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Line 13: − + + + − + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + − + − Religion newswriters are well aware that those aggressive “[[New Atheism|New Atheists]]” sometimes suggest faith is not just stupid but morally evil or a sort of mental illness, such that parents should be forbidden to infect their own children with it. Journalists may be surprised to learn that for LeDrew and others, this sort of anti-religion thinking is outdated and “utterly out of sync with contemporary social science.”+ − Social scientists long embraced the “secularization thesis,” according to which religion will inevitably decline as modern science advances. But now, says LeDrew, many acknowledge that scenario was “a product of ideology” rather than empirical fact. Thus, the New Atheism could be seen as a promotional effort to defend against “a perceived failure of secularism in practice in late modern society.”... When examined closely, he sees the New Atheism as “secular fundamentalism, a modern utopian ideology” that’s “essentially political.”...+ − To LeDrew, current atheism is much more than a mere critique of religious faith or absence of belief. It “ignores the reservoirs of knowledge offered by the social sciences, which add complexities to our understanding of religion that the New Atheists prefer to ignore, indulging in the kind of willful ignorance that they disparage religion for promoting.” Therefore, it’s “an ideology,” defined as “a schematic or rigid framework of preconceived ideas that shape, and thus distort, understanding.” It must exclude social scientists’ thinking about religion and obscure “social reality.”<ref>[This just in from Oxford Press: Turning the intellectual tables on 'New Atheists'] by Richard Osling</ref>}}+ − − [[Vox Day]]'s book ''[http://www.voxday.net/mart/TIA_free.pdf The Irrational atheist]'' found multiple errors in reasoning and factual errors when it came to the works of new atheist authors.<ref>[http://creation.com/review-irrational-atheist-by-vox-day Excellent refutation of ‘new atheists’ flawed by heterodox open theism], A review of The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day, Benbella Books, Dallas, TX, 2008, reviewed by Lita Cosner</ref> − + Line 45:
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Secularization thesis (view source)
Revision as of 22:51, December 15, 2022
, 22:51, December 15, 2022no edit summary
[[File:Alister McGrath.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Alister McGrath]] points out that many [[atheism|atheists]]/agnostics were angry that the secularization thesis failed because religion was "supposed to" disappear.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=creNs9-Ui6A 'Why God Won't Go Away'] by Alister McGrath</ref> ]]
[[File:Alister McGrath.jpg|right|thumb|170px|The [[ex-atheists|ex-atheist]] [[Alister McGrath]] points out that many [[atheism|atheists]]/agnostics were angry that the secularization thesis failed because religion was "supposed to" disappear.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=creNs9-Ui6A 'Why God Won't Go Away'] by Alister McGrath</ref> ]]
A paper published by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at [[Harvard University]] entitled ''The Secularization Debate'' indicates:
According to the Religious Studies Project:
{{cquote|The seminal social thinkers of the nineteenth century -- [[Auguste Comte]], [[Herbert Spencer]], Emile Durkheim, [[Max Weber]], [[Karl Marx]], and [[Sigmund Freud]] -- all believed that religion would gradually fade in importance and cease to be significant with the advent of industrial society. They were far from alone; ever since the Age of the Enlightenment, leading figures in philosophy, anthropology, and psychology have postulated that theological superstitions, symbolic liturgical rituals, and sacred practices are the product of the past that will be outgrown in the modern era. The death of religion was the conventional wisdom in the social sciences during most of the twentieth century; indeed it has been regarded as the master model of sociological inquiry, where secularization was ranked with bureaucratization, rationalization, and urbanization as the key historical revolutions transforming medieval agrarian societies into modern industrial nations. As C. Wright Mills summarized this process: “Once the world was filled with the sacred – in thought, practice, and institutional form. After the [[Reformation]] and the [[Renaissance]], the forces of modernization swept across the globe and secularization, a corollary historical process, loosened the dominance of the sacred. In due course, the sacred shall disappear altogether except, possibly, in the private realm.”
{{cquote|The secularisation thesis – the idea that traditional religions are in terminal decline in the industrialised world – was perhaps the central debate in the sociology of religion in the second half of the 20th century. Scholars such as Steve Bruce, [[Rodney Stark]] and Charles Taylor argued whether religion was becoming less important to individuals, or that only the authority of religions in the public sphere was declining. Data from the US and South America, however, began to challenge many of their basic assumptions.
