Beyond Religion By Thampu, Valson

Beyond Religion argues that human beings need to be liberated from their tutelage to religious middlemen so that spirituality nutures not just kind indivduals, but a wholesome society. The book advocates a shift from religiosity to spirituality– because religion is widely misused to fragment humanity, disable commitment to justice, and fuel totalitarian proclivities. The insights here have global resonances, though they have developed in response to the dynamics of Indian religio-politics. The book is informed by a keenness to sketch the truth about what is, as well as what ought to be, as an investment into safeguarding the health and sanity of humankind.Freedom is the temple in which spirituality and wholesome politics meet. Religious freedom becomes malignant when it is misconstrued as the licence to violate spiritual values in pursuance of communal agendas. In times of religious decay, freedom for religion needs to be complemented with freedom from religion. Human beings, however, cannot live in a vacuum.The book does not argue for relinquishing religions, but for transcending them.Spirituality is the horizon beyond religion. It is the shared dwelling-place of humanity.