About the Book: Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept by Brent Nongbri challenges the assumption that “religion” is a universal human experience. Nongbri argues that the modern concept of religion, distinct from politics, economics, or science, is a recent development in European history. Through an analysis of ancient texts and historical contexts, he demonstrates that terms like the Latin religio, Greek threskeia, and Arabic dīn were not originally understood as separate categories of life but were often intertwined with civic, ethnic, or political identities.