In this book, NPR religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty explores the world of religious experience and the scientists who study it. While interviewing people who have undergone transformative spiritual experiences, Hagerty also considers current scientific ideas that humans are genetically predisposed or neurologically hardwired to believe in a higher power and to experience its presence. In her quest, Hargerty dons a Canadian university's "God helmet," which purports to stimulate areas of the brain tied to religious experience, and even attends a peyote ceremony. For a neuroscientist's perspective on the science of religion, try How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg.

Kindness is one of humankind's greatest virtues--yet it has also become a "forbidden pleasure," according to psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and historian Barbara Taylor. In this spirited apologia, Phillips and Taylor conduct a philosophical defense of kindness, focusing on its historical, psychological, and religious significance from the Classical age to the present. Kindness, the authors maintain, is not a luxury but a necessity--essential not only to our personal happiness but also to our collective welfare. For a new perspective on an ancient virtue, pick up this concise yet profound book.

A descendant of Brahmin priests and the son of a hardworking immigrant doctor, Cheeni Rao grew up in a divided world, caught between the Hindu values of his traditional Indian family and the secular emphasis of his American surroundings. While attending an elite New England college, Rao began dealing drugs, for which he was expelled, before descending into crack addiction. But when Rao hit bottom, he had a vision of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman and received a revelation--that his family was cursed as a result of losing faith in the gods. Once Rao started to view his addiction as a modern-day version of the ancient epic The Ramayana, he was able to kick his habit and rebuild his life.

Robert Wright, author of The Moral Animal, once again explores the intersection of science and spirituality. In this thoroughly researched account, Wright traces one strand of religion--the Judeo-Christian-Muslim tradition--from polytheism to henotheism (the worship of one god while accepting the existence of others) to monotheism, demonstrating that the process represents a form of evolution. Utilizing approaches ranging from textual analysis to game theory, Wright also contends that if we can take a non-zero-sum approach to other religions and recognize that all faiths are interdependent, we can achieve greater tolerance and acceptance.

This book by former Catholic nun and comparative religion writer Karen Armstrong (A History of God) presents a comprehensive chronicle of the "Axial Age" (c. 900 to 200 BCE), a period in which major developments in religion and philosophy occurred simultaneously among cultures that had no contact with one another. Examining the history of religion in India, China, Greece, and Israel, Armstrong points out the commonalities of faiths as seemingly diverse as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Booklist calls The Great Transformation an "utterly enthralling reading experience."

In this study of the "origins" of three of the best known but least understood figures in Christianity, religion scholar Bart D. Ehrman endeavors to separate truth from legend as he explores the historical accounts and legends surrounding the disciple Simon Peter, the apostle Paul, and Mary Magdalene--who is mentioned a scant 13 times in the New Testament. Yet, as Ehrman acknowledges, determining what is fact and what is myth is impossible: Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene are as much early Christians' creations as they are historical figures. It's better, he maintains, to look at all the available texts--whether historical, canonical, or apocryphal--and read them as reflections of Christian beliefs and values.

In this "brilliant and controversial" book (Booklist), author Jonathan Kirsch depicts the struggle between the competing ideologies of polytheism and monotheism in the ancient world, beginning with the 18th dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten's attempts to establish a monotheistic state religion in Egypt and ending with the present-day "war on terror." Kirsch explores how the core principle of monontheism (that there is only one god) has led to a lack of acceptance of other faiths, resulting in religious extremism such as holy wars, crusades, and inquisitions. In contrast, he argues, the defining attributes of classical paganism were liberty and diversity--virtues that have suffered, paradoxically, from many religions' desire for dominance.

According to social historian Rodney Stark, author of The Rise of Christianity, religions evolve over time, adapting to changing social contexts as well as to the way human beings interpret God's role in their lives. Beginning with the beliefs of prehistoric peoples, Stark traces the rise of major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Arguing that competition among different belief systems makes religion stronger, Stark maintains that there is a kind of natural selection at work, with only the most relevant and adaptable faiths surviving. Readers fascinated by world religions "will recognize this as an essential sourcebook," says Booklist.

Despite the fact that athletic competitions were part of religious ritual in many indigenous North American cultures--the sport we now call lacrosse was invented and played by numerous tribes--sports and religion haven't always played nicely together. In this book, sports historian William J. Baker notes that the Puritans disapproved of athletic games, a view that prevailed until, fueled by the 19th century's "muscular Christianity" movement, sports came to be seen in a new light: as a wholesome pastime that did not contradict spiritual practice but rather complemented it. These days, faith is a bigger part of American athletics than ever, with players thanking God for touchdowns, goals, and home runs. If you've ever prayed for your favorite team to win, this is the book for you.

Forget Disneyland. In 2002, religion professor Timothy K. Beal took his family on a road trip to 10 of the U.S.'s biggest religion-themed attractions. Stops along the way included Kentucky's Golgotha Fun Park (including Biblical mini-golf!); God's Ark of Safety, a Maryland-based, life-sized replica of Noah's Ark; and Virginia's Holy Land, USA, a "nature sanctuary" and 1:100 scale model of ancient Israel and Palestine. From the World's Largest Ten Commandments (located in North Carolina but visible from the sky) to the "Jerusalem in Miniature" that is Alabama's Ave Maria Grotto, this book may inspire you to seek out these monuments to a living faith.

As Simpsons creator Matt Groening once pointed out, "Not only do the Simpsons go to church every Sunday and pray; they actually speak to God from time to time." And according to author Mark Pinsky, unlike many television shows where religion is rarely mentioned, The Simpsons routinely tackles spiritual themes, exploring profound concepts through exaggerated comic situations. In addition to representing religious diversity, from Lisa's conversion to Buddhism to Kwik-E-Mart proprietor Apu's devout Hinduism to Krusty the Klown's Jewish roots, the show also examines how characters view their place in the universe and in relation to higher powers.

What would Jesus do? Well, it depends on which Jesus you're talking about. There's the secular philosopher-Jesus created by Thomas Jefferson, who literally cut and pasted passages from the Bible to downplay Christ's virgin birth. There's the gentle, feminine Jesus of the 19th century and the manly savior of the early 20th. And of course there's the Jesus of contemporary popular culture, who appears everywhere from bumper stickers to t-shirts. In this book, religion professor Stephen R. Prothero explores changing cultural interpretations of Jesus, a figure who has become more central in the public imagination even as people have become less aware of Christian theology and doctrine. If you enjoy this book, you may also want to read Stephen J. Nichols' Jesus Made in America.