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| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Beyond Doubt Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, Ryan T. Cragun, 2023-05-09 Demonstrates definitively that the secularization thesis is correct, and religion is losing its grip on societies worldwide In the decades since its introduction, secularization theory has been subjected to doubt and criticism from a number of leading scholars, who have variously claimed that it is wrong, flawed, or incomplete. In Beyond Doubt, Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun mount a strong defense for the theory, providing compelling evidence that religion is indeed declining globally as a result of modernization. Though defenses of secularization theory have been mounted in the past, we now have many years’ worth of empirical data to illuminate trends, and can trace changes not just at a given point in time but over a trajectory. Drawing on extensive survey data from nations around the world, the book demonstrates that, in spite of its many detractors, there is robust empirical support for secularization theory. It also engages with the most prominent criticisms levied against the theory, showing that data that are said to refute the narrative of religious decline are easily explainable and in keeping with the broader tendency toward secularization. Beyond simply defending secularization theory, the authors endeavor to formalize it, offering clear definitions of relevant terms and creating propositions that can be repeatedly and accurately tested. Beyond Doubt offers the strongest argument to date for the existence of a global secularization trend, and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike who study religion and secularism. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Beyond Doubt Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, Ryan T. Cragun, 2023-05-09 Demonstrates definitively that the secularization thesis is correct, and religion is losing its grip on societies worldwide In the decades since its introduction, secularization theory has been subjected to doubt and criticism from a number of leading scholars, who have variously claimed that it is wrong, flawed, or incomplete. In Beyond Doubt, Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun mount a strong defense for the theory, providing compelling evidence that religion is indeed declining globally as a result of modernization. Though defenses of secularization theory have been mounted in the past, we now have many years’ worth of empirical data to illuminate trends, and can trace changes not just at a given point in time but over a trajectory. Drawing on extensive survey data from nations around the world, the book demonstrates that, in spite of its many detractors, there is robust empirical support for secularization theory. It also engages with the most prominent criticisms levied against the theory, showing that data that are said to refute the narrative of religious decline are easily explainable and in keeping with the broader tendency toward secularization. Beyond simply defending secularization theory, the authors endeavor to formalize it, offering clear definitions of relevant terms and creating propositions that can be repeatedly and accurately tested. Beyond Doubt offers the strongest argument to date for the existence of a global secularization trend, and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike who study religion and secularism. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Faith No More Phil Zuckerman, 2015 Faith No More seeks to understand how and why people lose their faith, sever their ties with religious organizations, and experience a secularizing transformation in their own personal lives. Based on in-depth interviews with 75 individuals from a variety of backgrounds and religious traditions, this book offers a rich and colorful exploration of the human journey from religiosity to secularity. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Society without God, Second Edition Phil Zuckerman, 2020-07-21 An updated edition showcasing the social health of the least religious nations in the world Religious conservatives around the world often claim that a society without a strong foundation of faith would necessarily be an immoral one, bereft of ethics, values, and meaning. Indeed, the Christian Right in the United States has argued that a society without God would be hell on earth. In Society without God, Second Edition sociologist Phil Zuckerman challenges these claims. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews with more than 150 citizens of Denmark and Sweden, among the least religious countries in the world, he shows that, far from being inhumane, crime-infested, and dysfunctional, highly secular societies are healthier, safer, greener, less violent, and more democratic and egalitarian than highly religious ones. Society without God provides a rich portrait of life in a secular society, exploring how a culture without faith copes with death, grapples with the meaning of life, and remains content through everyday ups and downs. This updated edition incorporates new data from recent studies, updated statistics, and a revised Introduction, as well as framing around the now more highly developed field of secular studies. It addresses the dramatic surge of irreligion in the United States and the rise of the “nones,” and adds data on societal health in specific US states, along with fascinating context regarding which are the most religious and which the most secular. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Living the Secular Life Phil Zuckerman, 2015-10-27 A sociology professor examines the demographic shift that has led more Americans than ever before to embrace a nonreligious life and highlights the inspirational stories and beliefs that empower modern-day secular culture. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Contesting Secularism Dr Anders Berg-Sørensen, 2013-05-28 As we enter the twenty-first century, the role of religion within civic society has become an issue of central concern across the world. The complex trends of secularism, multiculturalism and the rise of religiously motivated violence raise fundamental questions about the relationship between political institutions, civic culture and religious groups. Contesting Secularism represents a major intervention into this debate. Drawing together contributions from leading scholars from across the world it analyses how secularism functions as a political doctrine in different national contexts put under pressure by globalisation. In doing so it presents different models for the relationship between political institutions and religious groups, challenging the reader to be more aware of assumptions within their own cultural context, and raises alternative possibilities for the structure of democratic, multi-faith societies. Through its inter-disciplinary and comparative approach, Contesting Secularism sets a new agenda for thinking about the place of religion in the public sphere of twenty-first century societies. It is essential reading for policymakers, as well as for scholars and students in political science, law, sociology and religious studies. