Living with the Gods

Neil MacGregor's "Living with the Gods" embarks on a panoramic and profound exploration of shared beliefs that underpin human societies across history and around the globe. Moving beyond a conventional history of religion, this compelling work, based on the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 series, delves into how collective faiths, ideologies, and assumptions—most often religious in the widest sense—shape our lives, identities, and interactions. Through an incisive examination of objects, places, and human activities, MacGregor reveals the unique power of these belief systems to define and divide us, serving as a driving force in global politics and individual self-perception. He interrogates what shared convictions mean in the public life of a community or nation, and how they forge the relationship between the individual and the state. Ultimately, MacGregor argues that how we choose to 'live with our gods' inextricably dictates how we live with each other, offering a sweeping, inventive, and essential understanding of the human condition.