A review by stevegoble
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett

4.0

In this book, Dennett is calling for a serious, fair look at religious thinking and behavior, using all the tools of science, logic and honest inquiry. He is a philosopher, and so spends a great deal of time defining terms and pondering the various possibilities he raises. His book is not a polemic against religion; indeed, he spends a fair amount of time pondering the notion that religion might well be good for us. He is no Christopher Hitchens or Richard Dawkins. The book is largely speculative -- a fact Dennett himself points out several times -- but the questions raised and thoughts provoked are well worth the time of thinking people. The author can be a bit windy, in pursuit of precision, but I think it worthwhile to slog through.