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: A Secular Age Charles Taylor, 2018-09-17 The place of religion in society has changed profoundly in the last few centuries, particularly in the West. In what will be a defining book for our time, Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean, and what, precisely, happens when a society becomes one in which faith is only one human possibility among others. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Society Without God Phil Zuckerman, 2010-06-07 Are lawyers, by their very nature, agents of the state, of capital, of institutions of power? Or are there ways in which they can work constructively or transformatively for the disempowered, the working class, the underprivileged? Lawyers in a Postmodern World explores how lawyers actively create the forms of power which they and others deploy. Through engaging case studies, the book examines how lawyers work within and for powerful institutions and provides suggestions--both general and practical--for ways in which the practice of law can be made to work with and for the powerless. Individuals chapters address such subjects as the contradictions of radical law practice; legal work in South Africa; the economics and politics of negotiating justice; feminist legal scholarship and women's gendered lives; the overlapping worlds of law, business, and politics; theories of legal practice; and how lawyers are constitutive of gender relations. Contributing to the book are Maureen Cain (University of West Indies), Yves Dezalay (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France), Martha Fineman (Columbia University), Sue Lees (University of North London), Doreen McBarnet (Wolfson College, Oxford), Frank Munger (SUNY, Buffalo), Wilfried Scharf (University of Cape Town), Stuart Scheingold (University of Washington), David Sugarman (Lancaster University), and Sally Wheeler (University of Nottingham). |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Inventing American Religion Robert Wuthnow, 2015 Inventing American Religion traces the history of polling, examining its powerful rise in supplying information about the nation's faith, chronicling its current weaknesses, and tackling the difficult questions of how we should think about polls and surveys in American religion today. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Position Papers – November 2023 Position Papers Team, Editorial Gavan Jennings In Passing: 9/10 draft of Burke article (Part One) Michael Kirke Studying irreligion in Ireland Tim O’Sullivan Religious decline in America James Bradshaw Mass Exodus revisited Margaret Hickey When a sense of mission declines: the lesson of the USA James Bradshaw Whence Secularity? Patrick Gorevan A dubious defence of the secularisation thesis Gavan Jennings |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: What You Don't Know about Religion (but Should) Ryan T. Cragun, 2013 Studying religion as a social phenomenon, Cragun follows the scientific data to answers questions about the nature and state of religion (and nonreligion) across populations. If you've ever wondered whether religion helps or hurts society, Cragun argues, our world needs a new way of thinking about religion. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Socialism for a Sceptical Age Ralph Miliband, 2020-05-05 This outstanding and original volume offers a critical examination of a number of developments which in recent years have undermined the idea of socialism and eroded its electoral appeal. Among these developments are the collapse of Communist regimes, the fragmentation of the constituencies upon which earlier socialist advances had depended, changes in the organization and the dynamics of capitalism and a dearth of agencies committed to the socialist project. The book also takes up and seeks to rebut older objections to socialism, such as the notion that it is inevitably totalitarian, that it is based on too optimistic a view of human nature and that it fails to take account of the tendency of power to accumulate in the hands of minorities. The book argues that a social order dominated by the logic of capital and competition cannot, despite all the positive claims made on its behalf, produce the conditions which make true citizenship and community possible. By contrast, socialism offers an attractive and feasible programme for the realization of those ideals. Miliband argues that socialism cannot be seen as an answer to all the ills which have plagued humankind. Socialism, in his view, has to be understood as part of an age-old struggle for a more just society, and he believes that, seen in this light, socialism remains not only desirable but also perfectly possible. Moreover, he believes, socialism will, in time, come to command a majority support which its advancement requires. Socialism has to be seen as a permanent striving for the achievement of democracy, egalitarianism and the creation of an economy under democratic control. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: An Education in Politics Jesse H. Rhodes, 2012-04-21 Since the early 1990s, the federal role in education—exemplified by the controversial No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)—has expanded dramatically. Yet states and localities have retained a central role in education policy, leading to a growing struggle for control over the direction of the nation's schools. In An Education in Politics, Jesse H. Rhodes explains the uneven development of federal involvement in education. While supporters of expanded federal involvement enjoyed some success in bringing new ideas to the federal policy agenda, Rhodes argues, they also encountered stiff resistance from proponents of local control. Built atop existing decentralized policies, new federal reforms raised difficult questions about which level of government bore ultimate responsibility for improving schools. Rhodes's argument focuses on the role played by civil rights activists, business leaders, and education experts in promoting the reforms that would be enacted with federal policies such as NCLB. It also underscores the constraints on federal involvement imposed by existing education policies, hostile interest groups, and, above all, the nation’s federal system. Indeed, the federal system, which left specific policy formation and implementation to the states and localities, repeatedly frustrated efforts to effect changes: national reforms lost their force as policies passed through iterations at the state, county, and municipal levels. Ironically, state and local resistance only encouraged civil rights activists, business leaders, and their political allies to advocate even more stringent reforms that imposed heavier burdens on state and local governments. Through it all, the nation’s education system made only incremental steps toward the goal of providing a quality education for every child. