Ebook: Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide

Seminal nineteenth-century thinkers predicted that religion would gradually fade in importance with the emergence of industrial society. The belief that religion was dying became the conventional wisdom in the social sciences during most of the twentieth century. The traditional secularization thesis needs updating, however, religion has not disappeared and is unlikely to do so. Nevertheless, the concept of secularization captures an important part of what is going on. This book develops a theory of existential security. It demonstrates that the publics of virtually all advanced industrial societies have been moving toward more secular orientations during the past half century, but also that the world as a whole now has more people with traditional religious views than ever before. This second edition expands the theory and provides new and updated evidence from a broad perspective and in a wide range of countries. This confirms that religiosity persists most strongly among vulnerable populations, especially in poorer nations and in failed states. Conversely, a systematic erosion of religious practices, values, and beliefs has occurred among the more prosperous strata in rich nations.Review"This book is an impressive, well-documented, systematic examination of empirical evidence from many countries and cultures. It does not claim to resolve the secularization debate, but moves it to a new, more informed, and enlightening level..." R.L. Herrick, emeritus, Westmar University"This is a landmark book that deserves to be read widely and closely. It is rigorously grounded, carefully researched, and cogently argued ... A rare coup de grace in the form of a sharp and elegant empirical thrust to the heart of a protracted debate... Overall, this is a landmark book that deserves to be read widely and closely. It is rigorously grounded, carefully researched, and cogently argued... While not a holy text, it merits the kind of exegesis that many such texts receive." N. J. Demerath, American Journal of Sociology"Sacred and Secular is a very well-structured book, enriched by valuable survey data. It engages in important debates on development and secularization with its methodological elegancy and theoretical parsimony. It is a significant source to understand the classical social scientific approach to religion and a necessary basis to locate conflicting arguments on the field." Ahmet T. Kuru, University of Washington, Comparative Political Studies"Norris & Inglehart's book is a pleasure to read and an inspiration for scholars for its effort to generate solid knowledge on a much-debated question. Along the way, the reader will find much fascinating material..." Sven Gunnar Simonsen, Journal of Peace ResearchSacred and Secular is a fine reference book for statistics on trends in religious observance throughout the world." Journal of Church and State Wendy Dackson"The book is a major contribution to the life of the idea of secularization and the larger issues about the nature and meaning of modernity bound up with that idea. It merits close study." Daniel Silver, University of Chicago"The book's evidence and arguments-which are likely attracting the attention of a broad reading public beyond academia-certainly merit more critical discussion and focused evaluation by religion scholars, as they bear importantly on many larger concerns in the scientific study of religion and have many potential important policy implications." Christian Smith, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion Book DescriptionNineteenth-century thinkers predicted that religion would gradually fade in importance with the emergence of industrial society, and the belief that religion was dying became the conventional wisdom in the social sciences during most of the twentieth century. Today, religion has not disappeared and is unlikely to do so, but the concept of secularization captures an important part of what is going on. In this context, this book develops a theory of secularization and existential security. This second edition confirms that the publics of advanced industrial societies have been moving toward more secular orientations during the past fifty years, but also that the world as a whole now has more people with traditional religious views than ever before. [C:UsersMicrosoftDocumentsCalibre Library]