The Future of God: A Practical Approach to Spirituality for Our Times

“Faith is in trouble,” bestselling spirituality author Chopra writes to open his newest, and one source of that trouble is “bullying behavior that seeks to crush the early shoots of personal spirituality” from prominent atheists such as Richard Dawkins. Chopra therefore writes “to make spirituality credible for modern people.” He says that atheists and religious fundamentalists have monopolized public discussion of spirituality and religion, but that they argue from a flawed understanding of God. For example, Dawkins’s atheism “positions itself as rational but cannot explain the source of rationality,” he writes. Chopra asserts that scientists, like believers, take truths on faith, but scientists are in thrall to scientific materialism and fail to see this. He recommends a shift in both scientific and human awareness that allows for materialism as well as invisible worlds, and will allow people to reach God. Chopra’s first-person viewpoint and clear, colloquial language help persuade readers to entertain the possibilities he raises. He won’t reach atheists, but spiritually inclined agnostics will find the ideas provocative. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Nov.)