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: A Need for Religion: Insecurity and Religiosity in the Contemporary World Francesco Molteni, 2020-12-07 In A Need for Religion: Insecurity and Religiosity in the Contemporary World Francesco Molteni analyses the decline in religiosity observed in developed countries in relation to the diminished need for reassurance and support that religion provides. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Why Science and Faith Need Each Other Elaine Howard Ecklund, 2020-05-19 Science and faith are often seen as being in opposition. In this book, award-winning sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund questions this assumption based on research she has conducted over the past fifteen years. She highlights the ways these two spheres point to universal human values, showing readers they don't have to choose between science and Christianity. Breathing fresh air into debates that have consisted of more opinions than data, Ecklund offers insights uncovered by her research and shares her own story of personal challenges and lessons. In the areas most rife with conflict--the origins of the universe, evolution, climate change, and genetic technology--readers will find fascinating points of convergence in eight virtues of human existence: curiosity, doubt, humility, creativity, healing, awe, shalom, and gratitude. The book includes discussion questions for group use and to help pastors, small group leaders, and congregants broach controversial topics and bridge the science-faith divide. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Beyond All Reasonable Doubt Malin Persson Giolito, 2019-06-04 Best Thriller and Mystery of the Year – Washington Post Best Thriller and Mystery of the Year – San Francisco Gate From the award-winning author of Quicksand, a gripping legal thriller that follows one woman’s conflicted efforts to overturn what may be a wrongful conviction. I'm giving you a chance to achieve every lawyer’s dream, said Sophia Weber’s old professor. Freeing an innocent man. Thirteen years ago, a fifteen-year-old girl was murdered. Doctor Stig Ahlin was sentenced to life in prison. But no one has forgotten the brutal crime. Ahlin is known as one of the most ruthless criminals. When Sophia Weber discovers critical flaws in the murder investigation, she decides to help Ahlin. But Sophia doing her utmost to get her client exonerated arouses many people's disgust. And the more she learns, the more difficult her job becomes. What kind of man is her client really? What has he done? And will she ever know the truth? |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: ‘Cult’ Rhetoric in the 21st Century Aled Thomas, Edward Graham-Hyde, 2024-06-13 Examining contemporary understandings of the term 'cult', this book brings together scholars from multiple disciplines, including sociology, anthropology and religious studies. Focusing on how 'cult rhetoric' affects our perceptions of new religious movements, the contributors explore how these minority groups have developed and deconstruct the language we use to describe them. Ranging from the 'Cult of Trump' and 'Cult of COVID', to the campaigns of mass media, this book recognises that contemporary 'cult rhetoric' has become hybridised and suggests a more nuanced study of contemporary religion. Topics include online religions, political 'cults', 'apostate' testimony and the current 'othered' position of the study of minority religions. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Politics, Religion, and Culture in an Anxious Age J. Buell, 2011-08-09 American politics is increasingly driven by apocalyptic rhetoric. Highlighting possible adverse consequences of such politics for our freedom and quality of life, the book suggests alternative policy agendas, religious and philosophical discourses, cultural framing and modes of daily living |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Callings and Consequences Christopher J. Lane, 2021-12-15 The concept of vocation in an early modern setting calls to mind the priesthood or religious life in a monastery or cloister; to be “called” by God meant to leave the concerns of the world behind. Beginning in the mid-seventeenth century, French Catholic clergy began to promote the innovative idea that everyone, even an ordinary layperson, was called to a vocation or “state of life” and that discerning this call correctly had implications for one’s happiness and salvation, and for the social good. In Callings and Consequences Christopher Lane analyzes the origins, growth, and influence of a culture of vocation that became a central component of the Catholic Reformation and its legacy in France. The reformers’ new vision of the choice of a state of life was marked by four characteristics: urgency (the realization that one’s soul was at stake), inclusiveness (the belief that everyone, including lay people, was called by God), method (the use of proven discernment practices), and liberty (the belief that this choice must be free from coercion, especially by parents). No mere passing phenomena, these vocational reforms engendered enduring beliefs and practices within the repertoire of global Catholic modernity, even to the present day. An illuminating and sometimes surprising history of pastoral reform, Callings and Consequences helps us to understand the history of Catholic vocational culture and its role in the modernizing process, within Christianity and beyond. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Losing Our Religion Christel Manning, 2015-11-20 The fastest growing religion in America is--none! Among adults under 30, those poised to be the parents of the next generation, fully one third are religiously unaffiliated. Yet these Nones, especially parents, still face prejudice in a culture where religion is widely seen as good for your kids. What do Nones believe, and how do they negotiate tensions with those convinced that they ought to provide their children with a religious upbringing?--Publisher description. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: How to Defeat Religion in 10 Easy Steps Ryan T. Cragun, 2015-05-01 Do you want the greatest challenges of the day to be addressed with thoughtful, reality-based solutions rather than with cherry-picked quotations from scripture? Do you want to shrink religion—especially fundamentalist religion—to the point that it plays no noticeable role in American public life? Do you want right-wing religious leaders to be so unpopular that politicians avoid them rather than pander to them for endorsements? Drawing on the latest social-scientific research on religion to help interested nonbelievers—and even progressive believers—weaken the influence of fundamentalist religion in society at large, How to Defeat Religion in 10 Easy Steps illustrates specific, actionable steps we all can take to facilitate fundamentalist religion's decline. It covers topics as far ranging as education, welfare, sex, science, capitalism, and Christmas, and each of the 10 chapters focuses on a specific action that research has shown can weaken religion, detailing why and how, and concluding with specific recommendations for individuals, local groups, and national organizations. