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New observations on the persistence of God in modern times and why "authentic" atheism is so very hard to come by

How to live in a supposedly faithless world threatened by religious fundamentalism? Terry Eagleton, formidable thinker and renowned cultural critic, investigates in this thought-provoking book the contradictions, difficulties, and significance of the modern search for a replacement for God. Engaging with a phenomenally wide range of ideas, issues, and thinkers from the Enlightenment to today, Eagleton discusses the state of religion before and after 9/11, the ironies surrounding Western capitalism's part in spawning not only secularism but also fundamentalism, and the unsatisfactory surrogates for the Almighty invented in the post-Enlightenment era.

The author reflects on the unique capacities of religion, the possibilities of culture and art as modern paths to salvation, the so-called war on terror's impact on atheism, and a host of other topics of concern to those who envision a future in which just and compassionate communities thrive. Lucid, stylish, and entertaining in his usual manner, Eagleton presents a brilliant survey of modern thought that also serves as a timely, urgently needed intervention into our perilous political present. "A tour-de-force survey of the changing relation of culture and religion."-Publishers Weekly

"Eagleton produces an account of the continuing power of religion that is rich and compelling. Open this book at random, and you will find on a single page more thought-stirring argument than can be gleaned from a dozen ponderous treatises on philosophy of sociology. Most of the critical turning points in modern thought are examined illuminatingly."-John Gray, New Statesman

"Wide-ranging and intellectually impassioned."-Sarah Bakewell, Financial Times

"His latest book confirms him as one of the most interesting thinkers on culture and religion that we have, and the good news is that what he says about our contemporary situation is true, important and accessible . . . That Eagleton . . . ought to be taken seriously by serious people is beyond doubt."-John McDade, The Tablet



"Getting rid of God has been a long slog, Eagleton's concise, absorbing overview of the philosophical and cultural trends of the past three centuries explains."-Marcus Tanner, The Independent

"Terry Eagleton brings all his forensic insights and acerbic wit, to the search for a replacement for God in critical thinking since the Enlightenment . . . Eagleton's thoughts - 'one can kill for all sorts of motives, but killing on a spectacular scale is almost always the consequence of ideas' - are a joy to ponder. That and his depth of knowledge make for fascinating reading."-Scarlett MacGwire, Tribune Magazine

"If Terry Eagleton didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent him."-Simon Critchley, author of The Book of Dead Philosophers

"The central virtue of Eagleton's reliably witty and erudite story of culture and politics in Western thought is the insistence on how difficult, and how rare, genuine atheism is. No one interested in the seemingly endless 'God debate' can ignore this book, which briskly surveys more than three centuries of intellectual discourse about democracy and the divine, and then ends with a well-turned, provocative snarl."-Mark Kingwell, author of Unruly Voices: Essays on Democracy, Civility and the Human Imagination

Culture and the Death of God