The secularisation thesis is probably the biggest central theme and certainly the most hotly debated in the sociology of religion, certainly since the 1960’s.
<ref>[http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/podcast-linda-woodhead-on-the-secularisation-thesis/ The Secularisation Thesis], Religious Studies Project</ref>}}
A 2003 paper published by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at [[Harvard University]] entitled ''The [[Secularization]] Debate'' indicates:
{{cquote|The seminal social thinkers of the nineteenth century -- [[Auguste Comte]], [[Herbert Spencer]], Emile Durkheim, [[Max Weber]], [[Karl Marx]], and [[Sigmund Freud]] -- all believed that religion would gradually fade in importance and cease to be significant with the advent of industrial society. They were far from alone; ever since the [[Enlightenment|Age of the Enlightenment]], leading figures in philosophy, anthropology, and psychology have postulated that theological superstitions, symbolic liturgical rituals, and sacred practices are the product of the past that will be outgrown in the modern era. The death of religion was the conventional wisdom in the social sciences during most of the twentieth century; indeed it has been regarded as the master model of sociological inquiry, where secularization was ranked with bureaucratization, rationalization, and urbanization as the key historical revolutions transforming medieval agrarian societies into modern industrial nations. As C. Wright Mills summarized this process: “Once the world was filled with the sacred – in thought, practice, and institutional form. After the [[Reformation]] and the [[Renaissance]], the forces of modernization swept across the globe and secularization, a corollary historical process, loosened the dominance of the sacred. In due course, the sacred shall disappear altogether except, possibly, in the private realm.”
During the last decade, however, this thesis of the slow and steady death of religion has
During the last decade, however, this thesis of the slow and steady death of religion has
sustained challenge in its long history. Critics point to multiple indicators of religious health and vitality today, ranging from the continued popularity of churchgoing in the United States to the emergence of New Age spirituality in Western Europe, the growth in fundamentalist movements and religious parties in the Muslim world, the evangelical revival sweeping through Latin America, and the upsurge of ethno-religious conflict in international affairs3. After reviewing these developments, [[Peter L. Berger]], one of the foremost advocates of secularization during the 1960s, recanted his earlier claims: “The world today, with some exceptions…is as furiously religious as it ever was, and in some places more so than ever. This means that a whole body of literature by historians and social scientists loosely labeled ‘secularization theory’ is essentially mistaken.” In a fierce and sustained critique, Rodney Stark and Roger Finke suggest it is time to bury the secularization thesis: “After nearly three centuries of utterly failed prophesies and misrepresentations of both present and past, it seems time to carry the secularization doctrine to the graveyard of failed theories, and there to whisper ‘requiescat in pace.’”<ref>[http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Acrobat/Sacred_and_Secular/Chapter%201.pdf ''The Secularization Debate'']</ref>}}
sustained challenge in its long history. Critics point to multiple indicators of religious health and vitality today, ranging from the continued popularity of churchgoing in the United States to the emergence of New Age spirituality in Western Europe, the growth in fundamentalist movements and religious parties in the Muslim world, the evangelical revival sweeping through Latin America, and the upsurge of ethno-religious conflict in international affairs3. After reviewing these developments, [[Peter L. Berger]], one of the foremost advocates of secularization during the 1960s, recanted his earlier claims: “The world today, with some exceptions…is as furiously religious as it ever was, and in some places more so than ever. This means that a whole body of literature by historians and social scientists loosely labeled ‘secularization theory’ is essentially mistaken.” In a fierce and sustained critique, Rodney Stark and Roger Finke suggest it is time to bury the secularization thesis: “After nearly three centuries of utterly failed prophesies and misrepresentations of both present and past, it seems time to carry the secularization doctrine to the graveyard of failed theories, and there to whisper ‘requiescat in pace.’”<ref>[http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Acrobat/Sacred_and_Secular/Chapter%201.pdf ''The Secularization Debate'']</ref>}}
