The starting point in this book is that religions aren't true. There is no role for the supernatural in a thinking person's life. But, de Botton's argument goes, religions have honed many ideas for the conduct of life, conduct that nourishes our psychological needs. And we should shamelessly steal these ideas and construct secular, rational equivalents.

Now, this is interesting, and it certainly has the potential to move the atheist argument onto a new phase.

The problem is that de Botton is a philosopher, but no psychologist. His reading of religion has helped him identify some of humankind's emotional needs, but he is unable to make proposals that would galvanise anyone into action. It all sounds very fine, but the car needs washing and we haven't been to Tesco. An interesting read it may be, but through lack of this kind of pragmatism, it is ultimately daft.