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Teenage Witches Helen Berger, Douglas Ezzy, 2007-05-08 A popular new image of Witches has arisen in recent years, due largely to movies like The Craft, Practical Magic, and Simply Irresistible and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Charmed. Here, young sexy Witches use magic and Witchcraft to gain control over their lives and fight evil. Then there is the depiction in the Harry Potter books: Witchcraft is a gift that unenlightened Muggles (everyday people) lack. In both types of portrayals, being a Witch is akin to being a superhero. At the other end of the spectrum, wary adults assume that Witches engage in evil practices that are misguided at best and dangerous at worst. Yet, as Helen A. Berger and Douglas Ezzy show in this in-depth look into the lives of teenage Witches, the reality of their practices, beliefs, values, and motivations is very different from the sensational depictions we see in popular culture. Drawing on extensive research across three countries--the United States, England, and Australia--and interviews with young people from diverse backgrounds, what they find are highly spiritual and self-reflective young men and women attempting to make sense of a postmodern world via a religion that celebrates the earth and emphasizes self-development. The authors trace the development of Neo-Paganism (an umbrella term used to distinguish earth-based religions from the pagan religions of ancient cultures) from its start in England during the 1940s, through its growing popularity in the decades that followed, up through its contemporary presence on the Internet. Though dispersed and disorganized, Neo-Pagan communities, virtual and real, are shown to be an important part of religious identity particularly for those seeking affirmation during the difficult years between childhood and adulthood. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: None of the Above Joel Thiessen, Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme, 2020-04-14 Compares secular attitudes characterizing “religious nones” in the United States and Canada Almost a quarter of American and Canadian adults are nonreligious, while teens and young adults are even less likely to identify religiously. None of the Above explores the growing phenomenon of “religious nones” in North America. Who are the religious nones? Why, and where, is this population growing? While there has been increased attention on secularism in both Europe and the United States, little work to date has focused on Canada. Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme turn to survey and interview data to explore how a nonreligious identity impacts a variety of aspects of daily life in the US and Canada in sometimes similar and sometimes different ways, offering insights to illuminate societal and political trends. With numbers of nonreligious people even higher in Canada than in the US, some believe that secular currents to the north foreshadow what will happen in the US. None of the Above asserts that a growing divide between religious and nonreligious populations could engender a greater distance in moral and political values and behaviors. At once provocative and insightful, this book tackles questions of coexistence, religious tolerance, and spirituality, as American and Canadian society accelerate toward a more secular future. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Unintended Reformation Brad S. Gregory, 2015-11-16 In a work that is as much about the present as the past, Brad Gregory identifies the unintended consequences of the Protestant Reformation and traces the way it shaped the modern condition over the course of the following five centuries. A hyperpluralism of religious and secular beliefs, an absence of any substantive common good, the triumph of capitalism and its driver, consumerism—all these, Gregory argues, were long-term effects of a movement that marked the end of more than a millennium during which Christianity provided a framework for shared intellectual, social, and moral life in the West. Before the Protestant Reformation, Western Christianity was an institutionalized worldview laden with expectations of security for earthly societies and hopes of eternal salvation for individuals. The Reformation’s protagonists sought to advance the realization of this vision, not disrupt it. But a complex web of rejections, retentions, and transformations of medieval Christianity gradually replaced the religious fabric that bound societies together in the West. Today, what we are left with are fragments: intellectual disagreements that splinter into ever finer fractals of specialized discourse; a notion that modern science—as the source of all truth—necessarily undermines religious belief; a pervasive resort to a therapeutic vision of religion; a set of smuggled moral values with which we try to fertilize a sterile liberalism; and the institutionalized assumption that only secular universities can pursue knowledge. The Unintended Reformation asks what propelled the West into this trajectory of pluralism and polarization, and finds answers deep in our medieval Christian past. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Routledge International Handbook of Changes in Human Perceptions and Behaviors Kanako Taku, Todd K. Shackelford, 2024-06-28 The Routledge International Handbook of Changes in Human Perceptions and Behaviors is the first edited volume to present multidisciplinary perspectives on various aspects of changes that humans experience. The handbook is designed to highlight the different contents, types, ways, meanings, applications, and moments of changes that have been recognized by experts in various fields within the life and social sciences. Comprised of four sections, the chapters address changes in a variety of contexts related to human perceptions and behaviors; the moment of change and fluctuations; changes in applied settings; and the meaning of changes, including resistance to change. Written by a range of expert international contributors, the book brings together discussions and insights about how different levels and types of changes in human perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors have been studied and considered in diverse fields. It also explores the various mechanisms that account for changes, exploring how and when changes occur and what changes mean to humans. Relevant for empirical and theoretical work, the handbook will be of great interest to researchers, academics, and postgraduate students across psychology, behavioral sciences, and social sciences. