Living with the Gods : On Beliefs and Peoples - the exhibition catalogue from British Museum available to buy at Museum Bookstore

Living with the Gods : On Beliefs and Peoples

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'marshals an extraordinary gallimaufry of objects — a Peruvian mummy bundle, an Alaskan seal-gut parka, a Jewish wedding canopy, the Oba of Benin’s staff — to tell the sweeping story of religious belief in all its inventive variety.' - The Times

A panoramic exploration of peoples, objects and beliefs over 40,000 years 

One of the central facts of human existence is that every society shares a set of beliefs and assumptions - a faith, an ideology, a religion - that goes far beyond the life of the individual. These beliefs are an essential part of a shared identity.

They have a unique power to define - and to divide - us, and are a driving force in the politics of much of the world today. Throughout history they have most often been, in the widest sense, religious. Yet this book is not a history of religion, nor an argument in favour of faith.

It is about the stories which give shape to our lives, and the different ways in which societies imagine their place in the world. Looking across history and around the globe, it interrogates objects, places and human activities to try to understand what shared beliefs can mean in the public life of a community or a nation, how they shape the relationship between the individual and the state, and how they help give us our sense of who we are. For in deciding how we live with our gods, we also decide how to live with each other.

The Times 2018 Art Book of the year.

Details
  • Author: Neil McGregor
  • Pages: 512 pages
  • Date published: September 2018
  • Language: English
  • ISBN: 978-0241308295 - Hardcover
               978- 0141986258 - Paperback
  • Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 16.4 cm
Reviews

'He shows how human beings have always used religion and objects as a way to understand the world around us, from finding some accommodation with light, water and the seasons, to attempting to find some approach towards death. ... Anyone wishing to deepen, if not change their life, will certainly benefit from this remarkable book'  - Evening Standard

'A mind-expanding book' -  Sunday Times

'marshals an extraordinary gallimaufry of objects — a Peruvian mummy bundle, an Alaskan seal-gut parka, a Jewish wedding canopy, the Oba of Benin’s staff — to tell the sweeping story of religious belief in all its inventive variety.' - The Times

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