Reviews

“Spirituality without God: A Global History of Thought and Practice traces the history of nontheistic spiritual thought and practice from the ancient world to our days. In this comprehensive, thought provoking work Peter Heehs traces a variety of spiritual approaches to life which were combined with disbelief in the supernatural. Peter Heehs shows in this impressive and well researched book that the search for spiritual wisdom unfettered by God(s), flourished for thousands of years, alongside religions based on worship of Divine beings.” –  Boaz Huss, Professor of Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev  

“Spirituality without God is an ambitious exploration of the rich history and pervasive influence of godless spirituality in many regions of the world, and the shifting meanings attached to the word spirituality. With its autobiographical reflections, Peter Heehs’ engaging study is particularly timely in a period when many in Europe and North America, the ‘none of the aboves’, choose to identify themselves as spiritual rather than religious. For anyone wishing to understand how ‘spiritual’ has come to mean, according to Peter Heehs, virtually the opposite of ‘religion’, Spirituality without God will be a rewarding read.” –  Gwilym Beckerlegge, Professor of Modern Religions, The Open University, UK

“A fascinating and creative non-Eurocentric approach to the history of religion that is relevant to understanding contemporary religious ideas and practices. This is a very interesting book with a broad audience by a fine historian with a creative and synthetic approach.” –  Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Smith College and Harvard Divinity School, USA