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Mormonism R. Gordon Shepherd, A. Gary Shepherd, Ryan T. Cragun, 2020-11-12 This handbook explores contemporary Mormonism within a global context. The authors provide a nuanced picture of a historically American religion in the throes of the same kinds of global change that virtually every conservative faith tradition faces today. They explain where and how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has penetrated national and cultural boundaries in Latin America, Oceania, Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as in North America beyond the borders of Mormon Utah. They also address numerous concerns within a multinational, multicultural church: What does it mean to be a Latter-day Saint in different world regions? What is the faith’s appeal to converts in these places? What are the peculiar problems for members who must manage Mormon identities in conjunction with their different national, cultural, and ethnic identities? How are leaders dealing with such issues as the status of women in a patriarchal church, the treatment of LGBTQ members, increasing disaffiliation of young people, and decreasing growth rates in North and Latin America while sustaining increasing growth in parts of Asia and Africa? |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Secular Paradox Joseph Blankholm, 2022-06-07 A radically new way of understanding secularism which explains why being secular can seem so strangely religious For much of America’s rapidly growing secular population, religion is an inescapable source of skepticism and discomfort. It shows up in politics and in holidays, but also in common events like weddings and funerals. In The Secular Paradox, Joseph Blankholm argues that, despite their desire to avoid religion, nonbelievers often seem religious because Christianity influences the culture around them so deeply. Relying on several years of ethnographic research among secular activists and organized nonbelievers in the United States, the volume explores how very secular people are ambivalent toward belief, community, ritual, conversion, and tradition. As they try to embrace what they share, secular people encounter, again and again, that they are becoming too religious. And as they reject religion, they feel they have lost too much. Trying to strike the right balance, secular people alternate between the two sides of their ambiguous condition: absolutely not religious and part of a religion-like secular tradition. Blankholm relies heavily on the voices of women and people of color to understand what it means to live with the secular paradox. The struggles of secular misfits—the people who mis-fit normative secularism in the United States—show that becoming secular means rejecting parts of life that resemble Christianity and embracing a European tradition that emphasizes reason and avoids emotion. Women, people of color, and secular people who have left non-Christian religions work against the limits and contradictions of secularism to create new ways of being secular that are transforming the American religious landscape. They are pioneering the most interesting and important forms of secular “religiosity” in America today. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Non-Religious and the State Jeffrey Tyssens, Niels De Nutte, Stefan Schröder, 2024-06-25 |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: A Full-Hearted Life Jake Owensby, 2024-12-03 Meaningful answers for life’s big questions. Everyone must ask life’s big questions. Even people who reject any hint of the supernatural and insist that nothing exists apart from matter will have to find meaning for themselves. To put this another way, the defining mark of our secular age is not the absence of belief, but rather the effect on our consciousness of the sheer number of competing belief systems. That effect is fragilization. And so, belief is fragile. We don’t have to believe what we believe. We could believe something else entirely. This book articulates how believing in Jesus gives us a sense of who we are, why we’re here, what the good life is, and how to move toward that good life. This is not traditional apologetics, offering logical proofs that God exists or that Jesus is God incarnate or that all those alternative belief systems are false. Put simply, the aim of this book is to help you see for yourself and to explain to others how Christian belief and Christian practice can make life meaningful. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: When the Lords House Closes Delgado, 2025-07 This chapter sets the stage for the book and follows a conventional path, increasing the likelihood of reader engagement and that it will influence community practice, which quite frankly, is the bottom-line. I do not subscribe to the axiom of advancing knowledge for the sake of knowledge. I am much too practical! Some readers, however, may beg to differ. Books challenge readers to entertain new ways of thinking on a subject, supplying a rationale for the subject's importance. Books need major time, financial, and intellectual commitment to a subject, bringing heightened expectations and serving as a key motivator for action. Readers have a right to have lofty expectations from a book because of the time invested, and that must be confirmed and met by an author! It is impossible for an author to suspend their experiences and worldviews from the task of writing a 300 or so page document. The more an author uplifts their values, motivations, biases, limitations, and experiences (both good and bad), it allows readers to have a better grasp of why a topic is framed in a particular manner. This stance ascends in significance in this journey and more so when it covers religion. Readers may ask about my personal stands on religion, religious beliefs, and houses of worship. More specifically, although raised Catholic up to my late teenage years, I am a member of a Church of Christ congregation because of the values that this church embraces. This church, too, is facing its challenges with dwindling congregations and closures. Suffice it to say, I respect people's religious/spiritual beliefs that are different from mine, although I am not a very religious person by nature, it is fair to say-- |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Age of Secularization Augusto Del Noce, 2017-11-08 Augusto Del Noce is widely considered one of Italy’s foremost philosophers and political thinkers in the second half of the twentieth century. He is also remembered as an original and profound cultural critic, and in particular as a great scholar of the process of secularization that took place in the West during the 1960s. A collection of eleven essays and lectures by Del Noce that originally appeared between 1964 and 1969, and which the author published as a book in 1971, The Age of Secularization quickly became recognized as one of the most original and penetrating attempts to interpret the cultural and political turmoil of the period. In its pages Del Noce discusses, among other topics, the student protests of 1968, the counterculture of the 1960s, the significance of the sexual revolution, the nature of the technological society, and the relationship between Christianity and modern culture. The Age of Secularization documents the encounter between a key period of contemporary history and the full intellectual maturity of one of its most perceptive observers. It makes available to English-language readers a lasting reflection on the philosophical roots of contemporary culture, and it is just as illuminating and topical today as it was nearly fifty years ago. