The World Needs Religion Even if it Doesn't Need God

The World Needs Religion Even if it Doesn't Need God

God is dead and man has no need of the myths and false consolation that religion offers. That’s the battle-cry of Richard Dawkins and other tough-minded critics of religion. And yet millions cling to their faith, finding value and meaning in the concepts and rituals they adhere to. But is this dichotomy all we have to choose from – prostration or denigration? Some would argue that there’s another way, that it’s possible to remain an atheist and still make use of certain ideas and practices of religion that secular society has failed to engender – the promotion of morality and a spirit of community, for example, and the ability to cope with loss, failure and our own mortality. But is this “religion for atheists” something that would ever catch on? Without belief in the numinous and some form of authority wouldn’t it all fall apart? And do atheists really need sermons and reminders to be good? Arguing against this motion in this debate from January 2012 were philosopher and author Alain de Botton and... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(1544)

Hungry for Life! An Evening with Prue Leith (Part One)

Hungry for Life! An Evening with Prue Leith (Part One)

According to Great British Bake Off judge and national treasure Prue Leith the secret to a happy life lies in embracing everyday with joy while accepting our inevitable end. Prue has had an exhilarat...

30 Mar 34min

How deeply was the British Crown involved in the transatlantic slave trade? With author of The Crown’s Silence, Brooke Newman

How deeply was the British Crown involved in the transatlantic slave trade? With author of The Crown’s Silence, Brooke Newman

How deeply was the British Crown involved in the transatlantic slave trade? New research by historian Brooke Newman argues that, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, until well into the 19th century, ...

29 Mar 47min

The Specialist | The Coin Worth More Than Its Weight in Gold, with Selby Kiffer and David Tripp

The Specialist | The Coin Worth More Than Its Weight in Gold, with Selby Kiffer and David Tripp

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best. On to...

28 Mar 17min

Why Are Populists Winning? With Liam Byrne and Will Hutton

Why Are Populists Winning? With Liam Byrne and Will Hutton

Populism has been winning big in recent years. It is the wave that has buoyed Donald Trump’s second term in office, Marine Le Pen’s popularity in France, and Reform UK’s recent leaps and bounds in Bri...

27 Mar 54min

How To Overcome Trauma, With Psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead (Part Two)

How To Overcome Trauma, With Psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead (Part Two)

Dr Gwen Adshead is one of Britain’s leading forensic psychiatrists. She is the author of The Sunday Times bestseller, The Devil You Know, which inspired her series of BBC Reith Lectures in 2024.  In ...

25 Mar 33min

How To Overcome Trauma, With Psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead (Part One)

How To Overcome Trauma, With Psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead (Part One)

Dr Gwen Adshead is one of Britain’s leading forensic psychiatrists. She is the author of The Sunday Times bestseller, The Devil You Know, which inspired her series of BBC Reith Lectures in 2024.  In ...

23 Mar 39min

How Has Living With Animals Shaped Our Brains? With Michael Bond

How Has Living With Animals Shaped Our Brains? With Michael Bond

Humans are animals. 40,000 years ago our ancestors considered themselves inseparable from the landscape and the wild animals that lived alongside them.  But over generations, we developed an idea that...

22 Mar 43min

The Specialist | From Canvas to Canon: Joan Mitchell’s King of Spades, with Courtney Kremers

The Specialist | From Canvas to Canon: Joan Mitchell’s King of Spades, with Courtney Kremers

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best. On toda...

21 Mar 15min

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