How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others

To make gods and spirits feel vividly real to people, they must work hard to create a world in which they matter and can become intensely present and real. This effort changes the people who do it and gives them the benefits they seek from invisible others, which helps to explain the enduring power of faith.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 27 October 2020
Publisher: Princeton University Press

How God Becomes Real

In his groundbreaking work, "How God Becomes Real," acclaimed anthropologist and scholar of religion T. M. Luhrmann delves into the intricate process by which individuals come to experience gods and spirits as vividly real, as if they were standing right next to them. Humans tend to perceive supernatural agents everywhere, as cognitive science of religion has demonstrated. However, maintaining a sense that there are invisible spirits who care about us is not an easy task.

In his book, Luhrmann argues that people must engage in an extraordinary effort to make gods real. This effort, by altering the individuals involved and providing them with the benefits they seek from invisible others, helps to explain the enduring power of faith.

Drawing on ethnographic studies of various religious groups, including evangelical Christians, pagans, magicians, Zoroastrians, Black Catholics, Santeria initiates, and newly orthodox Jews, Luhrmann highlights the fact that none of these individuals behave as if gods and spirits are simply present. Instead, they make strenuous efforts to create a world in which invisible others matter and can become intensely present and real.

The faithful accomplish this through a range of practices, including detailed stories, absorption, the cultivation of inner senses, belief in a porous mind, strong sensory experiences, prayer, and other rituals. Throughout the book, Luhrmann offers insights into why faith is harder than belief, why prayer is a metacognitive activity like therapy, why becoming religious is like getting engrossed in a book, and much more.

A fascinating account of why religious practices are more powerful than religious beliefs, "How God Becomes Real" suggests that faith is resilient not because it provides intuitions about gods and spirits but because it changes the faithful in profound ways. By exploring the intricate relationship between humans and the supernatural, Luhrmann provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of religion and its enduring significance in human life.

Weight: 552g
Dimension: 166 x 242 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691164465