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: We've Got Issues Phillip C. McGraw, 2024-02-27 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and beloved television host comes We’ve Got Issues: How You Can Stand Strong for America’s Soul and Sanity, a new book on how to come home to our core values, fortify our families, and re-embrace self-determination and self-governance. Do you think mainstream America needs to find its voice? If so, you’re not alone. The country is under attack by extremists at the fringes who put ideology before sanity and stoke division for their own gain. They are trying to rob America of its common sense and deny empirical truths, and we’re all suffering the consequences. In We’ve Got Issues: How You Can Stand Strong for America’s Soul and Sanity, Dr. Phil employs his signature no-nonsense approach to analyze America’s cultural crisis and offers practical, empirically based, action-oriented strategies to restore and support our country’s collective mental health. This compelling work combines a brutally honest look at the sustained attack on the core values that have defined America at its best and offers prescriptive guidance on what you can do in your own life to stop the madness. With his ten working principles for a healthy society, Dr. Phil provides the tools for mainstream America to fight back against the forces of division with sensible and urgently needed advice supported by the latest social, medical, and psychological findings. Dr. Phil demystifies the “tyranny of the fringe” and deconstructs their assault on the principles that made our nation prosperous, free, and powerful. With the hard-earned wisdom of years spent working with Americans of all backgrounds, Dr. Phil charts a course from cancel culture to counsel culture, from fear to acceptance, from victimhood to community, and from the tyranny of the fringe to a more civil society where we heal our divides and every one of us decides to be who we are on purpose. Dr. Phil is here to show us how. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Shape of Spirituality Dick Houtman, Galen Watts, 2024-10-15 Around 20 percent of Americans fall into the category of “spiritual but not religious.” Yoga has become a ubiquitous pastime for middle-class Westerners. Mindfulness is increasingly incorporated into school curricula, sports programs, and even corporate culture. Hollywood icons and Silicon Valley trendsetters tout the benefits of a “spiritual” life. These developments reflect a widespread turn away from “religion” toward “spirituality.” Yet the nature of this spiritual turn is still poorly understood, and its consequences sorely underappreciated. The Shape of Spirituality brings together leading sociologists to challenge common notions that spirituality is individualistic, privatized, and apolitical—and to make the definitive case for its social and political significance. Contributors examine the sweeping influence of spirituality on a variety of realms, including health care and therapeutic practice, popular culture, civic engagement, public protest, conspiracy culture, and progressive politics. Leveraging cutting-edge quantitative and qualitative data, this authoritative book makes clear that, far from being marginal and inconsequential, spirituality holds profound public importance today. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Secularization of the European Mind in the Nineteenth Century Owen Chadwick, 1990-09-13 Owen Chadwick's acclaimed lectures on the secularisation of the European mind trace the declining hold of the Church and its doctrines on European society in the nineteenth century. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Land of Stark Contrasts Manuel Mejido Costoya, 2021-04-06 An important new volume showcasing a wide range of faith-based responses to one of today’s most pressing social issues, challenging us to expand our ways of understanding. Land of Stark Contrasts brings together the work of social scientists, ethicists, and theologians exploring the profound role of religion in understanding and responding to homelessness and housing insecurity in all corners of the United States—from Seattle, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley to Dallas and San Antonio to Washington, D.C., and Boston. Together, the essays of Land of Stark Contrasts chart intriguing ways forward for future initiatives to address the root causes of homelessness. In this way they are essential reading for practical theologians, congregational leaders, and faith-based nonprofit organizers exploring how to combine spiritual and material care for homeless individuals and other vulnerable populations. Social workers, nonprofit managers, and policy specialists seeking to understand how to partner better with faith-based organizations will also find the chapters in this volume an invaluable resource. Contributors include James V. Spickard, Manuel Mejido Costoya and Margaret Breen, Michael R. Fisher Jr., Laura Stivers, Lauren Valk Lawson, Bruce Granville Miller, Nancy A. Khalil, John A. Coleman, S.J., Jeremy Phillip Brown, Paul Houston Blankenship, María Teresa Dávila, Roberto Mata, and Sathianathan Clarke. Co-published with Seattle University’s Center for Religious Wisdom and World Affairs |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: What It Means to Be Moral Phil Zuckerman, 2019-09-10 “A thoughtful perspective on humans' capacity for moral behavior.” —Kirkus Reviews “A comprehensive introduction to religious skepticism.” —Publishers Weekly In What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life, Phil Zuckerman argues that morality does not come from God. Rather, it comes from us: our brains, our evolutionary past, our ongoing cultural development, our social experiences, and our ability to reason, reflect, and be sensitive to the suffering of others. By deconstructing religious arguments for God–based morality and guiding readers through the premises and promises of secular morality, Zuckerman argues that the major challenges facing the world today—from global warming and growing inequality to religious support for unethical political policies to gun violence and terrorism—are best approached from a nonreligious ethical framework. In short, we need to look to our fellow humans and within ourselves for moral progress and ethical action. “In this brilliant, provocative, and timely book, Phil Zuckerman breaks down the myth that our morality comes from religion—compellingly making the case that when it comes to the biggest challenges we face today, a secular approach is the only truly moral one.” —Ali A. Rizvi, author of The Atheist Muslim |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Secularism: The Basics Jacques Berlinerblau, 2021-12-30 Secularism: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to confusing and contradictory public discussions of secularism across the globe. “Secularism” must be the most confused and convoluted term in the entire global political lexicon. From New York to Paris, to Istanbul, to