Written very well and was very helpful. I used this as a tool for a bible study with a small group of friends. It was a great addition.

This is a fascinating look not necessarily about how God works, but about how religion works, with or without God per se.

DeSteno lays out various religious practices in a linear fashion from birth to death. He writes about religious rituals for welcoming babies into the community, about learning right and wrong as children, about growing careers and families, and ultimately about negotiating death, all from a religious viewpoint.

Throughout the book, DeSteno never denigrates believers of any faith. He simply explains how their beliefs enhance their lives from a scientific viewpoint. For example, many believers treat the body as the temple of God, and thus take special care to maintain healthy habits.

"People who actively engaged with their faiths tended to avoid certain health risks more than did others. For example, Pew observed a 5 percent reduction in the number who said they frequently drank alcohol and a 10 percent reduction in the number who said they regularly smoked—two behaviors strongly linked to impaired health."

Even without religion, those habits would enhance anyone's life. But being religious often provides a strong motive.

"It’s being religious—taking part in the rituals and practices of a faith—that makes life better."

Also interesting is how DeSteno explains the role of certainty in reducing stress. Religions often have the added layer of removing uncertainty--if you believe A, then B will happen. While he doesn't get into the nitty-gritty of the accuracy of the beliefs themselves, he says holding the belief often brings peace to the believer.

"With belief—that God will intervene, that a ritual will heal, that a choice never to lie or cheat ensures the best outcomes—comes certainty. And with certainty comes a kind of inner peace."

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to take a look behind the curtain of religious practices and view them from a psychological perspective.

I personally am a Christian believer but I found no offense in DeSteno's approach to this material. He stayed in his scientific lane as advertised.

"So, while I can’t prove that miracles happen, neither can I prove that they don’t happen. This question, like the question of whether God exists, is well outside the scope of this book."

And this:

"It’s not that scientists, religious leaders, people of every faith, and people of no faith need to agree on everything. Even among themselves, they surely don’t. But we all must agree on the importance of intellectual humility and cooperation. It’s through science and religion working together while respecting each other that we can find new ways to do “God’s work” here on earth."

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the review copy of this book.

David DeSteno's "How God Works" is an incredible journey into the science and benefits of religion. Any one who appreciates the integration of science, sociology, psychology, and religion would consider this book a gem! I will be recommending this book for sure!

The book looks at the intersection of Science and Religion by digging into the realm of human psychology and sociology to understand the impact of belief/faith, ritual/practice and cognitive dissonance encountered within a religious framework (even removed from the spiritual connections) on general health and wellbeing. This is an ambitious goal to be sure. The basic premise is that the relative success of religion through-out human history points to something they must be doing right … and the author calls these "spiritual technologies.” He then makes a parallel with the exploration of biologics in the early history of modern medicine to argue that we should also be examining these spiritual technologies to see what actually works and why.

“Recent experiments have shown that even an arbitrary set of actions, when ritualized, can help people … Which rituals - which combinations of elements - work best? And it’s here that religions have a vast head start. They’ve ‘debugged’ the technologies that they’ve used through centuries."

DeSteno explores the following:

1. Infancy: Welcoming and Binding … how communities help from the very beginning of Life
2. The Formative Years: Learning What’s Right and Wrong … how the moral teaching within religions work
3. Coming of Age: Adulting Isn’t Easy … how Rites of Passage work
4. Transcending the Twenties and Thirties: Love, Connection, and (Maybe) Ecstasy … how physical intimacy works ... along with meditation and asceticism (right-handing path) and mysticism (left-hand path) to transcend the mundane into the sacred. (Echos of Dr. Campbell here)
5. The Business of Midlife I: Maintenance for the Body … how the power of belief works (Placebo effects are legit)
6. The Business of Midlife II: Maintenance for the Spirit … getting in touch with our mortality and reflecting on the end (Reconcillation and Detachment) and the midlife transition to service of others
7. Saying Goodbye: All That Lives Must Die … how ‘Last Rites” work and preparing for the End.

While all of this was very interesting and educational, it lacked solid experimental support (generally because of ethical reasons inhibiting such experimentation). In the end, this was not as illuminating as I was expecting, but still well worth the read.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#HowGodWorks #NetGalley