Why We Need Religion

by Stephen T. Asma Narrated by James Anderson Foster

Overview

Stephen Asma argues that, like art, religion has direct access to our emotional lives in ways that science does not. Yes, science can give us emotional feelings of wonder and the sublime-we can feel the sacred depths of nature-but there are many forms of human suffering and vulnerability that are beyond the reach of help from science. Different emotional stresses require different kinds of rescue. Unlike secular authors who praise religion's ethical and civilizing function, Asma argues that its core value lies in its emotionally therapeutic power.



No theorist of religion has failed to notice the importance of emotions in spiritual and ritual life, but truly systematic research has only recently delivered concrete data on the neurology, psychology, and anthropology of the emotional systems. This very recent "affective turn" has begun to map out a powerful territory of embodied cognition. Why We Need Religion incorporates new data from these affective sciences into the philosophy of religion. It goes on to describe the way in which religion manages those systems-rage, play, lust, care, grief, and so on. Finally, it argues that religion is still the best cultural apparatus for doing this adaptive work.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

04/23/2018
Asma (The Evolution of Imagination), professor of philosophy and founding fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science, and Culture at Columbia College, Chicago, outlines an eloquent argument for the benefits of religion in this short, engrossing work. Asma sidesteps discussions of truth and rational justification, and instead focuses on the impact religion has on the emotional lives of believers. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the book integrates evidence from biology, anthropology, philosophy, and religious studies to show how religions provide frameworks to help believers navigate intense emotions such as fear, sorrow, resilience, and joy. Asma deals fluently in a wide range of cultural references, relating his own personal experiences living in Cambodia and his revealing tour of the Creation Museum, and unpacking diverse texts such as the Bible, the Koran, and even the music of Chance the Rapper. His fluid prose meets a high scholarly standard and holds the reader’s attention: “Religion’s primary function is not to provide a path to morality or to substitute for a scientific understanding of nature. Its chief virtues are as a ‘coping mechanism’ for our troubles, and as social glue for our community.” Balanced in its approach and careful in its research, Asma’s fine book will appeal equally to religious and non-religious readers, and provides a genuinely fresh perspective on tired old discussions. (June)

From the Publisher

"... impactful...interesting stories..." — Matt Recla , Reading Religion

"Balanced in its approach and careful in its research, Asma's fine book will appeal equally to religious and non-religious readers, and provides a genuinely fresh perspective on tired old discussions."- Publishers Weekly

"A fascinating if unsettling read for those interested in religion or science."- Library Journal

"The assumption of the 'new atheists' that religion does more harm than good has always been just that-an assumption, never backed by sound argument or persuasive evidence. Now Stephen Asma shows how much argument and evidence there is on the other side of the question. Why We Need Religion is a refreshingly original take on an old but urgently contemporary question. And it is a severe challenge to the naïve belief that secularization will be our salvation."-Robert Wright, author of The Evolution of God

"Asma combines a deep and broad knowledge of religious traditions with the best that contemporary psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology have to offer. He makes a powerful case for the essential role of religion in helping us to manage our emotional lives and our relations with one another. And he does it with prose that is informal and engaging. This book gave me something to think about on almost every page."-Barry Schwartz, author of Practical Wisdom and Why We Work

Library Journal

04/01/2018
Asma (philosophy, Columbia Coll., Chicago; On Monsters) is not interested in the truth claims of any religion. Human beings are not entirely rational. We would not have evolved to our present state if we were. Our development is such that religion and religious practices serve as survival mechanisms that integrate the more recently advanced parts of the brain with the more ancient. Using insights from neuroscience, Asma shows how religion negotiates the demands our complex brains impose, confronting throughout this text three basic objections to the utility of religion: that it is an instrument of state control, the cause of untold misery, and that secular analogs make it unnecessary. These, argues the author, either mischaracterize religion, confuse abuse of religion with its more typical functioning, or fail to integrate all brain functions as no purely rational system does. There is no real secular equivalent to religion. VERDICT A fascinating if unsettling read for those interested in religion or science. Asma seems to suggest that humans are a deeply flawed species, stuck between the inductive of searching for truth and the imperative for survival.—James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170215119
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	12/25/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos