Sacred and Secular
Sacred and Secular
Looking for an examination copy?
If you are interested in the title for your course we can consider offering an examination copy. To register your interest please contact collegesales@cambridge.org providing details of the course you are teaching.
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.
- This second edition responds to critics and expands upon the controversial new theory developed to seek to explain patterns of secularization and religiosity
- Provides updated evidence about the causes and consequences of secularization based on the World Values Survey 1981–2007, conducted in almost 90 societies, along with multiple other sources of data
- Gives a broad comparative perspective, backed up by systematic evidence, for patterns of religiosity and secularization around the globe
Reviews & endorsements
"This second edition is an outstanding contribution to the new thought among social scientists about the process of secularization... Norris and Inglehart present convincing arguments soundly anchored in extensive systematic research from around the globe...[They] provide a brilliant, well-written, and thoroughly convincing second edition of what will surely become a classic in the field. This is an indispensable work for any college-level class concerned with the role of religion in the contemporary world. Summing Up: Essential." -J.J. Preston, Sonoma State University, CHOICE Magazine
Product details
- Published: October 2011
- Format: Paperback
- ISBN: 9781107648371
- Length: 392 pages
- Dimensions: 228 × 152 × 21 mm
- Weight: 0.53kg
- Contains: 44 b/w illus. 46 tables
- Availability: Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. Understanding Secularization:
- 1. The secularization debate
- 2. Measuring secularization
- 3. Comparing secularization worldwide
- Part II. Case Studies of Religion and Politics:
- 4. The puzzle of secularization in the United States and Western Europe
- 5. A religious revival in post-communist Europe?
- 6. Religion and politics in the Muslim world
- Part III. The Consequences of Secularization:
- 7. Religion, the Protestant ethic, and moral values
- 8. Religious organizations and social capital
- 9. Religious parties and electoral behavior
- Part IV. Conclusions:
- 10. Secularization and its consequences
- 11. Re-examining the theory of existential security
- 12. Re-examining evidence for the security thesis.
- Show more
