Books like God by Reza Aslan

Jonathan Eig’s biography offers an extensive, first unauthorized portrait of Muhammad Ali, drawing from over 500 interviews and newly released FBI files to chronicle the life of the legendary boxer.

This book traces how the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was God emerged and evolved in the early church, revealing the historical, textual, and theological steps that shaped the doctrine of Jesus’s divinity.

Karen Armstrong traces humanity’s lifelong quest to answer profound questions through the evolving concept of God, focusing on Western monotheistic traditions, especially Christianity.

In an era of hardening religious attitudes and explosive religious violence, this book offers a welcome antidote. Richard Holloway retells the entire history of religionfrom the dawn of religious belief to the twenty-first centurywith deepest respect and a keen commitment to accuracy. Writing for those with faith and those without, and especially for young readers, he encourages curiosity and tolerance, accentuates nuance and mystery, and calmly restores a sense of the value of faith. Ranging far beyond the major world religions of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, Holloway also examines where religious belief comes from, the search for meaning throughout history, todays fascinations with Scientology and creationism, religiously motivated violence, hostilities between religious people and secularists, and more. Holloway proves an empathic yet discerning guide to the enduring significance of faith and its power from ancient times to our own.--INSIDE FLAP.

A collection of biographical sketches of general-grade officers from World War II to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, exploring the evolution of the Army's approach to generalship and the negative impact on leadership and battle performance.

"We're often told that the United States is, was, and always has been a Christian nation. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse reveals that the idea of 'Christian America' is an invention--and a relatively recent one at that. As Kruse argues, the belief that America is fundamentally and formally a Christian nation originated in the 1930s when businessmen enlisted religious activists in their fight against FDR's New Deal. Corporations from General Motors to Hilton Hotels bankrolled conservative clergymen, encouraging them to attack the New Deal as a program of 'pagan statism' that perverted the central principle of Christianity: the sanctity and salvation of the individual. Their campaign for 'freedom under God' culminated in the election of their close ally Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. But this apparent triumph had an ironic twist. In Eisenhower's hands, a religious movement born in opposition to the government was transformed into one that fused faith and the federal government as never before. During the 1950s, Eisenhower revolutionized the role of religion in American political culture, inventing new traditions from inaugural prayers to the National Prayer Breakfast. Meanwhile, Congress added the phrase 'under God' to the Pledge of Allegiance and made 'In God We Trust' the country's first official motto. With private groups joining in, church membership soared to an all-time high of 69%. For the first time, Americans began to think of their country as an officially Christian nation. During this moment, virtually all Americans--across the religious and political spectrum--believed that their country was 'one nation under God.' But as Americans moved from broad generalities to the details of issues such as school prayer, cracks began to appear. Religious leaders rejected this 'lowest common denomination' public religion, leaving conservative political activists to champion it alone. In Richard Nixon's hands, a politics that conflated piety and patriotism became sole property of the right. Provocative and authoritative, One Nation Under God reveals how the unholy alliance of money, religion, and politics created a false origin story that continues to define and divide American politics to this day"-- "In One Nation Under God, award-winning historian Kevin M. Kruse argues that the story of Christian America begins with the Great Depression, when a coalition of businessmen and religious leaders united in opposition to the New Deal. As Kruse shows, corporations from General Motors and Kraft Foods to J.C. Penney and Hilton Hotels, poured money into the coffers of conservative religious leaders, who in turn used those funds to attack FDR's New Deal administration as a program of "pagan statism" that perverted the central tenet of Christianity: the salvation of the individual"--

Robert Wright traces the evolution of monotheistic faiths from the Stone Age to the Information Age, revealing a hidden pattern that reshapes our understanding of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and suggests a future of religious harmony.

"How do we explain the cultural hold of religion throughout history? Why are supernatural concepts culturally universal? What do biology, psychology, anthropology, and cognitive neuroscience have to tell us about the religious differences and similarities among different cultural groups? How is it that religious explanations of natural phenomena have had a greater hold on our collective imagination that most political, economic, and scientific accounts?" "In this interdisciplinary book, Scott Atran addresses these questions and more as he attempts to map the evolutionary landscape of religion. He argues that current explanations for religion do not sufficiently explain society's committments to a logically absurd world of supernatural causes and beings, questioning why evolution did not select against such curiously costly beliefs and behaviors as making gigantic pyramids to house the dead, blowing oneself up for the pleasures of paradise, sacrificing one's children as a measure of religious sincerity, or setting aside large chunks of time to mumble incoherent words repititiously. Observing the limitations of most functional explanations for the cultural power of religion, he proposes that religion is less an adaptation to a specific function (or collective need) than a natural basin of possibilities to which human lives spontaneously converge. If naturally selected structures of cognition, emotion, and organization channel our thoughts and behaviors into cultural paths that include some kind of religious belief or committment, he argues that secular ideologies attempting to replace religion will always be at a disadvantage in terms of cultural survival."--Jacket.

"Now in its third successful edition, 'A concise introduction to world religions' is a comprehensive introduction to major faith traditions around the globe. Building on the strong foundations provided by the two-volume set 'World religions: Eastern traditions; and 'World religions: Western traditions', this contributed volume offers students an engaging, insightful overview of each tradition's history, practices, and place within the contemporary society. Highlights: A new introductory chapter gives students an up-to-date overview of the study of religion around the globe; Three new contributions offer fresh chapters on Indigenous, Jewish, and Christian traditions; Increased coverage of women's roles and contributions brings to light often overlooked aspects of religious life; Fully revised sections on contemporary issues help students understand the challenges that religious traditions face in the modern world; Online ancillaries -- including an instructor's manual, a test generator, and PowerPoint slides for instructors and a study guide for students -- offer additional support to enhance the teaching and learning experiences." -- rear cover.