An Atheist History of Religion

Just as banks are unfortunately run by people who are obsessed with money, the problem with books about religion is that they are written by people who are obsessed with religion. Way too much attention (and, yes, respect) is paid to the theological "philosophy" in each episode. Theologians are people attracted to doctrine and dogma, which are the rungs by which an ambitious person climbs the religious hierarchy. So when a religious person tells the story of this grand old institution, built on centuries of cultivated, divine thought, they want to show everyone how well-versed they are in the religious infrastructure. In my opinion, the believers focus on the wrong elements of the story. The believers, and even the former believers, can't get the religious thought-patterns out of their heads. There will be no intellectual sleight-of-hand, no misdirection, in this telling of the story. The focus belongs on our primal impulses rather than on the theological justifications and rationalizations. The idea for this essay is to tell the story of the world's mythologies and religions by treating them as products of evolution. Thus, we are not going to unlock the door to another dimension; we are not going to find an invisible world which will provide you with the comfort of knowing that you have lots of friends or serenity or orgasms waiting for you when you clock out of your mundane, unfulfilling job for the last time. If this book could do that for you, I would be charging a much higher price. The most grandiose claim you will find in this book is this one: you will laugh out loud, and you will experience at least a few moments punctuated by "Hmmm... I never thought of it that way before." That's the most you should expect for a few bucks. "An Atheist History of Religion" is a whirlwind bus tour through world history. The narrative voice is new-- imagine a retired college professor, still capable of erudition and insight, who no longer lives in fear of losing his tenure.