Adieu to God

Mick Power is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh, as well as a practicing Clinical Psychologist who has worked at Guy's Hospital and Maudsley and Bethlem Hospitals. Raised as a Catholic, Power became an atheist at 16.

• Preface ix 1. A Short History of Religion 12. The Psychology of Religion—The Varieties of Normal Experience 333. The Psychology of Religion—The Varieties of Abnormal Experience 614. Social Structures and Religion 895. Religion, Power, and Control 1136. Religion and Health 1417. How to Be a Healthy Atheist 167References 181Author Index 191Subject Index 195

“In this fascinating little book (201 pages, including references and a subject index), Mick Power communicates no such tinge of agnosticism when proclaiming in the preface of Adieu to God: Why Psychology Leads to Atheismthat “my belief is that psychology (with help from philosophy, anthropology, sociology, physics, biology . . .) offers a far more powerful explanation than any religious system ever will” (p.x).”  (PsycCRITIQUES, 1 June 2013) “His final chapter summarises the argument and proposes how one might be a healthy atheist with a sense of meaning and purpose, a sense of belonging and community and a set of personal goals and values.  He does not forecast the disappearance of religions but proposes how they can be explained in terms of psychology and sociology.”  (The Scientific & Medical Network, 1 April 2012)