The Metamorphoses of God

From fundamentalisms to new spiritualities

Essay

European Prize for French-Language Writers 2004

Presentation

It was long believed that the advance into modernity came at the cost of a decline in religion and a disenchantment with the world. Numerous phenomena now challenge this view and allow us to speak of a "return of God." Frédéric Lenoir rejects the image of modernity and religious sensibility as independent of one another. He shows that we are in fact experiencing an individualization and globalization of religion, resulting in a "re-enchantment" of the world and a "spiritual nomadism" evidenced by a profusion of diverse spiritualities. At the same time, we are witnessing a resurgence of identity within major traditions and a return to certainties in various forms: fundamentalisms, integralisms, and sectarianism. It is these striking paradoxes of the contemporary religious scene that the author explains here, focusing on understanding their historical roots since the Renaissance.

Translations

Spain: ALIANZA EDITORIAL
Italy: GARZANTI LIBRI Srl
Tunisia: NATIONAL TRANSLATION CENTER

What the press says about it

“In The Metamorphoses of God, Frédéric Lenoir brings order to what appears to be a pervasive chaos and summarizes, in a limpid language not all sociologists possess, his many years of research; he unravels the complexities of religion at the dawn of the 21st century, and in particular the new Western religiosity. With a concern for pedagogy and intellectual rigor, he brings together the perspectives of the sociologist, the philosopher, the anthropologist, the historian, and even the theologian. This interdisciplinarity makes this four-hundred-page book a delight to read.” — Le Monde des religions

"This book subtly weaves a history of Western spirituality into its argument. Scholarly and written in a very readable style…Frédéric Lenoir is once again admirable for his courage and talent in presenting his ideas." Acropolis

"The fruit of field investigations and scholarly research, this book aims to break with circumstantial observations by placing this movement of recomposition, this observation of return, within a long-term perspective…an invitation throughout its pages to avoid engaging in the wrong debates." — La Croix

"A landmark book..." Le Nouvel Observateur