Spinoza is widely regarded as either a God-forsaking atheist or a God-intoxicated pantheist, but Clare Carlisle says that he was neither. In Spinoza鈥檚 Religion, she sets out a bold interpretation of Spinoza through a lucid new reading of his masterpiece, the Ethics. Putting the question of religion centre-stage but refusing to convert Spinozism to Christianity, Carlisle reveals that 鈥渂eing in God鈥� unites Spinoza鈥檚 metaphysics and ethics. Spinoza鈥檚 Religion unfolds a powerful, inclusive philosophical vision for the modern age鈥攐ne that is grounded in a profound questioning of how to live a joyful, fully human life.
Like Spinoza himself, the Ethics doesn鈥檛 fit into any ready-made religious category. But Carlisle shows how it wrestles with the question of religion in strikingly original ways, responding both critically and constructively to the diverse, broadly Christian context in which Spinoza lived and worked. Philosophy itself, as Spinoza practiced it, became a spiritual endeavor that expressed his devotion to a truthful, virtuous way of life. Offering startling new insights into Spinoza鈥檚 famously enigmatic ideas about eternal life and the intellectual love of God, Carlisle uncovers a Spinozist religion that integrates self-knowledge, desire, practice, and embodied ethical life to reach toward our 鈥渉ighest happiness鈥濃�攖o rest in God.
Seen through Carlisle鈥檚 eyes, the Ethics prompts us to rethink not only Spinoza but also religion itself.
"Carlisle鈥檚 book is a finely written and thoughtful introduction to Spinoza鈥檚 philosophy for anyone who is curious as to why this thinker, dead for almost 350 years, remains vitally relevant today"鈥擲teven Nadler, Literary Review
"[Carlisle] admirably establishes that Spinoza鈥檚 philosophy can be interpreted as a distinctive and original form of rational religion."鈥擟arlos Fraenkel, Times Literary Supplement
"Carlisle has done us a great service by offering a convincing and newly rounded portrayal鈥攁nd by reminding us that you can never exhaust the majesty of Spnoza's religious writing."鈥擜lex Dean, Prospect
"An intimate, religious reading of Spinoza鈥檚 Ethics, which allows his peculiar religion to emerge with all its promise and paradox."鈥�Choice Reviews
"Carlisle鈥檚 interpretation of Spinoza is consistently fresh and surprising. . . . This book steps decisively away from the modes of rational reconstruction and conceptual analysis that now dominate Spinoza scholarship in the English language, and is all the better for it. . . . An excellent book that will reward readers of Spinoza of all levels."鈥擝eth Lord, Philosophy
"I鈥檓 sure I鈥檓 not the only person who feels excited to explore the new world of interpretation that Carlisle has opened up by taking Spinoza鈥檚 religion seriously."鈥擜lexander Douglas, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"Spinoza’s Religion is a joy to read. . . . It is a book that has the power to bring Spinoza deeper into our hearts, making his words a companion n our efforts to live with greater equanimity and delight. Spinoza's Religion also poses a compelling challenge to what we think we know about Spinoza."鈥擧asana Sharp, Journal of the History of Philosophy
鈥淎 wonderful contribution to the growing literature on Spinoza as a moral and religious thinker. With scholarly acumen and graceful writing, Carlisle, rightly focusing on the Ethics, asks us to rethink Spinoza鈥檚 relationship to religion and to modernity, as well as those very notions themselves.鈥濃�擲teven Nadler, author of Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die
鈥淐lare Carlisle鈥檚 outstanding Spinoza鈥檚 Religion makes a compelling case for the importance of religion for Spinoza鈥檚 vision of human self-fulfilment. Artfully written and meticulously researched, it provides a fresh perspective on a crucial aspect of Spinoza鈥檚 philosophy. This is cutting-edge scholarship that is likely to reshape the field.鈥濃�擸itzhak Y. Melamed, author of Spinoza鈥檚 Metaphysics: Substance and Thought
鈥淩igorous, creative, and sympathetic, this magisterial book opens up a neglected tradition and resource: a nondualistic, nondogmatic, and life-affirming spiritual philosophy. Placing Spinoza in a rich dialogue with Christian theology, Clare Carlisle shows that thinking alongside Spinoza reveals new approaches to ethics, freedom, transcendence, and participation in God. This is a landmark book that offers new vistas for philosophers and theologians and that future Spinoza scholars will need to reckon with.鈥濃�擟hristopher J. Insole, Durham University
