The return to religion has perhaps become the dominant cliché of contemporary theory, which rarely offers anything more than an exaggerated echo of a political reality dominated by religious war. Critchley's The Faith of the Faithless looks into questions of faith, love, religion and violence. Should we defend a version of secularism and quietly accept the slide into a form of theism - or is there another way? From Rousseau's politics and religion to the return of St. Paul in Taubes, Agamben and Badiou, via explorations of politics and original sin in the work of Schmitt and John Gray, Critchley examines whether there can be a faith of the faithless, a belief for unbelievers. Critchley concludes by looking at violence and the limits of non-violence.

Simon Critchley is a professor of philosophy at the New School for Social Research, and at the University of Essex, Colchester. His many books include The Book of Dead Philosophers. He moderates The Stone , an opinion series in The New York Times.

Fee: £7.20 full / £5.60 concessions.

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