Religion and Atheism: Beyond the Divide - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1138891894 ISBN 13: 9781138891890

Publisher: Routledge, 2016

Synopsis

Arguments between those who hold religious beliefs and those who do not have been at fever pitch. They have also reached an impasse, with equally entrenched views held by believer and atheist - and even agnostic - alike. This collection is one of the first books to move beyond this deadlock. Specially commissioned chapters address major areas that cut across the debate between the two sides: the origin of knowledge, objectivity and meaning; moral values and the nature of the human person and the good life; and the challenge of how to promote honest and fruitful dialogue in the light of the wide diversity of beliefs, religious and otherwise. Under these broad headings leading figures in the field examine and reflect upon:

• Secular and religious humanism
• The idea of the sacred
• The vexed issue of science in both religious and secular accounts of knowledge
• Spirituality for the godless
• Non-western perspectives on the atheism/theism debate.

A key feature of the collection is a dialogue between Raymond Tallis and Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury. Religion and Atheism: Beyond the Divide will interest anyone who is concerned about the clash between the religious and the secular and how to move beyond it, as well as students of ethics, philosophy of religion and religious studies.

About this title

About the Author:

Anthony Carroll is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Theology at Heythrop College, University of London, UK. His publications include Protestant Modernity: Weber, Secularization, and Protestantism (2007), and he is an Anglican priest.

Richard Norman is Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Kent, UK. His publications include On Humanism (2nd edition 2012), and he is a founder-member of the Humanist Philosophers’ Group, and a Patron of the British Humanist Association.

Review:

"This is a book which deserves to be prescribed reading for all prospective teachers (not only ‘religion’ specialists), journalists, and community leaders. It is hugely informative and a treasure for repeated reflection." - Brian Gates, Journal of Beliefs & Values

"I thoroughly enjoyed this series of essays edited by two people at the forefront of the dialogue between religion and atheism. The writing constantly shifts focus and creates surprises. It covers a huge range of themes from a variety of perspectives." - Alan Brine, National Adivser for Religous Education, RE Today

"This book brings together many of the most accessible writers engaging in the religion/atheism debate, who in turn help to reframe it by uncovering the implicit assumptions of their own side, or by exploring the experiential and transformative elements that draw people to embrace different worldviews. Each chapter offers fresh insights, as well as thoughts that could take the dialogue in unexpectedly new directions." - Mark Vernon, www.markvernon.com

"The strength of the collection is that it gives a good understanding of how many humanists and religious believers (those who are prepared to enter into dialogue) see the world. It should increase insight into why at this juncture in our cultural history the religion/atheism debate has become important." - Keith Ward, Regius Professor Emeritus of Divinity at Christ Church, Oxford and Research Professor at Heythrop College, London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1138891894
• ISBN 13: 9781138891890
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 278
• Editor: Carroll Anthony, Norman Richard