Supernatural: Death, Meaning, and the Power of the Invisible World

241 Pages·2018·1.67 MB·English

by  Clay Routledge

Supernatural

Supernatural
Death, Meaning, and the Power of
the Invisible World
CLAY ROUTLEDGE
1
1
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© Clay Routledge 2018
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Routledge, Clay, author.
Title: Supernatural : death, meaning, and the power of the invisible world /
Clay Routledge. Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017041795 | ISBN 9780190629427 (jacketed hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Supernatural. | Religion. | Occultism.
Classification: LCC BL100 .R68 2018 | DDC 200.1/ 9— dc23
LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2017041795
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
This book is dedicated to my mother and late father. I don’t have the
words to thank them for all they have done for me.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
INTRODUCTION xi
1.  We Are All Going to Die— And We Know It 1
2.  The Supernatural World Is a Meaningful World 25
3.  Religion: The Most Powerful Form of Supernatural Belief 51
4.  The Secret Supernatural Lives of Atheists 75
5.  The Secular Supernatural 97
6.  The Many Benefits of Supernatural Beliefs 123
7.  The Dark Side of Supernatural Beliefs 147
8.  Toward a Common Humanity 167
NOTES 193
INDEX 209

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my editor Abby Gross and my publisher Oxford
University Press. I would like to give a special thanks to my literary agent
Nathaniel Jacks of Inkwell Management who played a vital role in help-
ing me shape a coherent vision for this book. I would also like to thank
the John Templeton Foundation, which funded some of my research on
meaning- motivated supernatural beliefs discussed in this book. Most
importantly, I would like to thank my wife, Jenny Routledge, for her con-
stant support and feedback in life, generally, and on this book, specifically.