Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
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| Author | Daniel C. Dennett |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Psychology of religion |
| Publisher | Viking (Penguin) |
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Publication date
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2006 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 61240665 |
| 200 22 | |
| LC Class | BL2775.3 .D46 2006 |
| Preceded by | |
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon is a 2006 book in which the American philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett argues that religion is in need of scientific analysis so that its nature and future may be better understood. The "spell" that requires "breaking" is not religious belief itself but the belief that it is off-limits to or beyond scientific inquiry.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I discusses the motivation and justification for the entire project: Can science study religion? Should science study religion? After answering in the affirmative, Part II proceeds to use the tools of evolutionary biology and memetics to suggest possible theories regarding the origin of religion and subsequent evolution of modern religions from ancient folk beliefs. Part III analyzes religion and its effects in today's world: Does religion make us moral? Is religion what gives meaning to life? What should we teach the children? Dennett bases much of his analysis on empirical evidence, though he often points out that much more research in this field is needed.
Dennett's working definition of religions is: "social systems whose participants avow belief in a supernatural agent or agents whose approval is to be sought." He notes that this definition is "a place to start, not something carved in stone."
The book has received sharply different reviews from different sources.
For example The Guardian's Andrew Brown describes it as giving "a very forceful and lucid account of the reasons why we need to study religious behaviour as a human phenomenon". In Scientific American, George Johnson describes the book's main draw as being "a sharp synthesis of a library of evolutionary, anthropological and psychological research on the origin and spread of religion." Finally, in The New Yorker, H. Allen Orr described the book as "an accessible account of what might be called the natural history of religion."
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