- What if religions are neither all true nor all nonsense? Alain de Botton's bold and provocative book argues that we can benefit from the wisdom and power of religion-without having to believe in any of it..
Q&A with Author Alain De Botton
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Q: Is it possible to be a good person without religion? A: The
problem of the man without religion is that he forgets. We all
know in theory what we should do to be good. The problem is that
in practice, we forget. And we forget because the modern secular
world always thinks that it is enough to tell someone something
once (be good, remember the poor etc.) But all religions disagree
here: they insist that if anyone is to stand a chance of
remembering anything, they need reminders on a daily, perhaps
even hourly basis. Q: What do you think of the aggressive atheism
we have seen in the past few years? A: I am an atheist, but a
gentle one. I don't feel the need to mock anyone who believes. I
really disagree with the hard tone of some atheists who approach
religion like a silly fairy tale. I am deeply respectful of
religion, but I believe none of its supernatural aspects. So my
position is perhaps unusual: I am at once very respectful and
completely impious. Q: Are you nostalgic for the deeply religious
past? A: Like many people, of course I feel nostalgic. How is it
possible not to feel nostalgic when you look at 15th frescoes or
the rituals of an ancient carnival? However, we have to ask: how
should I respond to my nostalgia? My thought is that we can use
it creatively, as the basis for a rebirth, for the creation of
new things, for the creation of things that later generations
will feel nostalgic about... So it frustrates me when people say
things like, 'Well, they knew how to build in the 15th century,
now it is impossible...' Why! Anything is possible. We should not
sigh nostalgically over religion, we should learn from them. We
should steal from them. Q: If we were to replace religion with a
secular equivalent, who would be our gurus?
A: We don't need a central structure. We are beyond the age of
gurus and inspirational leaders. We are in the age of the Wiki
structure. This means that it is up to all of us to look at
religion and see what bits we can steal and place into the modern
world. We might all contribute to the construction of new
temples, not the government, but the concerned, interested
individual. The salvation of the individual soul remains a
serious problem--even when we dismiss the idea of God. In the
20th century, capitalism has really solved (in the rich West) the
material problems of a significant portion of mankind. But the
spiritual needs are still in chaos, with religion ceasing to
answer the need. This is why I wrote my book, to show that there
remains a new way: a way of filling the modern world with so many
important lessons from religion, and yet not needing to return to
any kind of occult spirituality.
Q: Don't you think that, in order to truly appreciate religious
music and art, you have to be a believer--or, at least, don't you
think that non-believers miss something important in the
experience? A: I am interested in the modern cl that we have
now found a way to replace religion: with art. You often hear
people say, 'Museums are our new churches'. It's a nice idea, but
it's not true, and it's principally not true because of the way
that museums are laid out and present art. They prevent anyone
from having an emotional relationship with the works on display.
They encourage an academic interest, but prevent a more didactic
and therapeutic kind of contact. I recommend in my book that even
if we don't believe, we learn to use art (even secular art) as a
resource for comfort, identification, guidance and edification,
very much what religions do with art.