Classic secularization theory held that religion would gradually disappear, with the spread of education and scientific knowledge. But basic cultural norms don’t change immediately as is evidenced by the persistence of religion, The growth of religious parties in the Muslim world, the evangelical revival sweeping through Latin America and many former communist countries, and the prominence of fundamentalist politics in the U.S. demonstrate that religion has remained a powerful factor in social and political life. Although economic modernization tends to bring secularization within any country that experiences it, religion is unlikely to disappear in the foreseeable future for several reasons: First, secularization brings a sharp decline in human fertility rates, which remain relatively high in religious societies. The world as a whole has a larger proportion of people with strong religious beliefs today than it did 30 years ago. Second, while industrialization was linked with an increasingly materialistic, mechanical secular worldview, the rise of the knowledge society brings growing interest in ideas, innovation and Postmaterialist concerns.