How to live in a supposedly faithless world threatened by religious fundamentali
sm? Terry Eagleton, formidable thinker and renowned cultural critic, investigate
s in this thought-provoking book the contradictions, difficulties, and significa
nce of the modern search for a replacement for God. Engaging with a phenomenally
wide range of ideas, issues, and thinkers from the Enlightenment to today, Eagl
eton discusses the state of religion before and after 9/11, the ironies surround
ing Western capitalism's part in spawning not only secularism but also fundament
alism, and the unsatisfactory surrogates for the Almighty invented in the post-E
nlightenment era. The author reflects on the unique capacities of religion, the
possibilities of culture and art as modern paths to salvation, the so-called war
on terror's impact on atheism, and a host of other topics of concern to those w
ho envision a future in which just and compassionate communities thrive.