Addis Ababa, to New Delhi, to Montevideo, there are countless examples of politicians, religious leaders and journalists, invoking the S-word in heated debates about public education, gender, sex, national symbols, and artistic freedom. In this lively and lucid book, Jacques Berlinerblau addresses why secularism is defined in so many ways and why it so ignites people’s passions. In so doing, he explores the following important questions: What does secularism mean? Why should we care about this idea? What are the different types of secularism and what are their histories? What are the basic principles of political secularisms? Why are secularism and Atheism often confused? What is the relationship between secularism and LGBTQ rights? What opposition are secularisms up against? What does the future hold for a concept millennia in the making, but only really operationalized in the twentieth century? With a glossary of key terms, case studies, informative tables, and suggestions for further reading throughout, the book considers key philosophical, religious, anti-religious, post-modern and post-colonial arguments around secularism. This book is an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a readable introduction to the often-conflicting interpretations of one of our era’s most complex and controversial ideas. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Secular Enlightenment Margaret Jacob, 2021-04-20 Provides a panoramic account of the radical ways that life began to change for ordinary people in the age of Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau. In this book, familiar Enlightenment figures share places with voices that have remained largely unheard until now, from freethinkers and freemasons to French materialists, anticlerical Catholics, pantheists, pornographers, readers, and travelers. Jacob reveals how this newly secular outlook was not a wholesale rejection of Christianity but rather a new mental space in which to encounter the world on its own terms. She takes readers from London and Amsterdam to Berlin, Vienna, Turin, and Naples, drawing on rare archival materials to show how ideas central to the emergence of secular democracy touched all facets of daily life. Jacob demonstrates how secular values and pursuits took hold of eighteenth-century Europe, spilled into the American colonies, and left their lasting imprint on the Western world for generations to come. --Adapted from publisher description. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: Post-Secular Society Gustaaf Geeraerts, 2017-09-08 Post-Secular Society argues for several characteristics of the secular: the experience of living in a secular age and the experience of living without religion as a normal condition. Religion in the West is often seen as marked by both innovation and disarray. In spite of differing approaches and perspectives of secularization, rational choice and de-secularization, many scholars agree that the West is experiencing a general resurgence of religion across most Western societies. Post-Secular Society discusses the changes in religion related to globalization and New Age forms of popular religion. The contributors review religion that is rooted in the globalized political economy and the relationship of post-secularism to popular consumer culture. Also reviewed is innovative discourse as a religious belief system, theories of the post-secular, religious, and spiritual well-being, and healing practices in Finland and environmentalism. This paperback edition includes a new preface by Peter Nynas. |
| beyond doubt the secularization of society: The Sociology of Religion George Lundskow, 2008-06-10 Using a lively narrative, The Sociology of Religion is an insightful text that investigates the facts of religion in all its great diversity, including its practices and beliefs, and then analyzes actual examples of religious developments using relevant conceptual frameworks. As a result, students actively engage in the discovery, learning, and analytical processes as they progress through the text. Organized around essential topics and real-life issues, this unique text examines religion both as an object of sociological analysis as well as a device for seeking personal meaning in life. The book provides sociological perspectives on religion while introducing students to relevant research from interdisciplinary scholarship. Sidebar features and photographs of religious figures bring the text to life for readers. Key Features Uses substantive and truly contemporary real-life religious issues of current interest to engage the reader in a way few other texts do Combines theory with empirical examples drawn from the United States and around the world, emphasizing a critical and analytical perspective that encourages better understanding of the material presented Features discussions of emergent religions, consumerism, and the link between religion, sports, and other forms of popular culture Draws upon interdisciplinary literature, helping students appreciate the contributions of other disciplines while primarily developing an understanding of the sociology of religion Accompanied by High-Quality Ancillaries! Instructor Resources on CD contain chapter outlines, summaries, multiple-choice questions, essay questions, and short answer questions as well as illustrations from the book. C Intended Audience This core text is designed for upper-level undergraduate students of Sociology of Religion or Religion and Politics. |
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society - www.eda-iot
this study overcomes the ambiguity and daunting scale of the subject of secularization by using the insights of anthropology and sociology and by examining an earlier period than usually …
Beyond Doubt - De Gruyter
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun
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Beyond Doubt offers the strongest argument to date for the existence of a global secularization trend, and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike who study religion and …
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society
by formalizing secularization theory and providing robust empirical evidence that religion is declining in light of modernization beyond doubt is the strongest argument to date for …
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society - treca.org
Beyond Doubt offers the strongest argument to date for the existence of a global secularization trend, and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike who study religion and …
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society
This article delves deep into the multifaceted nature of secularization, examining its drivers, consequences, and the ongoing debate surrounding its impact on individuals and society as a …
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secularization and cultural criticism examines the responses of a wide range of thinkers to illustrate exactly why the problem of secularisation in the study of society and culture should …
Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun.
