Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon in Atheists and Skeptics

Feb 15, 2008 Marina Keenan rated it it was amazing

To preface my remarks here, I think it is important that I note Dennett's definition of religion and its implications. He defines religion as social systems whose participants avow belief in a supernatural agent or agents whose approval is to be sought. Two elements of the definition almost cause me panic as I read them. The first, the fact that any religion is a social system, suggests to me that since one cannot worship a supernatural agent alone, God, a "he" most everywhere you look, is reall To preface my remarks here, I think it is important that I note Dennett's definition of religion and its implications. He defines religion as social systems whose participants avow belief in a supernatural agent or agents whose approval is to be sought. Two elements of the definition almost cause me panic as I read them. The first, the fact that any religion is a social system, suggests to me that since one cannot worship a supernatural agent alone, God, a "he" most everywhere you look, is really the collective concept of a group of people who are similarly connected socially and religiously. In a recent Good Reads forum based on Dawkins' The God Delusion, most of the faithful who participated suggested that because so many others believed in God throughout history, their study of "scripture" should not be questioned by me or other participants. Alas, none were willing to address the reasons why their church hung pictures of a Jesus who looked more like a white musician from Seattle than someone from Jesus' home town. This scares me because the faithful have confirmed that their minds are not their own and they have lost the ability to think critically about their beliefs. The other part of the definition that almost leads me to panic, that the participants seek approval from a supernatural agent or agents, means that not only is some vaguely defined and socially reinforced God concept granted greater-than-self status in the minds of the faithful, but the agents' "prophets," to whom enough has been revealed to write a bestseller, are granted God's special favor, and their approval must be sought as well. This scenario is made possible by the aforementioned sacrifice of mind, and enables leaders of any religion you'd care to name to compromise its believers in practically any way.

In Breaking the Spell, Dennett demonstrates faith in people's ability to make clear decisions by suggesting that if school children were to study all of the world's religions, they would learn to think critically and be unwilling to sacrifice this ability for the sake of any supernatural agent or prophet. Should students begin to have thoughts that transcend social/religious paradigms and pressures, no current religious system could survive it, and I think that would be a good thing. ...more

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Mar 01, 2008 Mark Gowan rated it really liked it

Shelves: the-detriment-of-religion

This book is somewhat a departure from Mr. Dennett’s previous books that I’ve read (The Mind’s I, Consciousness Explained, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, Freedom Evolves) in that it seems more socially-minded rather than science-driven. This is good because I believe that Mr. Dennett has some great ideas, as do many writers, but that they are sometimes lost in the meticulous detail that is often necessary.
I think that Mr. Dennett is giving a rounded explanation of how, where, and why there is religio ...more

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Dec 20, 2008 Charles rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

Daniel C. Dennett is a professor of philosophy so, as might be expected, he doesn't offer many answers in this book. He does however present more than a few questions and interesting ideas. Many of which I feel should be given more than just a casual glance.
The book is divided into three parts:
Part 1 Opening Pandora's Box
- What is the definition of religion?
- Can science study religion? Should science study religion?
- Cui bono? Who benefits from religion as a whole? Individuals? Society? Or ...more

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Nov 19, 2007 Kitty rated it liked it

Shelves: philosophy

I'm an atheist (most days - some days I'm agnostic) and I agreed with a good bit of what Dennett had to say. While reading it last year, I thought he seemed to be a little condescending toward believers. I hope to reread it to see if that assessment still seems true. ...more

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