How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science

by Michael Shermer

How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science

book data

116 ratings, 3.87 average rating, 20 reviews (more data...)

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published

November 1st 2000 by W. H. Freeman

binding

Paperback, 302 pages

isbn

071674161X (isbn13: 9780716741619)

description

One hundred years ago social scientists predicted that belief in God would decrease by the year 2000. "In fact ... the opposite is has occurred,&...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 217)

All ratings | 5 stars (20) | 4 stars (54) | 3 stars (31) | 2 stars (3) | avg 3.87

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Scott

Scott rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

02/09/07

bookshelves: scientificworldview

Read in May, 2006

recommends it for: Anyone

This book does a great job at explaining the origins of religion and how it was a necessary by product of evolution. After reading this is hard to deny that religion and the concept of God is not explainable through natural processes. Then given the choice between an understandable natural phenomena and a mysterious supernatural phenomena, why should anyone choose religion over science unless for comfort? Because of this book I changed my religious label to nontheist meaning I don’t believe...more

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M rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

03/30/08

Read in March, 2008

Listening to Shermer reading his "How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science" became interesting towards the end, where he expressed his (and shared by many others) feelings on freedom in a world without the necessity of a super-natural being for the meaning of our existence. How he finds more meaning in this given condition of meaninglessness, leaving us to the openness of defining our own meaning, living the life to the fullest, in absence of daemons and angels, fire and...more

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Davey

Davey rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

07/19/07

Read in July, 2007

After I read Why People Believe Weird Things, I really wanted to get a hold of more books by Michael Shermer, renowned skeptic and founder of Skeptic magazine. And while this book is enormously valuable, it sails far over my head sometimes. It is not as fun or readable as WPBWT, perhaps because that book was more of a general collection of self-contained essays and this books is a grand dissertation on a topic. Nevertheless, there is a lot here to think about.

The subject of the book is a...more After I read Why People Believe Weird Things, I really wanted to get a hold of more books by Michael Shermer, renowned skeptic and founder of Skeptic magazine. And while this book is enormously valuable, it sails far over my head sometimes. It is not as fun or readable as WPBWT, perhaps because that book was more of a general collection of self-contained essays and this books is a grand dissertation on a topic. Nevertheless, there is a lot here to think about.

The subject of the book is about how and why people believe in God in an age where science can seemingly answer questions of existence better than faith. Many chapters have to do with scientific and philosophical arguments for God. The chapter on the “Ghost Dance” was particularly interesting to me in explaining the role of religion in people of oppressed cultures. Shermer talks about a Native American myth about the destruction of the white man and ruling the Red Man ruling the world--not dissimilar from Christianity, which was essentially born from a Jewish minority in Ancient Rome and somewhat of a reaction to being repressed by the Roman majority. Now that Christianity has grown, firmly entrenched, it seems at times that this group still likes to persist in the belief that they are being held down by Godless, “liberal media,” secularists, believers in evolution (virtually all scientists), what have you. And suddenly it makes sense--no matter what the Christian’s position in life, no matter how much money he has, or what his station or rank in the scheme of things, it doesn’t matter: it is easier to be a Christian if you believe that you are being oppressed by SOMEONE. But lest I rant about followers of JC (sorry, it’s so easy ‘cause it hits so close to home) the point is that the theme of the enemy being destroyed and the righteous inheriting the earth is one that recurs throughout humankind, in many different forms. In modern times there is the UFO/Nation of Islam story about how Louis Farrakhan visited a UFO, and was told that it would rain destruction on white America but would save those who embrace the Nation of Islam (I’m not making this up). While history is continuous, forever changing, with thousands and thousands of things that can happen, there are actually only a limited number of human reactions to them, which is why many of our stories in many different cultures are similar (the creation of the earth, the flood story, the idea of a savior, etc.).

While this book can be one giant headache, it is extremely provocative and interesting. Shermer does not attack religion; he merely offers that by it’s very definition, it is an issue of faith, that can only be decided by faith. ...less

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Kirsten

Kirsten rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

01/30/08

bookshelves: from-library, non-fiction, read-pre-12-07

Read in November, 2007

Michael Shermer doesn't have a problem with you if you believe in God. What he has a problem with is the way that some people (he mainly focuses on Christians here) try to use science to prove God's existence. Moreso, they use BAD science with little understanding of the scientific method, and that really rankles.

