Religion

The British writer, A.N. Wilson, recommends books that have helped him understand what Christianity means and to truly believe.

Think you're not interested in church music? Think again. Read this interview and you'll soon find yourself ordering some books about it too. And a Happy Christmas from your editors at Five Books.

Embracing a scientific worldview excludes the possibility of also believing in God, says evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne. He picks five non-accommodationist books.

Religion has an ability to create groups and communities that has yet to be surpassed, argues Selina O'Grady, author of And Man Created God: A History of the World at the Time of Jesus.

Over the centuries, horrible crimes have been committed by Christians accusing others of being followers of the Devil. The label of Satanism was one of the worst imaginable in a religious society. However, from the 17th century onwards, some of the greatest writers began to find in Satan, the fallen angel, a sympathetic character whose opposition to the tyranny of heaven was not entirely unreasonable. Today, modern Satanists embrace the label, pursuing a nontheistic religion that celebrates individualism as well as critical thinking, explains blogger and journalist La Carmina, author of The Little Book of Satanism.

Ruth Wisse, Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Comparative Literature Emerita at Harvard and author of No Joke: Making Jewish Humour, identifies Tevye the Dairyman as the first standup comic and Sigmund Freud as Jewish humour's greatest analyst.

The philosopher and former executive editor of The Economist, Anthony Gottlieb, discusses religion and suggests that belief in God only truly declines in a society when economic development brings existential security.

Biology professor—and Catholic—Kenneth Miller tells us what we should read to understand the battle being fought between scientists and creationists.

Tortured by the sins of your past? Or contemplating new ones? The historian of ancient Christianity recommends five books to understand the role of sin in Christian thought.

The former bishop of Oxford tells us about books that explore what it means to be a Christian – from St Augustine and medieval mysticism to grappling with Dostoyevsky and more modern dilemmas. He picks the best books on Christianity.