Uses of Religion for Non-believers

There should be a national position for Alain De Botton, the Archbishop of Atheism perhaps. As it is he is Britain’s most popular philosopher by media proxy. This is all well and good as he has admirable qualities that were evident at Brighton’s Corn Exchange in his lecture (A New Writing South Lecture) on ‘Uses of Religion for Non-Believers’. He is witty, personable, fluent, intellectually engaging and above all moderate and balanced – an antidote to the belligerence of Dawkins. He takes us on a “buffet style tour” of “the good bits” of religious practice, making us conscious of what the secular nature of our society has lost and the contribution that religious modes of thinking can make to education, art, architecture, organisations and communities. This is not a mantra for the ‘society needs more religious instruction’ brigade but is rather a thought-provoking examination of how we have lost our way and might reclaim some ground – for that reason alone he is performing a national service.

Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome, 5 May 2012

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