Jonathan Wright tells a story that is well known in academia: that heretics are the counter point to true faith: that true faith needs heretics to define itself. That said: he tells the story brilliantly for a more general audience, with details that most readers will be unfamiliar with. From Arius to Martin Luther and John [...]
Best academic books about religion and spirituality
I have to say – these are probably the books I enjoy most: historical analysis, sociological perspective and sound fact. They’re never the books that sell best, but I do enjoy reading them and writing about them. They’re the books I learn most from.
Reviewed in the West as the only decent biography of Sri Aurobindo Goshe, from politician, to poet and guru. This guy lived a fascinating life and Peter Heehs describes as many aspects of it as the Sri Aurobindo archives can help enlighten us on. In India this is a controversial book. It’s even been banned [...]
Written for theologians and philosophers this overview of the state of NDE research includes original research as well. The best introduction to the topic for the academic I have seen as well as the most challenging one for the rest of us. Given it’s target audience this is not the most accessible of books about [...]
THE book about one of the most controversial topics in occult history: the relationship between Nazism and occultism. Few people outside the occult or Neo Nazi subcultures (which don’t have a large overlap, fortunately) know much about the topic in this book. It is important both as a permanent warning to occultists, as well as [...]