An intriguing but not convincing melding of psychology and religion.
Cherry-picking the world’s religions to find useful practices for living better lives.
DeSteno, a professor of psychology at Northeastern and author of Emotional Success (2018) and other pop-psych works, addresses a largely secular audience with a call not to ignore religion but to make use of it. The author notes that throughout history, humans have used religious rituals to deal with the landmarks and changes of life and that modern society has much to learn from these examples. He advocates “religioprospecting,” a practice through which scientists and others can mine world religions for whatever benefits can be found within them. DeSteno succinctly explains his thesis: “The practice of religion, as opposed to its theological underpinnings, offers an impressive, time-tested array of psychological technologies that augment our biology—to help us solve problems that biological adaptation alone hasn’t. And as the nature of those problems changes through time, so do rituals and even religions themselves.” The author provides a wide overview of practices used by the world’s major religions in order to celebrate birth, prepare youth for adulthood, keep people healthy, take part in marriage, and look ahead to death and the afterlife, and he notes how religions “offer spiritual technologies that boost and repair our bodies and minds.” By divorcing rituals from their theological and institutional roots, the author believes society has a great deal to gain—though devout readers of any one faith will disagree. “What truly matters,” he explains, in relation to finding value in the Jewish grieving ritual of shiva, “isn’t the exact texts of the prayers, but the togetherness, the sensitivity, and the actions inherent in the ritual.” For seekers of general, broad spiritual wisdom, DeSteno’s mining of the world’s religions for the beneficial parts will be appealing, but readers who closely follow a specific faith tradition may be displeased with the author’s excursions.
An intriguing but not convincing melding of psychology and religion.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-982142-31-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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