THE CASE FOR RELIGION

Author, scholar and former Oxford don Ward uses his broad knowledge to make the argument for religion as a necessary and reasonable exercise for humans who are aware of the transcendent. He examines what major figures in other disciplines—anthropology, sociology and psychology—have historically said about why humans practice religion. He then briskly sketches the world's major religions and reviews the effect of the European enlightenment on religion, showing how it gave rise to historical and critical thinking and the valuing of experience as a means of knowing. Religion is too persistent, pervasive, positive and profound to be merely foolish, he suggests, but to fail to acknowledge the possibilities it contains for destruction is "a failure of spiritual perception of the first order." Ward is prodigiously well read, moving easily from Sumerian creation accounts to German philosophy to contemporary English philosopher John Hick. He is understandably better at the history of Western ideas than of developments within non-Western traditions, but is always aware that religion is historically a universal practice and now a global reality. In today's "increasingly self-aware global community of communities," the Anglican priest concludes, a coexistence of diverse faith traditions can provide religious leadership toward "human flourishing." Ward's previous book (God: A Guide for the Perplexed ) was chattier and more accessible. By comparison, this book is not for the casual reader, but is ideal for serious students of religion who aren't afraid of philosophy. (Apr.)