Faith No More?

Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought, by Pascal Boyer (Basic, 375 pp., $27.50)

YOUR college professors probably told you that belief in God is little more than a useful fantasy: It meets the need some people have for a simple explanation of life’s mysteries, and offers others a comfort against the fear of death. But as Pascal Boyer—a professor at Washington University in St. Louis— points out, there are problems with this conventional view. To begin with, religious explanations often are more complicated than the problems they claim to solve; furthermore, many religions give a rather scary picture of what comes after death. In this book, Boyer is at his clearest and best when debunking the efforts of these less sophisticated debunkers.

About the Author

David Klinghoffer

David Klinghoffer, a former literary editor at NR, is a senior fellow at Discovery Institute and co-author of The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath, and other books.

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Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought, by Pascal Boyer (Basic, 375 pp., $27.50)

YOUR college professors probably told you that belief in God is little more than a useful fantasy: It meets the need some people have for a simple explanation of life’s mysteries, and offers others a comfort against the fear of death. But as Pascal Boyer—a professor at Washington University in St. Louis— points out, there are problems with this conventional view. To begin with, religious explanations often are more complicated than the problems they claim to solve; furthermore, many religions give a rather scary picture of what comes after death. In this book, Boyer is at his clearest and best when debunking the efforts of these less sophisticated debunkers.

About the Author

David Klinghoffer

David Klinghoffer, a former literary editor at NR, is a senior fellow at Discovery Institute and co-author of The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath, and other books.