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society. New York: New York University Press, 2023, 227 pp. ISBN. 9781479814282 (paperback). Has religion weakened and diminished? In the …
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Beyond Doubt Isabella Kasselstrand,Phil Zuckerman,Ryan T. Cragun,2023-05-09 Demonstrates definitively that the secularization thesis is correct and religion is losing its grip on societies …
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society
eyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society. New York, NY: sociology at the University of Washington. He wrote a number of books in which he totally rejected the idea of secularisation, …
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society. By Isabella …
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society. By Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun. New York: New York University Press, 2023. 240 pp. Cloth: $89. Paper: $30. …
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Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society: Beyond Doubt Isabella Kasselstrand,Phil Zuckerman,Ryan T. Cragun,2023-05-09 Demonstrates definitively that the secularization thesis …
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Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society: Beyond Doubt Isabella Kasselstrand,Phil Zuckerman,Ryan T. Cragun,2023-05-09 Demonstrates definitively that the secularization thesis …
Religious Diversity, Secularization, and Indifference
Secularization is real. It’s beyond doubt” (169). The authors argue the book ofers “a simplified, coherent, and testable version of secularization theory” (1.
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society [PDF]
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society: Beyond Doubt Isabella Kasselstrand,Phil Zuckerman,Ryan T. Cragun,2023-05-09 Demonstrates definitively that the secularization thesis …
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society provides clear answers and insightful perspectives on this critical shift. This book will illuminate the complex forces driving secularization and its …
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society (book)
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society: Beyond Doubt Isabella Kasselstrand,Phil Zuckerman,Ryan T. Cragun,2023-05-09 Demonstrates definitively that the secularization thesis …
Beyond doubt: The secularization of society
Kasselstrand, Isabella, Phil Zuckerman and Ryan T. Cragun. Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2023, 242 pages. In the 1980s and 1990s, …
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Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society
declining in light of modernization beyond doubt is the strongest argument to date for secularization around the world addressing common criticisms and claimed exceptions along …
Beyond Doubt - De Gruyter
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society [PDF]
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society: Beyond Doubt Isabella Kasselstrand,Phil Zuckerman,Ryan T. Cragun,2023-05-09 Demonstrates definitively that the secularization …
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society
occurring in society, and as diferentiation and rationalisation occur, so religion is moved out of many processes and institutions in society. The authors have gathered general evidence for …
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3 Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society this study overcomes the ambiguity and daunting scale of the subject of secularization by using the insights of anthropology and sociology and …
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The question of secularization – the declining significance of religion in public life – is a complex one, sparking debates across sociology, politics, and philosophy. This in-depth exploration
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Doubt offers the strongest argument to date for the existence of a global secularization trend and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike who study religion and secularism …
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secularization theory has been subjected to doubt and criticism from a number of leading scholars who have variously claimed that it is wrong flawed or incomplete In Beyond Doubt Isabella …
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for which we have data have experienced secularization over the last 40 to 50 years. Rates of religious belief, behavior, and belonging have declined. In this talk, Dr. Cragun will briefly …
Beyond doubt: The secularization of society
rationalisation, which they define as ‘the ordering of society based on technological efficiency, bureaucratic impersonality, and scientific and empirical evidence’ (p.26).
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In Beyond Doubt, Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun mount a strong defense for the theory, providing compelling evidence that religion is indeed declining globally …
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society
While secularization is often associated with progress, asserting that it is "beyond doubt" beneficial is an oversimplification. The reality is far more nuanced.
Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun.
Now, in The Secularization of Society, sociology professors Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun utilized four decades of empirical data to illustrate that …
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Against this backdrop of conceptual disagreement, Beyond Doubt seeks to revisit many of the theoretical and empirical questions to show that, in fact, the core tenets of secularization …
Religious Diversity, Secularization, and Indifference
beyond doubt examines four societies as particularly interesting and powerful case studies of secularization: Norway, Chile, South Korea, and the United States.
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society - www.perseus
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society 2 Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society of Domestic Relations A General Theory of Secularization Religion and Modernization Steve Bruce
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society
Beyond simply defending secularization theory, the authors endeavor to formalize it, offering clear definitions of relevant terms and creating propositions that can be repeatedly and accurately …
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society
Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society provides clear answers and insightful perspectives on this critical shift. This book will illuminate the complex forces driving secularization and its …
Beyond Doubt The Secularization Of Society
Beyond simply defending secularization theory, the authors endeavor to formalize it, offering clear definitions of relevant terms and creating propositions that can be repeatedly and accurately …