Harvard University's Samuel Huntington observed: "The late 20th century has seen the global resurgence of religions around the world" (''The Clash of Civilizations'', p. 64).<ref>[http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2005/november-december/the-return-of-religion The Return of Religion]</ref>
Harvard University's Samuel Huntington observed: "The late 20th century has seen the global resurgence of religions around the world" (''The Clash of Civilizations'', p. 64).<ref>[http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2005/november-december/the-return-of-religion The Return of Religion]</ref>
[[Britain]]'s ''Financial Times'' published an article in 2018 with the title/subtitle of: "The return of religion. Among atheists as well as believers, strident [[secularism]] is giving way to a renewed sense of faith’s hold."<ref>FT.com Friday, 30 March 2018</ref> See also: [[Decline of militant atheism in the West]]
[[Alister McGrath]] points out that many [[Atheism|atheists]]/[[agnosticism|agnostics]] were angry that the secularization thesis failed because religion was "supposed to" disappear. <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=creNs9-Ui6A 'Why God Won't Go Away'] by Alister McGrath</ref> Peter Berger said that the religiosity of the United States was a big exception to the secularization theory that should have caused social scientists to question the theory.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHlDyR102G8 Professor Peter Berger on Resurgence of Religion and Decline of Secularization Theory]</ref>
[[Alister McGrath]] points out that many [[Atheism|atheists]]/[[agnosticism|agnostics]] were angry that the secularization thesis failed because religion was "supposed to" disappear.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=creNs9-Ui6A 'Why God Won't Go Away'] by Alister McGrath</ref> Peter Berger said that the religiosity of the United States was a big exception to the secularization theory that should have caused social scientists to question the theory.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHlDyR102G8 Professor Peter Berger on Resurgence of Religion and Decline of Secularization Theory]</ref> See also: [[Atheists and the endurance of religion]]
== Failed assumptions and the shock of secular social scientists to a failed theory ==
== Failed assumptions and the shock of secular social scientists to a failed theory ==
[[File:Loc of United States.png|200pz|thumbnail|left|[[Peter L. Berger]] said that the religiosity of the [[United States]] was a big exception to the secularization theory that should have caused social scientists to question the theory.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHlDyR102G8 Professor Peter Berger on Resurgence of Religion and Decline of Secularization Theory]</ref> ]]
[[File:US map.PNG|200px|thumbnail|left|[[Peter L. Berger]] said that the religiosity of the [[United States]] was a big exception to the secularization theory that should have caused social scientists to question the theory.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHlDyR102G8 Professor Peter Berger on Resurgence of Religion and Decline of Secularization Theory]</ref> ]]
Douglas S. Winnail wrote:
Douglas S. Winnail wrote:
{{cquote|Secular leaders and scholars have been surprised by the resurgence of religion, because they put their faith in the assumption that modernization would lead to secularization and to the decline of religion. This idea—the so-called "secularization theory"—is widely accepted in academic and political circles. It assumes that as societies modernize and become more secular, religion will wither away as an archaic and useless branch of knowledge. Their assumption was that if religion became irrelevant, and human beings became more reasonable, they would dwell together in peace and happiness in a modernized world.
{{cquote|Secular leaders and scholars have been surprised by the resurgence of religion, because they put their faith in the assumption that modernization would lead to secularization and to the decline of religion. This idea—the so-called "secularization theory"—is widely accepted in academic and political circles. It assumes that as societies modernize and become more secular, religion will wither away as an archaic and useless branch of knowledge. Their assumption was that if religion became irrelevant, and human beings became more reasonable, they would dwell together in peace and happiness in a modernized world.