This is a really interesting book to read if you're curious about the history of the intersection of God and science, and if you are looking for something less adamantly atheistic ...more

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Allen

Allen rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

01/23/08

Read in January, 2007

This is a very formative book in my current thinking of how we come to believe what we do. Scientific, religious, or otherwise. Schermer writes a column which I like in Scientific American, so i anticipated this being a good book. I wasn't disappointed. He's done his homework and looked human perception in the eye and yet writes without judgement.

He asserts we are a "pattern-seeking, social animal" that bring to adulthood what our parents taught us. The challenge we encounter th...more

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Mike

Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

09/22/08

bookshelves: belief, evolution

Read in September, 2008

Shermer illustrates that our "belief machine", our mechanism for understanding the world, arose from our need to believe _something_ in that believing true things and disbelieving false things increases our chances of survival. Unfortunately, that same mechanism easily picks up and believes false things and disbelieves true things, especially where those mistakes don't cost us too much. At the same time, he helpfully illustrates the features of worldwide cults and religions that are ...more

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Eric

Eric rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

11/22/08

bookshelves: philosophy

Read in January, 2003

see my review of Why People Believe Weird Things for a joint review.

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Tadd

Tadd rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

11/02/08

Read in November, 2006

If Robert Buckman’s Can We Be Good Without God is the basic introduction in skeptical agnosticism, then Shermer’s How We Believe is the advanced thesis. I am impressed not only with the author’s detailed research, but also by the courage he took in questioning claims by authors like Daniel Dennett and Pascal Boyer. I was inspired by the conclusion where Shermer sums up his ideas, then uses an analogy from the film It’s a Wonderful Life. I urge anyone interested in God to pick up a copy o...more

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Dave

Dave rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

04/13/08

bookshelves: non-fiction-read

Read in January, 2001

recommended to Dave by: A unitarian universalist friend
recommends it for: those interested in the philosophy of religion or sociology and spiritual seekers

A book about the psychology of belief. Written from a perspective of evolutionary impact on culture. Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic Magazine, describes his own early religious conversion and later move into upbeat skepticism. He describes evolutionary forces that might affect group selection and community identity. A very interesting book with plausible, intelligible and fruitful ideas.

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Tamara

Tamara rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

06/16/07

bookshelves: allaboutreligion

Read in June, 2007

A little too technical at times, but interesting. Shermer doesn't totally dump on believers, having been a born-again Christian at one point. He now is skeptical of religion, but allows that many others might not be. Not so much looking at how religion rose, but just an overall view of how/why people today believe.

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Craig

Craig rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

09/11/07

recommends it for: Fellow Skeptics

Michael Shermer is one of the great minds in current publc discourse - he has the courage to constantly stand up against the Religious Right and shine the very unpopular light of Skepticism. His writings will challenge you, make you think, and dare you to question...

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Tim

Tim rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

08/03/08

This book did a great job of breaking down our instincts as humans to believe in something supernatural. Michael Shermer's is very persuasive and a compelling writer. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the psychological need to believe.

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Rae

Rae rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

08/29/08

bookshelves: religiosity

The author wonders why religious belief remains popular in contemporary America even though scientific and technological advances should bring a decline in faith. I was unimpressed with this.

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Chris

Chris rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

10/11/07

Read in January, 2007

recommends it for: everyone

An interesting look at how human interaction breeds dogma and religious doctrine. Along with Dr. Michael Shermer's other works, it gives meaning and purpose to being a "skeptic".

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Claire

Claire rated it:

11/11/07

recommends it for: patient people

It took me a year to read this book, but it was well worth it because it reinforced a bunch of stuff I thought before but now I can justify it better at cocktail parties.

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Mike

Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

10/09/08

bookshelves: religion

Read in January, 2006

Shermer has an easy to read style in contrast to many others in his field. Shermer treats belief as a process and addresses it in an unbiased manner.

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Pat

Pat rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

06/29/08

bookshelves: religion-and-philosophy

Personal faith cannot and should not be scientifically verified. God and No God are equally impossible to prove.

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Mateo

Mateo added it (review of isbn 0805074791)

01/02/08

Read in November, 2007

This is a great insight to religion and the psychology of why people believe in God, ...or not I guess.

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Scott

Scott rated it:

(review of isbn 0805074791)

02/27/08

One of those pivotal books for my belief system...and consequently my life.

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Sabio

Sabio rated it:

07/17/07

bookshelves: cognitive_sci, religion

Another great Shermer book.

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