Suchergebnisse

A profound cultural shift is taking place in western societies: religion is in decline and secular worldviews are on the rise. At the same time, religion is taking more overtly political shapes and still affects our world in important, sometimes dangerous ways. This book examines two rival explanations for these trends, critiquing the popular notion that God has been 'killed' by modern science, and offering a fresh take that draws on research in the social sciences to argue that greater socio-economic equality and moral values that favour tolerance are at the heart of our collective drift away from organized faith.

This is a study of contemporary organised atheism as a fundamentally political phenomenon that is internally divided on ideological grounds, positioning atheism as one ideology and identity marker within the broad network of organisations collectively constituting the secular movement. This movement, which has existed since the nineteenth century, came to life in the early twenty-first century with the emergence of the New Atheism, an aggressive assault on religion led by thinkers such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.

The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, one that has relevance to everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis of these subjects remains surprisingly scarce. This wide-ranging book critically reviews the ways in which religious and non-religious belief systems interact with scientific theories and practices. Contributors explore how, for some secularists, 'science' forms an important part of social identity. Others examine how many contemporary religious movements justify their beliefs by making a claim upon science. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the United States, the book shows how debates about science and belief are firmly embedded in political conflict, class, community and culture