Why Religion?

A Personal Story

De: Elaine Pagels

Narrado por: Eunice Wong

New York Times best seller

One of PW’s Best Books of the Year

One of Amazon’s Best Books of the Month

Why is religion still around in the 21st century? Why do so many still believe? And how do various traditions still shape the way people experience everything from sexuality to politics, whether they are religious or not? In Why Religion? Elaine Pagels looks to her own life to help address these questions.

These questions took on a new urgency for Pagels when dealing with unimaginable loss - the death of her young son, followed a year later by the shocking loss of her husband. Here she interweaves a personal story with the work that she loves, illuminating how, for better and worse, religious traditions have shaped how we understand ourselves; how we relate to one another; and, most importantly, how to get through the most difficult challenges we face.

Drawing upon the perspectives of neurologists, anthropologists, and historians, as well as her own research, Pagels opens unexpected ways of understanding persistent religious aspects of our culture.

A provocative and deeply moving account from one of the most compelling religious thinkers at work today, Why Religion? explores the spiritual dimension of human experience.

©2019 Elaine Pagels (P)2019 HarperAudio

Most revealing and insightful

It's not often you get to listen to a book that weaves together scholarship, a personal narrative of love and loss, spiritual exploration, and a new take on life. And with heart and insight and impact! This is a rare book.

Magnificent!

Questions I have struggled over for decades were enlightened with new dimensions through Elaine Pagels struggle to understand in the midst of deep grief and near despair. I am so grateful for her transparency and generosity in sharing this profound story.

Moving Story Powerfully Told

An incredibly moving personal story written beautifully and with great emotional and intellectual depth. In asking universal questions about suffering and weaving in her quest for meaning, Dr. Pagel shows us a way to accept the unknowable in life. A must-listen for anyone dealing with grief and seeking answers both inside and outside the traditional structure of religion.

Moving, Powerful, and Wise

Elaine Pagel’s life has been remarkable both for it’s stunning achievements and it’s tragic losses. This is an account of both. It begins with her introduction to religion at a Billy Graham revival as a teenager and follows her to eventual disillusionment with evangelical religion. It then continues along the circuitous route to what became her life-long career translating and interpreting the Nag Hammadi library, recently discovered texts of early Christianity, which present alternate interpretations of Jesus’ life and teaching to those offered by the Church’s “official” theologians. Along the way is the story of two devastating deaths, which left her utterly bereft. Behind it all is the question of the title, “why religion?” If she is not able to actually offer a final answer to this provocative question, she is able to provide many intriguing insights – insights drawn both from her life and from the rich texts she knows so well.

This is a moving and powerful, and very personal book, told with honesty and hard-won wisdom. Highly recommended.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thoughtful, profound, and deeply personal

It is a powerful exploration of faith, suffering, and the human search for meaning. Blending personal memoir with historical insight, Pagels opens a window into her own life—marked by profound loss—and reflects on the enduring role of religion in the face of tragedy. Her writing is honest, wise, and beautifully accessible, making complex theological and historical ideas feel deeply personal. Whether you’re religious, spiritual, or simply curious, this book offers a compassionate and intelligent meditation on why, even in a secular age, religion continues to resonate.

moving, emotional work

Elaine's story spoke to my heart, echoing many feelings I myself have felt while dealing with tragic personal loss. thank you, Elaine, for sharing these pieces of yourself with the world.

Fabulous

Once again Elaine Pagels reveals her crafty talent to elucidate the grip which religion maintains on human beings, while interweaving her poignant personal experiences sharing with the listener her life’s journey of Why Religion? I read the Origin of Satan years ago as well as the Gnostic Gospels, but somehow THIS is now my absolute favorite of her writings. It’s worth every listening moment, especially with Ms. Wong’s voice. Enjoy.

A soulful journey into the ineffable.

Pagles takes us to the understanding that suffering is part of what binds us all together. She showed me how important it is to continue ones meditative journey into the unity with the divine.

Why Religion?

I truly enjoyed how the author weaved her religious experiences and teachings with her remarkable and painful life. Eunice Wong is a wonderful narrator.

Raise Your Hand

Can you read Greek? Have a degree from Stanford? Harvard? Teach at Princeton?

Your oldest child died? Your husband died a year later?

Empathy for others? Let's go with the narrator, cut her a little slack. I detected nothing in her voice that wasn't appropriate to the situation.

Marvelous read, lovely woman.