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How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others Kindle Edition

by T.M. Luhrmann (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 89 ratings
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The hard work required to make God real, how it changes the people who do it, and why it helps explain the enduring power of faith

How do gods and spirits come to feel vividly real to people—as if they were standing right next to them? Humans tend to see supernatural agents everywhere, as the cognitive science of religion has shown. But it isn’t easy to maintain a sense that there are invisible spirits who care about you. In How God Becomes Real, acclaimed anthropologist and scholar of religion T. M. Luhrmann argues that people must work incredibly hard to make gods real and that this effort—by changing the people who do it and giving them the benefits they seek from invisible others—helps to explain the enduring power of faith.

Drawing on ethnographic studies of evangelical Christians, pagans, magicians, Zoroastrians, Black Catholics, Santeria initiates, and newly orthodox Jews, Luhrmann notes that none of these people behave as if gods and spirits are simply there. Rather, these worshippers make strenuous efforts to create a world in which invisible others matter and can become intensely present and real. The faithful accomplish this through detailed stories, absorption, the cultivation of inner senses, belief in a porous mind, strong sensory experiences, prayer, and other practices. Along the way, Luhrmann shows 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.

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  1. Print length
    247 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
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  4. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  5. Publication date
    27 October 2020
  6. File size
    3369 KB
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Review

"Luhrmann has brilliantly illuminated the magical attunement that constitutes a great deal of evangelical charismatic belief."---James Wood, New Yorker

"A generous and erudite study of how people believe."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"An immensely enjoyable read."-- "Journal of the American Academy of Religion"

"Winner of the J.I Staley Prize, School for Advanced Research"

"Fascinating. . . . Provocatively orchestrated, meticulously argued, and lucidly written."---Sarah Iles Johnston, Los Angeles Review of Books

"One of The New York Times' Three Books That Gaze Upward to Heaven and Inward to the Heart"

"Tanya Marie Luhrmann is brave to have written such a daring book but it is a book which needed writing, it is a subject which needed addressing, and--amazingly I think--in the process of writing, she has given us a challenging, thought-provoking work. . . . What we have in the end is a fascinating and accessible book, taking us far out of our comfort zones to discover how what we do, and how what people in different cultures to our own do, can enable each person to grow in awareness of the invisible other, how each one of us can make the invisible other real."---Luke Penkett, Heythrop Journal

"Winner of the PROSE Award in Theology & Religious Studies, Association of American Publishers"

"A cause for celebration."---Brian Collins, Religious Studies Review

"Brilliant . . . destined to become a classic."---Timothy Larsen, Marginalia

"Drawing voraciously on her own and others' research into faiths as far-flung as Messianic Judaism, the Goddess movement, Indigenous spirituality and Santeria, Luhrmann seeks to map how modern believers make their gods real."---Ariel Sabar, New York Times

"A serious work of anthropological research, yet its conversational tone and fascinating anecdotes will hold the attention of even nonspecialists, especially those troubled by the elusiveness of an intimate relationship with God."-- "America Magazine"

"This insightful, challenging study, to be commended for its richly researched scholarship, throws fascinating light on how people fasion and express their faith practice and experience."---Rev. Brian Cooper, The Gandhi Way

About the Author

T. M. Luhrmann is the Watkins University Professor at Stanford University, where she teaches anthropology and psychology. Her books include When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God. She has written for the New York Times, and her work has been featured in the New Yorker and other magazines. She lives in Stanford, California.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0876HDGMD
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press (27 October 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3369 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 247 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 89 ratings

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lisan
5.0 out of 5 stars An anthropologist’s take on how religion becomes genuine faith
Reviewed in the United States on 18 January 2024
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Having been raised in a conservative Christian community, there was little room for any other belief but one. As a young child, I knew if I had been raised in another religion, I might have become a devout Muslim, Pagan or Buddhist. Would that have been so bad? Even if I had been raised in a nonreligious family, I might have created my own god, depending on circumstances. As a child I puzzled over the one god theory and wondered. For some, even wondering was dangerous.

Anthropologist author, T.M. Luhrmann did an excellent job of answering my childhood question of how humankind’s inner awareness of the unseen can become real and genuine. I wish this book would become suggested reading for people wondering why the world is dealing with so many religious wars.
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Catherine
5.0 out of 5 stars Originally read for Uni, but how a personal favourite
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 March 2024
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This book was originally one I had to read as a book review for a theology module. As soon as I started reading however, it felt much less like an assignment and much more like fun personal reading.

As an agnostic, there was some truly enlightening stories in this book. It's wonderful to see how different people experience and interact with their god(s).

The book attempts to take an alternative approach to anthropological work on religious belief and worship, posing the question of whether people believe because they worship rather than worship because they believe. Luhrmann reflects on both personal experiences and also the stories of congregations she's interviewed.

I often felt inclined to stop and consider how I myself had interacted with invisible beings, and it gave me some good time to contemplate my own relationship with spirituality.

Definitely something I'd recommend, although from discussions with peers about the book, it seemed clear that the contents was much more appealing to an audience of non-active, but open to religion people rather than those who are already comfortable with their worship style.
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Kevin Corn
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United States on 26 September 2022
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One of the many snares that trap scholars of religion is to get caught up in endless attempts to evaluate the truth claims made by the people being studied. Luhrmann is one of a growing number who propose to bypass that question and investigate instead how these people experience their religion. How do its various gods and spirits become real to them?
6 people found this helpful
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MR K.
2.0 out of 5 stars Academic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2024
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Boring, dry, uninteresting and not particularly accessible
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Steven Maimes
4.0 out of 5 stars An anthropologist’s book on kindling spiritual presence
Reviewed in the United States on 18 February 2021
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As the author clearly states in the preface: “This is not an atheist’s book. It is not a believer’s book. It is an anthropologist’s book.” The author stays true to presenting details as an anthropologist. I would have liked her to move more into the believer territory and elaborate more on mystery and revelation.

In praise of the book, the author clearly and with insight presented a good case of how God can be made real for people and that this real-making causes change. The book discusses the process of kindling spiritual presence through effort, training, attention, prayer, relationship, using the mind, and various techniques to kindle spiritual presence. Many examples are detailed.

The author is articulate, and her ideas are very well thought. I appreciated it when she shared conclusions and summaries. In my opinion, she used too many ethnographic examples and quoted from too many studies. There was some repetition in the text and some of the work has already been presented in her previous book “When God Talks Back” (2012).

As a major social science work, this book is successful. A detailed bibliography, notes, and index.
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