The Nonreligious
Understanding Secular People and Societies
Published on 17. March 2016
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-19-992495-0 (ISBN)
Description
The number of non-religious men and women has increased dramatically over the past several decades. Yet scholarship on the non-religious is severely lacking. In response to this critical gap in knowledge, The Nonreligious provides a comprehensive summation and analytical discussion of existing social scientific research on the non-religious. The authors present a thorough overview of existing research, while also drawing on ongoing research and positing ways to improve upon our current understanding of this growing population.
The findings in this book stand out against the corpus of secular writing, which is comprised primarily of polemical rants critiquing religion, personal life-stories/memoirs of former believers, or abstract philosophical explorations of theology and anti-theology. By offering the first research- and data-based conclusions about the non-religious, this book will be an invaluable source of information and a foundation for further scholarship. Written in clear, jargon-free language that will appeal to the increasingly interested general readers, this book provides an unbiased, thorough account of all relevant existing scholarship within the social sciences that bears on the lived experience of the non-religious.
The findings in this book stand out against the corpus of secular writing, which is comprised primarily of polemical rants critiquing religion, personal life-stories/memoirs of former believers, or abstract philosophical explorations of theology and anti-theology. By offering the first research- and data-based conclusions about the non-religious, this book will be an invaluable source of information and a foundation for further scholarship. Written in clear, jargon-free language that will appeal to the increasingly interested general readers, this book provides an unbiased, thorough account of all relevant existing scholarship within the social sciences that bears on the lived experience of the non-religious.
Reviews / Votes
Among the successes of The Nonreligious is that the authors employ a highly readable style while effectively synthesizing a wide range of research in anthropology, psychology, religious studies, and sociology as well as sharing stories of people who see themselves as variously nonreligious... Overall, the authors have made an important contribution to our understanding of nonreligion that will be of value to those beginning an exploration of secular culture and society and individual practice. * Elizabeth Drescher, Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society * The uncluttered and highly readable prose combined with rigorous engagement of existing literatures makes it accessible and useful for educated lay readers, undergraduates, graduate students, and academics. The Nonreligious is destined to become the go-to primer and starting point for those interested in the empirical study of secularities. * Sociology of Religion *More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Phil Zuckerman | Luke W. Galen | Frank L. Pasquale
The Nonreligious
Understanding Secular People and Societies
Book
03/2016
Oxford University Press Inc
€48.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Phil Zuckerman | Luke W. Galen | Frank L. Pasquale
The Nonreligious
Understanding Secular People and Societies
E-Book
02/2016
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€21.99
Available for download
Phil Zuckerman | Luke W. Galen | Frank L. Pasquale
The Nonreligious
Understanding Secular People and Societies
E-Book
02/2016
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€21.99
Available for download
Persons
Phil Zuckerman is a professor of sociology and the founding chair of the secular studies program at Pitzer College. He is the author of several books, including Living the Secular Life (Penguin, forthcoming), Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion (Oxford, 2011), and Society Without God (NYU, 2008). He teaches courses on secularity, religion, and social theory, and his research focuses on various aspects of secular identity and culture.
Luke Galen is a professor of psychology at Grand Valley State University. He teaches in the field of psychology, specializing in the psychology of religion. He is also a co-host of the podcast "Reasonable Doubts". His research interests include: Religious and secular social cognition, psychological well-being, morality and prosociality, and the social perception of nonreligious individuals.
Frank L. Pasquale is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on individual and institutional forms of secularity and the role of the religious-secular construct in the world. His work has appeared in The Oxford Handbook of Atheism (Oxford University Press, 2013), Atheism and Secularity (Praeger, 2010), Secularism and Science in the 21st Century (ISSSC, 2008), Secularity and Secularism (ISSSC, 2007), the Archive for the Psychology of Religion, and elsewhere.
Luke Galen is a professor of psychology at Grand Valley State University. He teaches in the field of psychology, specializing in the psychology of religion. He is also a co-host of the podcast "Reasonable Doubts". His research interests include: Religious and secular social cognition, psychological well-being, morality and prosociality, and the social perception of nonreligious individuals.
Frank L. Pasquale is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on individual and institutional forms of secularity and the role of the religious-secular construct in the world. His work has appeared in The Oxford Handbook of Atheism (Oxford University Press, 2013), Atheism and Secularity (Praeger, 2010), Secularism and Science in the 21st Century (ISSSC, 2008), Secularity and Secularism (ISSSC, 2007), the Archive for the Psychology of Religion, and elsewhere.
Content
Introduction
Chapter 1. The study of Secularity and the Non-religious
Chapter 2. Secularity Around the World
Chapter 3: Secularity through Time: The Question of Secularization
Chapter 4: Secularity and Society
Chapter 5: How and Why People Become Secular
Chapter 6. Personality, Cognition, and Family Behavior
Chapter 7. Secularity and Well-Being
Chapter 8 . Are Secular People Moral and Ethical?
Chapter 9. Social and Political Attitudes and Values
Chapter 10. Secular Social and Institutional Behavior
Conclusion
References
Index
Chapter 1. The study of Secularity and the Non-religious
Chapter 2. Secularity Around the World
Chapter 3: Secularity through Time: The Question of Secularization
Chapter 4: Secularity and Society
Chapter 5: How and Why People Become Secular
Chapter 6. Personality, Cognition, and Family Behavior
Chapter 7. Secularity and Well-Being
Chapter 8 . Are Secular People Moral and Ethical?
Chapter 9. Social and Political Attitudes and Values
Chapter 10. Secular Social and Institutional Behavior
Conclusion
References
Index