RELIGION FOR ATHEISTS by Alain de Botton

Get ready for a refreshing alternative on the never ending debate between believers and non-believers.

Alain de Botton proposes that, if we put the supernatural claims aside, we still have some very important things to learn from religions.

He argues that we should look to religions for insights into our social need for community and connection. We could use rituals such as eating at the same table, “breaking the same bread”, to facilitate belonging and trust, to have a place (other than church) that is not divided by class, income or prejudice.

What religious institutions understood very well is that we are fragile, sinful and vulnerable, therefore unable to create moral universes on our own : “We need institutions,” de Botton continues, “to foster and protect those emotions to which we are sincerely inclined but which, without a supporting structure and a system of active reminders, we will be too distracted and undisciplined to make time for.”

That being said, throughout the book he is carefully examining all these religious celebrations, affirmations, rituals, poems and abstentions, understanding that ultimately, they all come from our need to feel that we’re not alone in our anxieties, struggles, fears and disappointments.

In a way it’s a well established mechanism that we could also be replicated away from the supernatural elements. We should definitely have celebrations, traditions, habits, affirmations and education that address the complexity of human existence, our incredible planet and just how far we’ve come together.

I, for one, love his idea for a “Tower of Perspective”, an awe-inspiring tower, for which every centimetre represents a million years of our Planet Earth. A peaceful, quiet, free-from-distractions place that encourages reflection and a moment of solitude for yourself.