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24 books with the same feel
Include books by the same authorThe Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism
Karen Armstrong · 442 pages
"In The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong shows us how and why fundamentalist groups came into existence and what they yearn to accomplish.". "We see the West in the sixteenth century beginning to create an entirely new kind of civilization, which brought in its wake change in every aspect of life - often painful and violent, even if liberating. Armstrong argues that one of the things that changed
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam
Reza Aslan · 310 pages
Though it is the fastest growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded by ignorance and fear. What is the essence of this ancient faith? Is it a religion of peace or war? How does Allah differ from the God of Jews and Christians? Can an Islamic state be founded on democratic values such as pluralism and human rights? A writer and scholar of comparative religions, Reza Aslan has earned inte
American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation
Jon Meacham · 526 pages
The American Gospel--literally, the good news about America--is that religion shapes our public life without controlling it. In this vivid book, New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham tells the human story of how the Founding Fathers viewed faith, and how they ultimately created a nation in which belief in God is a matter of choice.At a time when our country seems divided by extremism, Amer
Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
Steven Waldman · 290 pages
The culture wars have distorted the dramatic story of how Americans came to worship freely. Many activists on the right maintain that the United States was founded as a "Christian nation." Many on the left contend that the Founders were secular or Deist and that the First Amendment was designed to boldly separate church and state throughout the land. None of these claims are true, argues Beliefnet
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made
Kristin Kobes Du Mez · 352 pages
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror
Bernard Lewis · 197 pages
In his first book since What Went Wrong? Bernard Lewis examines the historical roots of the resentments that dominate the Islamic world today and that are increasingly being expressed in acts of terrorism. He looks at the theological origins of political Islam and takes us through the rise of militant Islam in Iran, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, examining the impact of radical Wahhabi proselytizing, an
The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran
Roy Mottahedeh · 405 pages
Drawn from the first-hand accounts of eye-witnesses, Roy Mottahedeh's gripping account of Islam and politics in revolutionary Iran is widely regarded as one of the best records of that turbulent time ever written. Roy Mottahedeh is Gurney professor of Islamic History at Harvard University. An internationallly renowned expert, he has published extensively in this field and his academic awards inclu
One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America
Kevin M. Kruse · 352 pages
"We're often told that the United States is, was, and always has been a Christian nation. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse reveals that the idea of 'Christian America' is an invention--and a relatively recent one at that. As Kruse argues, the belief that America is fundamentally and formally a Christian nation originated in the 1930s when businessmen enlisted religious activis
A World Without Islam
Graham E. Fuller · 328 pages
This book will reshape the way we think about Islam's relationship with the West. What if Islam never existed? To some, it's a comforting thought: no clash of civilizations, no holy wars, no terrorists. Here, political scientist and expert on the Muslim world Graham E. Fuller guides us through history, geopolitics, and religion to investigate whether or not Islam is indeed the cause of some of tod
God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China
Liao Yiwu · 231 pages
When journalist Liao Yiwu first stumbled upon a vibrant Christian community in the officially secular China, he knew little about Christianity. In fact, he'd been taught that religion was evil, and that those who believed in it were deluded, cultists, or imperialist spies. But as a writer whose work has been banned in China and has even landed him in jail, Liao felt a kinship with Chinese Christia
The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe
David I. Kertzer · 549 pages
From National Book Award finalist David I. Kertzer comes the gripping story of Pope Pius XI's secret relations with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. This groundbreaking work, based on seven years of research in the Vatican and Fascist archives, including reports from Mussolini's spies inside the highest levels of the Church, will forever change our understanding of the Vatican's role in the rise
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion
Edward J. Larson · 336 pages
With this authoritative and engaging book, Edward J. Larson examines the many facets of the Scopes trial and shows how its enduring legacy has crossed religious, cultural, educational, and political lines. The "Monkey Trial," as it was playfully nicknamed, was instigated by the American Civil Liberties Union to challenge a controversial Tennessee law banning the teaching of human evolution in pub
Killing Jesus: A History
Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard · 293 pages
The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly two thousand years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God. Killing Jesus will take readers inside Jesus's life
The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World
Chris Stewart, Ted Stewart · 296 pages
Examine seven important "tipping points" in history that were instrumental in the rise of freedom in the United States and the world.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari · 456 pages
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What hap
The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels
Thomas Cahill · 304 pages
Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
Richard L. Bushman · 776 pages
How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee
Bart D. Ehrman · 416 pages
New York Times bestselling author and Bible expert Bart Ehrman reveals how Jesus’s divinity became dogma in the first few centuries of the early church. The claim at the heart of the Christian faith is that Jesus of Nazareth was, and is, God. But this is not what the original disciples believed during Jesus’s lifetime—and it is not what Jesus claimed about himself. How Jesus Became God tells th
Church History in Plain Language
Bruce L. Shelley · 544 pages
The Light and the Glory
Peter Marshall, David Manuel · 447 pages
Uses a Christian perspective to examine the history of America from the first voyage of Columbus to the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, with an emphasis on faithfulness to God's word.
The Hindus: An Alternative History
Wendy Doniger · 779 pages
From one of the worlds foremost scholars on Hinduism, a vivid reinterpretation of its historyAn engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth that offers a new way of understanding one of the worlds oldest major religions, The Hindus elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds.Hinduism does not lend itself easily to a strictly chronological account:
Christianity's Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution: A History from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First
Alister E. McGrath · 552 pages
The "dangerous idea" lying at the heart of Protestantism is that the interpretation of the Bible is each individual's right and responsibility. The spread of this principle has resulted in five hundred years of remarkable innovation and adaptability, but it has also created cultural incoherence and social instability. Without any overarching authority to rein in "wayward" thought, opposing sides o