Talks & Entertainment

This program does not include a book signing. All books will be pre-signed by the author.

Religious scholar Dr. Reza Aslan, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Zealot, explores the origin of religion and how different ideas of God have both united and divided us for millennia in God: A Human History.

At the nucleus of the book is one idea that has spanned time, locations, and cultures: the concept of the “humanized god”—a supercharged, divine version of ourselves. Aslan narrates the history of religion as one long and cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature—our compassion, our thirst for justice—but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. These qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments.

More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, God offers a new lens to think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives.

Aslan is a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of the international bestseller No god but God and How to Win a Cosmic War. Aslan also serves as a Consulting Producer on the acclaimed HBO series The Leftovers. In conversation with Michelle Boorstein, a religion reporter at the Washington Post, covering the busy marketplace of American faith.