However, human history did not follow this "reasonable" path to a secular utopia. The closing decades of the 20th century "provide a massive falsification of the idea" that modernization and secularization will lead to a decline in religion. Instead, we are witnessing a massive upsurge in religion around the world (The [[Desecularization]] of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics, Berger, p. 6). This resurgence of religion has also played a part in an increasing number of violent conflicts around the world. Secular intellectuals and elites have been shocked by this development, because it is proving that their fundamental assumptions about human beings and human society are absolutely wrong! The modern secular notion that religion is archaic and irrelevant has caused many to overlook the importance of religion in human affairs. As a result, they have been taken by surprise by the return of religion. As Peter Berger, one of the world's leading sociologists of religion, wrote: "Those who neglect religion in their analysis of contemporary affairs do so at great peril" (Berger, p. 18). But what has spawned the modern revival of religion, and the spreading rejection of secular society?<ref>[http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2005/november-december/the-return-of-religion The Return of Religion]</ref>}}
However, human history did not follow this "reasonable" path to a secular utopia. The closing decades of the 20th century "provide a massive falsification of the idea" that modernization and secularization will lead to a decline in religion. Instead, we are witnessing a massive upsurge in religion around the world (The [[Desecularization]] of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics, Berger, p. 6). This resurgence of religion has also played a part in an increasing number of violent conflicts around the world. Secular intellectuals and elites have been shocked by this development, because it is proving that their fundamental assumptions about human beings and human society are absolutely wrong! The modern secular notion that religion is archaic and irrelevant has caused many to overlook the importance of religion in human affairs. As a result, they have been taken by surprise by the return of religion. As Peter Berger, one of the world's leading sociologists of religion, wrote: "Those who neglect religion in their analysis of contemporary affairs do so at great peril" (Berger, p. 18). But what has spawned the modern revival of religion, and the spreading rejection of secular society?<ref>[http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2005/november-december/the-return-of-religion The Return of Religion]</ref>}}
== Failed predictions of the demise of religion ==
''See also:'' [[Failed predictions of the demise of religion]]
Dr. Rodney Stark's in his book ''The Triumph of Faith'' wrote:
{{cquote|People want to know why the universe exists, not that it exists for no reason, and they don't want their lives to be pointless. Only religion provides credible and satisfactory answers to the great existential questions. The most ardent wishes of the secularization faithful will never change that.
"Secularists have been predicting the imminent demise of religion for centuries. They have always been wrong—and their claims today are no different. It is their unshakable faith in secularization that may be the most "irrational" of all beliefs." (p. 212).<ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/world-more-religious-than-ever-rodney-starks-triumph-faith-secularism-atheism-154641/ Despite What You've Heard, World Is More Religious Than Ever], Christian Post</ref>}}
Stark wrote in his book ''Acts of Faith'':
{{cquote|For nearly three centuries social scientists and assorted Western intellectuals have been promising the end of religion. Each generation has been confident that within another few decades, or possibly a bit longer, humans will 'outgrow' belief in the supernatural. This proposition soon came to be known as the secularization thesis.<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/02/oh-gods/302412/ Oh, Gods!] by Toby Lester, ''The Atlantic''</ref>}}
A 2003 paper published by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at [[Harvard University]] entitled ''The [[Secularization]] Debate'' indicates:
{{cquote|The seminal social thinkers of the nineteenth century -- [[Auguste Comte]], [[Herbert Spencer]], Emile Durkheim, [[Max Weber]], [[Karl Marx]], and [[Sigmund Freud]] -- all believed that religion would gradually fade in importance and cease to be significant with the advent of industrial society. They were far from alone; ever since the [[Enlightenment|Age of the Enlightenment]], leading figures in philosophy, anthropology, and psychology have postulated that theological superstitions, symbolic liturgical rituals, and sacred practices are the product of the past that will be outgrown in the modern era. The death of religion was the conventional wisdom in the social sciences during most of the twentieth century; indeed it has been regarded as the master model of sociological inquiry, where secularization was ranked with bureaucratization, rationalization, and urbanization as the key historical revolutions transforming medieval agrarian societies into modern industrial nations. As C. Wright Mills summarized this process: “Once the world was filled with the sacred – in thought, practice, and institutional form. After the [[Reformation]] and the [[Renaissance]], the forces of modernization swept across the globe and secularization, a corollary historical process, loosened the dominance of the sacred. In due course, the sacred shall disappear altogether except, possibly, in the private realm.”
