Theological Incorrectness: Why Religious People Believe What They Shouldn't - Hardcover

Slone, D. Jason

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195169263 ISBN 13: 9780195169263

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2004

Synopsis

"Ask two religious people one question, and you'll get three answers!"
Why do religious people believe what they shouldn't--not what others think they shouldn't believe, but things that don't accord with their own avowed religious beliefs? This engaging book explores this puzzling feature of human behavior.
D. Jason Slone terms this phenomenon "theological incorrectness." He demonstrates that it exists because the mind is built it such a way that it's natural for us to think divergent thoughts simultaneously. Human minds are great at coming up with innovative ideas that help them make sense of the world, he says, but those ideas do not always jibe with official religious beliefs. From this fact we derive the important lesson that what we learn from our environment--religious ideas, for example--does not necessarily cause us to behave in ways consistent with that knowledge.
Slone presents the latest discoveries from the cognitive science of religion and shows how they help us to understand exactly why it is that religious people do and think things that they shouldn't. He then applies these insights to three case studies. First he looks at why Theravada Buddhists profess that Buddha was just a man but actually worship him as a god. Then he explores why the early Puritan Calvinists, who believed in predestination, acted instead as if humans had free will by, for example, conducting witch-hunts and seeking converts. Finally, he explains why both Christians and Buddhists believe in luck even though the doctrines of Divine Providence and karma suggest there's no such thing.
In seeking answers to profound questions about why people behave the way they do, this fascinating book sheds new light on the workings of the human mind and on the complex relationship between cognition and culture.

About this title

About the Author:

D. Jason Slone is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Findlay in Ohio.

Review:

"An exploration of the reasons why religious people often behave in unorthodox, if predictable, ways, Jason Slone's Theological Incorrectness is the latest in a growing number of cognitive studies of religion--and the most accessible to date. The chapters presenting this new approach--which
argues that religion is a natural by-product of ordinary cognition--are exceptionally clear, making the book a welcome choice for use in undergraduate education. And Slone's examples--Buddhism, Christianity, and the perseverance of luck in religious practices--convincingly demonstrate its value not
only to those encountering it for the first time but to established scholars of religious studies as well." --Luther H. Martin, Professor of Religion, The University of Vermont

"This is a splendid book that greatly adds to our knowledge of religion. Slone demonstrates how cognitive science illuminates persistent mysteries of religious thought and behavior: why some religions apparently dispense with gods and transcendence, why beliefs in luck will outlive all
religious systems, and many other such enigmas. He tackles one of the most puzzling features of organized religion, that theologically sanctioned beliefs rarely command complete adherence even from the most devout followers. People do believe, but they often do not believe what they think they
believe, and Slone brilliantly explains why that is so. --Pascal Boyer, author of Religion Explained

The cognitive science of religion aims to explain religious thinking and behavior in ways that are both precise and testable. Jason Slone shows how many previous theories of religion have fallen short in this respect and he provides a masterly overview of the new sciences that reverse that
trend. But Slone has done much more than that. He has managed to produce a concise survey that is as accessible and entertaining as it is authoritative, interwoven with his own distinctive and important ideas. The result is a book that will appeal as much to lay readers and undergraduates as to
advanced scholars and scientists interested in the psychological foundations of religion. --Harvey Whitehouse, author of Arguments and Icons: Divergent Modes of Religiosity

"Jason Slone's Theological Incorrectness shows in an erudite, humorous and compelling way how the cognitive science of religion is in the process of developing intriguing, plausible and empirically confirmable answers to the many puzzling features of religious ideas and the practices they
inform. He distinguishes between the theologically correct explicit beliefs and the intuitive beliefs that actually drive religion on the ground. This important and groundbreaking book will make waves not only in the academic community but also in the larger marketplace of ideas. If I were a
salesperson I would advise people to run rather than walk to buy it. Slone has made a signal contribution both to scholars engaged in the scientific study of religion and to the wider audience tuned to new voices presenting compelling ideas in exciting ways. --E. Thomas Lawson, Editor, Journal of
Cognition and Culture

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0195169263
• ISBN 13: 9780195169263
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 168