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  • The thesis--that we should educate kids about all religions--was just slapped on at the end. Still, the book is one of those idea-a-minute summaries of research and theory that is fun. His idea about "belief-in-belief" gibes with my sense; the "meme" talk doesn't do much work; and much of the book i ... Continue

    The thesis--that we should educate kids about all religions--was just slapped on at the end. Still, the book is one of those idea-a-minute summaries of research and theory that is fun. His idea about "belief-in-belief" gibes with my sense; the "meme" talk doesn't do much work; and much of the book is just suggestions for future research.

    

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• ― Leebeck said on Feb 28, 2008 | Add your feedback

For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why—and how—it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion's evolution from “wild” folk belief to “domesticated” dogma. Not an antireligious screed but an unblinking look beneath the veil of orthodoxy, Breaking the Spell will be read and debated by believers and skeptics alike.

• reasonreligionphilosophypsychologyscience@read 2007nonfiction