During the last decade, however, this thesis of the slow and steady death of religion has
come under growing criticism; indeed secularization theory is currently experiencing the most
sustained challenge in its long history. Critics point to multiple indicators of religious health and vitality today, ranging from the continued popularity of churchgoing in the United States to the emergence of New Age spirituality in Western Europe, the growth in fundamentalist movements and religious parties in the Muslim world, the evangelical revival sweeping through Latin America, and the upsurge of ethno-religious conflict in international affairs3. After reviewing these developments, [[Peter L. Berger]], one of the foremost advocates of secularization during the 1960s, recanted his earlier claims: “The world today, with some exceptions…is as furiously religious as it ever was, and in some places more so than ever. This means that a whole body of literature by historians and social scientists loosely labeled ‘secularization theory’ is essentially mistaken.” In a fierce and sustained critique, Rodney Stark and Roger Finke suggest it is time to bury the secularization thesis: “After nearly three centuries of utterly failed prophesies and misrepresentations of both present and past, it seems time to carry the secularization doctrine to the graveyard of failed theories, and there to whisper ‘requiescat in pace.’”<ref>[http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Acrobat/Sacred_and_Secular/Chapter%201.pdf ''The Secularization Debate'']</ref>}}
=== Emergence of new religions and religious expressions ===
Toby Lester wrote in ''The Atlantic'':
{{cquote|In 1851 the French historian and philosopher Ernest Renan announced to the world that Islam was "the last religious creation of humanity." He was more than a bit premature. At about the time he was writing, the Bahai faith, [[Christian Science]], Mormonism, the Seventh-Day Adventists, and a major Japanese religious movement known as Tenrikyo were all just coming to life. [[Falun Gong]] and [[Pentecostalism]]—both of which now have millions and millions of members—had yet to emerge. Whoops.<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/02/oh-gods/302412/ Oh, Gods!] by Toby Lester, ''The Atlantic''</ref>}}
=== Peter Berger's abandonment of the secular thesis ===
In 1968, the American [[sociology|sociologist]] and author [[Peter L. Berger]] told the ''[[New York Times]]'' that by "the 21st century, religious believers are likely to be found only in small sects, huddled together to resist a worldwide secular culture."<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/02/oh-gods/302412/ Oh, Gods!] by Toby Lester, ''The Atlantic''</ref>
Berger introduced the concept of [[desecularization]] in 1999.<ref>[http://intl-jcs.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/2/232.full#fn-2 ''Journal of Church and State'', Desecularization: A Conceptual Framework by Vyacheslav Karpov, 2010]</ref><ref>Peter L. Berger, “The Desecularization of the World: A Global Overview,” in The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics, ed. Peter L. Berger (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999)</ref> According to Berger, "One can say with some confidence that modern Pentecostalism must be the fastest growing religion in human history."<ref>[http://www.the-american-interest.com/2010/07/29/pentecostalism-protestant-ethic-or-cargo-cult/ Pentecostalism – Protestant Ethic or Cargo Cult?], Peter Berger, July 29, 2010</ref>
== Niles Frasier: The secularization thesis is a myth ==
[[File:Giles Frasier.jpg|thumbnail|150px|right|Giles Frasier]]
Giles Frasier wrote in ''The Guardian'':
{{Cquote|In 1900, the year that [[Nietzsche]] died, there were 8 million Christians in Africa. Now there are 335 million. And the growth rate continues to accelerate. God wasn’t dead. God was reborn. Indeed, far from being the century in which religion went away, for both Christianity and Islam, the 20th century was numerically the most successful century since Christ was crucified and Muhammad gave his farewell sermon on Mount Arafat. By 2010, there were 2.2 billion Christians in the world and 1.6 billion Muslims, 31% and 23% of the world population respectively. The secularisation hypothesis is a European myth, a piece of myopic parochialism that shows how narrow our worldview continues to be.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2016/may/26/the-world-is-getting-more-religious-because-the-poor-go-for-god The world is getting more religious, because the poor go for God] by Nile Frasier, ''The Guardian''</ref>}}
== Ellis, Hoskin, Dutton and Nyborg: Fertility and secularization thesis ==
''See also:'' [[Atheism and fertility rates]]
The abstract for the journal article ''The Future of Secularism: a Biologically Informed Theory Supplemented with Cross-Cultural Evidence'' indicates:
