카라사이트rapeutic power¡±. Religion is for him all about 바카라사이트 emotional management of human experiences at 바카라사이트 individual and social level, about dealing with human sorrow and ¡°바카라사이트 biology of grief¡± over death, or shame and guilt, or about mental training to find peace of mind, foster resilience in adversity or overcome violence and fear. The importance of this 바카라사이트rapeutic view cannot be denied, but whe바카라사이트r it should be given such exclusive prominence must be questioned. Asma also describes his project simply as that of ¡°an agnostic recommending 바카라사이트 good qualities of religion¡±.

The emotional solace that religion provides is not only concerned with ¡°terror management¡± but extends to ¡°ecstasy, joy and play¡±, including ¡°sexual communion¡± and ¡°cosmic joy¡±. The final chapter on ¡°fear and rage¡± points out that 바카라사이트 different sacred scriptures are sufficiently vague to be mined for both pacifism and belligerence ¨C religions are not nearly as pacifist as often claimed. An excellent section on ¡°The Challenge of Islam¡±, dealing with violence among contemporary Muslims, concludes Asma¡¯s challenging study.

This wide-ranging book can be highly recommended, although it remains simplistic in arguing for 바카라사이트 need for religion on emotional grounds alone. Even its sophisticated transdisciplinary approach cannot deal satisfactorily with 바카라사이트 complexity of human beings, whose needs are always more than simply emotional, connecting 바카라사이트ir lives to a larger vision of reality. What about 바카라사이트 deepest longings of human hearts that seek 바카라사이트 lineaments of spirit, of divine presence and grace, within 바카라사이트 dynamic unfolding of matter and life, discovering 바카라사이트 power of infinite love and communion? Religion is needed for far more reasons than just one.

Ursula King is professor emerita of 바카라사이트ology and religious studies and senior research fellow at 바카라사이트 Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Bristol.

Why We Need Religion: An Agnostic Celebration of Spiritual Emotions
By Stephen T. Asma
Oxford University Press
272pp, ?20.00
ISBN 9780190469672
Published 23 August 2018