Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Society without God -- 2 Jens, Anne, and Christian -- 3 Fear of Death and the Meaning of Life -- 4 Lene, Sonny, Gitte -- 5 Being Secular -- 6 Why? -- 7 Dorthe, Laura, and Johanne -- 8 Cultural Religion -- 9 Back to the USA -- Appendix -...

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Auteur principal: Zuckerman, Phil (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Livre
Langue:Anglais
Service de livraison Subito: Commander maintenant.
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Publié: New York, NY New York University Press [2008]
Dans:Année: 2008
Recensions:Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment (2009) (Madeley, John T. S.)
Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment (2010) (Baggett, Jerome P., 1963 -)
[Rezension von: Zuckerman, Phil, Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment] (2010) (Hegy, Pierre)
Sujets non-standardisés:B Religion Controversial literature
B SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology of Religion
Accès en ligne: Cover (Verlag)
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Résumé:Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Society without God -- 2 Jens, Anne, and Christian -- 3 Fear of Death and the Meaning of Life -- 4 Lene, Sonny, Gitte -- 5 Being Secular -- 6 Why? -- 7 Dorthe, Laura, and Johanne -- 8 Cultural Religion -- 9 Back to the USA -- Appendix -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author
“Silver” Winner of the 2008 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award, Religion CategoryBefore he began his recent travels, it seemed to Phil Zuckerman as if humans all over the globe were “getting religion”—praising deities, performing holy rites, and soberly defending the world from sin. But most residents of Denmark and Sweden, he found, don’t worship any god at all, don’t pray, and don’t give much credence to religious dogma of any kind. Instead of being bastions of sin and corruption, however, as the Christian Right has suggested a godless society would be, these countries are filled with residents who score at the very top of the “happiness index” and enjoy their healthy societies, which boast some of the lowest rates of violent crime in the world (along with some of the lowest levels of corruption), excellent educational systems, strong economies, well-supported arts, free health care, egalitarian social policies, outstanding bike paths, and great beer.Zuckerman formally interviewed nearly 150 Danes and Swedes of all ages and educational backgrounds over the course of fourteen months. He was particularly interested in the worldviews of people who live their lives without religious orientation. How do they think about and cope with death? Are they worried about an afterlife? What he found is that nearly all of his interviewees live their lives without much fear of the Grim Reaper or worries about the hereafter. This led him to wonder how and why it is that certain societies are non-religious in a world that seems to be marked by increasing religiosity. Drawing on prominent sociological theories and his own extensive research, Zuckerman ventures some interesting answers.This fascinating approach directly counters the claims of outspoken, conservative American Christians who argue that a society without God would be hell on earth. It is crucial, Zuckerman believes, for Americans to know that “society without God is not only possible, but it can be quite civil and pleasant.”
Type de support:Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
ISBN:0814797474
Accès:Restricted Access
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.18574/9780814797471