{{Cquote|For over a century, social scientists have predicted declines in religious beliefs and their replacement with more scientific/naturalistic outlooks, a prediction known as the secularization hypothesis. However, skepticism surrounding this hypothesis has been expressed by some researchers in recent decades. After reviewing the pertinent evidence and arguments, we examined some aspects of the secularization hypothesis from what is termed a biologically informed perspective. After reviewing the pertinent evidence and arguments, we examined some aspects of the secularization hypothesis from what is termed a biologically informed perspective. Based on large samples of college students in [[Malaysia]] and the [[United States|USA]], religiosity, religious affiliation, and parental fertility were measured using self-reports. Three religiosity indicators were factor analyzed, resulting in an index for religiosity. Results reveal that average parental fertility varied considerably according to religious groups, with [[Islam|Muslims]] being the most religious and the most fertile and [[Judaism|Jews]] and [[Buddhism|Buddhists]] being the least. Within most religious groupings, religiosity was positively associated with parental fertility. While cross-sectional in nature, when our results are combined with evidence that both religiosity and fertility are substantially heritable traits, findings are consistent with view that earlier trends toward secularization ...are currently being counter-balanced by genetic and reproductive forces. ... secularism is likely to undergo a decline throughout the remainder of the twenty-first century, including [[Europe]] and other industrial societies.<ref>[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-017-0090-z ''The Future of Secularism: a Biologically Informed Theory Supplemented with Cross-Cultural Evidence''] by Lee Ellis, Anthony W. Hoskin, Edward Dutton and Helmuth Nyborg,''Evolutionary Psychological Science'' 08 March 2017, pp 1–19</ref>}}
For additional information, please see: [[Atheism and fertility rates#Ellis, Hoskin, Dutton and Nyborg journal article on fertility and secularism|Ellis, Hoskin, Dutton and Nyborg journal article on fertility and secularism]]
== New Atheism as a reaction to the failure of the secularization thesis ==
== New Atheism as a reaction to the failure of the secularization thesis ==
[[File:Richard Dawkins at QED conference.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|thumbnail|260px|right|The atheist philosopher Dr. [[Michael Ruse]] declared concerning [[New Atheism|new atheist]] [[Richard Dawkins]]' book ''The God Delusion'': "''The God Delusion'' makes me embarrassed to be an atheist."<ref>http://www.alternet.org/media/47052?page=entire</ref> ]]
[[File:Richard Dawkins at QED conference.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|thumbnail|180px|left|The atheist philosopher Dr. [[Michael Ruse]] declared concerning [[New Atheism|new atheist]] [[Richard Dawkins]]' book ''The God Delusion'': "''The God Delusion'' makes me embarrassed to be an atheist."<ref>http://www.alternet.org/media/47052?page=entire</ref> ]]
Richard Osling wrote about the book ''The Evolution of Atheism: The Politics of a Modern Movement'' published by the [[Oxford University]] Press:
Richard Osling wrote about the book ''The Evolution of Atheism: The Politics of a Modern Movement'' published by the [[Oxford University]] Press:
{{cquote|The tables are turned in a new book, “''The Evolution of Atheism: The Politics of a Modern Movement''” (Oxford University Press). Journalists: It’s heady stuff to be a hook for news treatment, but worth the effort.
{{cquote|The tables are turned in a new book, “''The Evolution of Atheism: The Politics of a Modern Movement''” (Oxford University Press). Journalists: It’s heady stuff to be a hook for news treatment, but worth the effort.
The book analyzes atheistic causes in North America over the past century, including its internal schisms and contradictions. The work is based on Canadian author Stephen LeDrew’s doctoral dissertation at York University in Ontario and post-doctoral study in Sweden at Uppsala University’s Center for the Study of Religion and Society.
The book analyzes atheistic causes in North America over the past century, including its internal schisms and contradictions. The work is based on Canadian author Stephen LeDrew’s doctoral dissertation at York University in Ontario and post-doctoral study in Sweden at Uppsala University’s Center for the Study of Religion and Society...
Social scientists long embraced the “secularization thesis,” according to which religion will inevitably decline as modern science advances. But now, says LeDrew, many acknowledge that scenario was “a product of ideology” rather than empirical fact. Thus, the [[New Atheism]] could be seen as a promotional effort to defend against “a perceived failure of secularism in practice in late modern society.”... When examined closely, he sees the New Atheism as “secular fundamentalism, a modern utopian ideology” that’s “essentially political.”...
