[lbo-talk] religion books

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Sep 3 15:31:07 PDT 2003


Rakesh Bhandari thought that listmembers might be interested in these books:


>In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion (Evolution
>and Cognition Series)
>by Scott Atran
>
>* Hardcover: 400 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.09 x 9.02 x 7.02
>* Publisher: Oxford University Press; (October 2002)
>* ISBN: 0195149300
>* Average Customer Review: Based on 1 review. Write a review.
>* Amazon.com Sales Rank: 78,316
>* Popular in: Finland (#4)
>
>Editorial Reviews
>Book Description
>This ambitious, interdisciplinary book seeks to explain the origins
>of religion using our knowledge of the evolution of cognition. A
>cognitive anthropologist and psychologist, Scott Atran argues that
>religion is a by-product of human evolution just as the cognitive
>intervention, cultural selection, and historical survival of
>religion is an accommodation of certain existential and moral
>elements that have evolved in the human condition.
>
>
> .Why I Am Not a Secularist
>by William E. Connolly
>
>Product Details
>
>* Hardcover: 224 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.75 x 9.00 x 6.00
>* Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr (Txt); (June 23, 2000)
>* ASIN: 0816633312
>* In-Print Editions: Paperback | All Editions
>* Average Customer Review: Based on 1 review. Write a review.
>* Amazon.com Sales Rank: 317,819
>
>Editorial Reviews
>From Library Journal
>Connolly (political science, Johns Hopkins Univ.), the author of
>several books on political philosophy, argues in this difficult,
>densely reasoned treatise that although secularism has made great
>contributions to the promotion of life, liberty, the pursuit of
>happiness, and the acceptance of diversity, its response to
>contentious public issues has been dogmatic and exclusionary. He
>believes that in dealing with controversial issues such as the death
>penalty, the right to die, and the war on drugs, secularism has
>failed to recognize the complexity of public views because it has
>excluded religious and theistic viewpoints. In doing so, he claims
>that it has ignored an opportunity to create public consensus. He
>argues further that the narrowness of the secularist vision has
>helped to increase support for the death penalty, which he himself
>opposes. Connolly uses academic jargon liberally and repeatedly
>refers to famous philosophers. Of interest primarily to university
>and large public libraries.AJack Forman, Mesa Coll. Lib., San Diego
>Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.



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