Disbelief

Gervais approaches his subject with abundant intellectual curiosity and grounds his study in accessible discussions of evolutionary theory and research on present-day increases of disbelief… a trenchant study of a noteworthy cultural phenomenon.

–Publishers Weekly

With admirable clarity, Gervais–one of the foremost experts in the academic study of atheism–shows us how understanding the puzzle of atheism will help to answer this question, as well as to better understand the broader evolutionary and cognitive dimensions of human religiosity.

–Edward Slingerland, Professor of Philosophy, University of British Columbia

So many people are religious, it’s tempting to imagine that religion is hard-wired into us, or conjecture simplistic explanations for its prevalence. Will Gervais gives us a more careful view, grounded in history and experiment. This book will help you understand why some people are religious, why many others are not, and why these questions have been so difficult for so long.

–Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself

Gervais’s pioneering studies and writings generate a sense of wonder and excitement when it comes to understanding the evolutionary, cognitive mechanisms that give rise to both religious belief and unbelief. With sensitivity, wit, and wisdom, Disbelief constructs a compelling narrative of the best scientific work, much of it Gervais’s own, aimed at understanding the Puzzle of Atheism.

–Kelly James Clark, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Ibn Haldun University and author of God and the Brain among others

“Gervais offers a sharp, engaging, and insightful journey though the hills and dales of the cognitive science of religiosity and irreligiosity. He illuminates the latest psychological and evolutionary research on both religious faith and atheism. Accessible and conversational while still being scholarly and erudite, Disbelief is raw intellectual pleasure.”

–Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College and author of What It Means to be Moral among others

Will M. Gervais, Ph.D. is a global leader in the scientific study of atheism and a Senior Lecturer of psychology at the Center for Culture and Evolution at Brunel University London. Dr. Gervais’s research has focused on the psychology of atheism for over a decade and his work has been featured in popular outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, Der Speigel, Psychology Today, Vox, and ScientificAmerican.

He was named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, he is the recipient of the Margaret Gorman Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association, and the SAGE Young Scholar Award from the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology, the top international prize for early career achievements in social and personality psychology.

Dr. Gervais has given invited talks about his research on atheism to national and international secular groups. His research has been featured in journals such as Science, Nature Human Behavior, Psychological Science, Cognition, The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and The Journal of Experimental Psychology, and he is an Associate Editor at Social Psychological and Personality Science and an Editorial Board Member at Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science and Secularism and Nonreligion.