To LeDrew, current atheism is much more than a mere critique of religious faith or absence of belief. It “ignores the reservoirs of knowledge offered by the social sciences, which add complexities to our understanding of religion that the New Atheists prefer to ignore, indulging in the kind of willful ignorance that they disparage religion for promoting.”<ref>[https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2015/11/20/this-just-in-from-oxford-press-turning-the-intellectual-tables-on-new-atheists This just in from Oxford Press: Turning the intellectual tables on 'New Atheists'] by Richard Osling</ref>}}
Vox Day's book ''[http://www.voxday.net/mart/TIA_free.pdf The Irrational atheist]'' found multiple errors in reasoning and factual errors when it came to the works of new atheist authors.<ref>[https://creation.com/review-irrational-atheist-by-vox-day Excellent refutation of ‘new atheists’ flawed by heterodox open theism], A review of The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day, Benbella Books, Dallas, TX, 2008, reviewed by Lita Cosner</ref>
== Limits to secularization ==
== Limits to secularization ==
[[File:Europe map CIA 2005.jpg|thumbnail|left|175px|In the Europe of tomorrow, immigration and religious fertility will increase the proportion of committed Christians in Europe, many from the developing world.<ref>[http://www.sneps.net/RD/uploads/1-Shall%20the%20Religious%20Inherit%20the%20Earth.pdf Shall the Righteous Inherit the Earth? Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century] by [[Eric Kaufmann]]</ref> ]]
[[File:Europe map CIA 2005.jpg|thumbnail|right|175px|In the Europe of tomorrow, immigration and religious fertility will increase the proportion of committed Christians in Europe, many from the developing world.<ref>[http://www.sneps.net/RD/uploads/1-Shall%20the%20Religious%20Inherit%20the%20Earth.pdf Shall the Righteous Inherit the Earth? Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century] by [[Eric Kaufmann]]</ref> ]]
John Coffee writing the failure of the secularization theory wrote:
John Coffee writing the failure of the secularization theory wrote:
{{cquote|It has long been believed that secularisation is the inevitable by-product of Modernisation, and that the rise of modern science, pluralism, and consumerism is sure to usher in the decline of religion. This secularisation myth has functioned as a ‘master narrative’, shaping the way we look at the world. It has boosted the self-confidence of generations of non-believers and left believers feeling doomed and outdated. However, in recent years, sociologists of religion have become increasingly sceptical about traditional secularisation theory...
{{cquote|It has long been believed that secularisation is the inevitable by-product of Modernisation, and that the rise of modern science, pluralism, and consumerism is sure to usher in the decline of religion. This secularisation myth has functioned as a ‘master narrative’, shaping the way we look at the world. It has boosted the self-confidence of generations of non-believers and left believers feeling doomed and outdated. However, in recent years, sociologists of religion have become increasingly sceptical about traditional secularisation theory...
For more information, please see: [[Secular Europe|Growth of Evangelical Christianity in secular Europe]]
For more information, please see: [[Secular Europe|Growth of Evangelical Christianity in secular Europe]]
== Atheist philosopher John Gray on what scares the New Atheists ==
''See also:'' [[Desecularization]] and [[Global atheism]]
[[File:John Gray.JPG|thumbnail|left|200px|The [[economist]] Tomáš Sedláček (left) and the [[atheism|atheist]] [[philosophy|philosopher]] John Gray (right) at ZURICH.MINDS 2012]]
[[John Gray (philosopher)|John Gray]] in his Guardian article entitled ''What scares the new atheists?'' wrote:
{{cquote|The rise of violent [[jihad]]ism is only the most obvious example of a rejection of secular life. Jihadist thinking comes in numerous varieties, mixing strands from 20th century ideologies, such as [[Nazism]] and [[Vladimir Lenin|Leninism]], with elements deriving from the 18th century Wahhabist Islamic fundamentalist movement. What all Islamist movements have in common is a categorical rejection of any secular realm. But the ongoing reversal in secularisation is not a peculiarly Islamic phenomenon.
The [[Desecularization|resurgence of religion]] is a worldwide development. Russian Orthodoxy is stronger than it has been for over a century, while China is the scene of a reawakening of its indigenous faiths and of underground movements that could [[Growth of Christianity in China|make it the largest Christian country]] in the world by the end of this century. Despite tentative shifts in opinion that have been hailed as evidence it is becoming less pious, the US remains massively and [[American atheism#American atheist activists exaggerating the number of atheists in the United States|pervasively religious]] – it’s inconceivable that a professed unbeliever could become president, for example. It’s inconceivable that a professed unbeliever could become president of the United States
For secular thinkers, the continuing vitality of religion calls into question the belief that history underpins their values. To be sure, there is disagreement as to the nature of these values. But pretty well all secular thinkers now take for granted that modern societies must in the end converge on some version of liberalism. Never well founded, this assumption is today clearly unreasonable.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/what-scares-the-new-atheists What scares the new atheists] by [[John Gray (philosopher)|John Gray]], ''The Guardian''</ref>}}
== See also ==
== See also ==
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[[Category: Atheism]]
[[Category:Atheism]]
[[Category: Sociology]]
[[Category:Sociology]]