Julia Kristeva’s latest work, This Incredible Need to Believe, explores the fundamental role of belief within the psyche, as it relates to structures of self-identity and the production of meaning.  On this basis, she argues for a new political orientation that would address the compelling force of belief within the secular world. Columbia University Press offers the following description:

Kristeva suggests that human beings are formed by their need to believe, beginning with our first attempts at speech and following through to our adolescent search for identity and meaning. Kristeva then applies her insight to contemporary religious clashes and the plight of immigrant populations, especially those of Islamic origin. Even if we no longer have faith in God, Kristeva argues, we must believe in human destiny and creative possibility. Reclaiming Christianity’s openness to self-questioning and the search for knowledge, Kristeva urges a “new kind of politics,” one that restores the integrity of the human community.

Read more here.