Why Religion? book cover

Why Religion? by Elaine Pagels Summary

Why Religion?
Elaine Pagels
3.97 (3240 Reviews)
Philosophy
Society
History
Aperçu
Points Clés
Auteur
Questions Fréquentes

Overview of Why Religion?

In "Why Religion?", Princeton scholar Elaine Pagels transforms devastating personal tragedy into profound spiritual exploration. After losing both her young son and husband within months, she discovers how ancient texts offer modern healing - a journey that revolutionized religious scholarship while answering our deepest question: why do we believe?

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Points clés

1

Why We Turn to the Sacred When the World Breaks

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Picture a Harvard professor standing at the threshold of a monastery, her world shattered by losses so devastating they defy comprehension. Within eighteen months, she's buried both her six-year-old son and her physicist husband. She arrives not seeking faith but survival-some way to metabolize grief that threatens to consume her entirely. This is where Elaine Pagels found herself, and where her exploration of humanity's oldest question begins: Why does religion persist, even for those who've studied its contradictions and construction for decades? We often imagine religious scholars as detached analysts, dissecting ancient texts with clinical precision. But what happens when the woman who's spent her career translating secret gospels and deconstructing theological systems suddenly needs those very traditions to survive? This paradox drives one of the most honest explorations of faith's purpose ever written-not as abstract philosophy but as urgent, visceral necessity.

2

The Rebel Who Questioned Her Father's Certainties

3

Breaking Through Academic Gatekeeping

4

Love, Loss, and the Limits of Medicine

5

When Children Know More Than We Admit

6

The Crater That Swallows Everything

7

What Ancient Heretics Knew About Survival

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"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum
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108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
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254
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17

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore
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"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

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"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

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