Author: T. Ngo Publisher: Springer ISBN: 113743838X Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 302
Book Description
Atheist Secularism and Its Discontents takes a comparative approach to understanding religion under communism, arguing that communism was integral to the global experience of secularism. Bringing together leading researchers whose work spans the Eurasian continent, it shows that appropriating religion was central to Communist political practices.
Author: T. Ngo Publisher: Springer ISBN: 113743838X Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 464
Book Description
Atheist Secularism and Its Discontents takes a comparative approach to understanding religion under communism, arguing that communism was integral to the global experience of secularism. Bringing together leading researchers whose work spans the Eurasian continent, it shows that appropriating religion was central to Communist political practices.
Author: Guenter Lewy Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing ISBN: 9780802841629 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 180
Book Description
This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. What is wrong with America? It has often called itself a Christian nation, yet its social and moral problems are legion. The increasing rates of crime, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, sexual promiscuity, and divorce are frequently linked to the declining importance of religious belief. But is there more than a presumed link between the strength of personal religiousness and moral behavior? Yes, says Guenter Lewy, and the large quantity of empirical data in existence which establishes that link ought to move people -- Christians and non-Christians alike -- to sit up and take note. In this trenchant analysis of the moral decline of modern America, Lewy describes the moral crisis caused by secular modernity and points to the role of religiousness -- especially Christian religiousness -- as a necessary bulwark against today's social ills. This work is all the more intriguing in that Lewy is an agnostic who has nonetheless concluded that a society that cuts itself off from the religious roots of its moral heritage is doomed to decline. Lewy traces the rise of secularism in Western society, focusing particularly on the cult of individualism, and describes the social consequences of the weakened role of religion. He demonstrates that the crisis of the family and the rise of the underclass in our inner cities are linked to the decline of traditional values and shows, on the basis of surveys and other empirical data, that genuine religiousness can ward off some of the corrosive effects of modernity. Lewy concludes by calling on Christians, adherents of other faiths, and true humanists to join forces in the struggle to reverse the current ethos of radical individualism that threatens the moral integrity of our society.
Author: Ranjan Ghosh Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1136277226 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 235
Book Description
This book offers a wide range of critical perspectives on how secularism unfolds and has been made sense of across Europe and Asia. The book evaluates secularism as it exists today – its formations and discontents within contemporary discourses of power, terror, religion and cosmopolitanism – and the focus on these two continents gives critical attention to recent political and cultural developments where secularism and multiculturalism have impinged in deeply problematical ways, raising bristling ideological debates within the functioning of modern state bureaucracies. Examining issues as controversial as the state of Islam in Europe and China’s encounters with religion, secularism, and modernization provides incisive and broader perspectives on how we negotiate secularism within the contemporary threats of terrorism and other forms of fundamentalism and state-politics. However, amidst the discussions of various versions of secularism in different countries and cultural contexts, this book also raises several other issues relevant to the antitheocratic and theocratic alike, such as: Is secularism is merely a nonreligious establishment? Is secularism a kind of cultural war? How is it related to "terror"? The book at once makes sense of secularism across cultural, religious, and national borders and puts several relevant issues on the anvil for further investigations and understanding.
Author: Petra Klug Publisher: Taylor & Francis ISBN: 1000804429 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 180
Book Description
Atheists are a growing but marginalized group in the American religious patchwork and they have been the target of ridicule and discrimination throughout the nation’s history. This book is the first comprehensive study of anti-atheism in the United States. It traces anti-atheism through five centuries of American history from colonization to the era of Donald Trump and contemporary conspiracy ideologies, such as the atheist New World Order. Describing anti-atheist prejudices and explaining the social and psychological mechanisms behind anti-atheist attitudes, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, religious studies and history with interests in religion in the United States.
Author: Jacques Berlinerblau Publisher: Taylor & Francis ISBN: 1040085695 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 277
Book Description
Secularism: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to confusing and contradictory public discussions of secularism across the globe. In this lively and lucid book, Jacques Berlinerblau addresses why secularism is defined in so many ways and why it so ignites people’s passions. In so doing, he explores the following important questions: What does secularism mean? Why should we care about this idea? What are the different types of secularism and what are their histories? What are the basic principles of political secularisms? Why are secularism and Atheism often confused? What is the relationship between secularism and LGBTQ rights? What opposition are secularisms up against? What does the future hold for a concept millennia in the making, but only really operationalized in the last century and a half? This thoroughly updated new edition includes two new chapters on African Secularisms and the importance of Mexico in the history of political secularism. With a glossary of key terms, new and updated case studies throughout, informative tables, and suggestions for further reading, the book considers key philosophical, religious, anti-religious, and post-colonial arguments around secularism. This book continues to be an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a readable introduction to the often-conflicting interpretations of one of our era’s most complex and controversial ideas.
Author: Morteza Hashemi Publisher: Springer ISBN: 3319549480 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 251
Book Description
This book examines the post-secular idea of ‘religion for non-believers’. The new form of unbelief which is dubbed as ‘tourist atheism’ is not based on absolute rejection of religion as a ‘dangerous illusion’ or ‘mere prejudice’. Tourist atheists instead consider religion as a cultural heritage and a way of seeking perfection. What are the origins of these new forms of atheism? What are the implications of the emergence of a type of atheism which is more open toward religious teachings, rituals, arts, and world views? Hashemi argues that public intellectuals must consider that it is a sign of a post-secular age in which believers and non-believers go beyond mere tolerance and engage in a creative process of co-practice and co-working.
Author: Leigh Eric Schmidt Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 0691183112 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
A compelling history of atheism in American public life A much-maligned minority throughout American history, atheists have been cast as a threat to the nation’s moral fabric, barred from holding public office, and branded as irreligious misfits in a nation chosen by God. Yet village atheists—as these godless freethinkers came to be known by the close of the nineteenth century—were also hailed for their gutsy dissent from stultifying pieties and for posing a necessary secularist challenge to the entanglements of church and state. In Village Atheists, Leigh Eric Schmidt explores the complex cultural terrain that unbelievers have long had to navigate in their fight to secure equal rights and liberties in American public life. He rebuilds the history of American secularism from the ground up, giving flesh and blood to these outspoken infidels. Village Atheists demonstrates that the secularist vision for the United States proved to be anything but triumphant in a country where faith and citizenship were—and still are—closely interwoven.
Author: Dimitrios I. Roussopoulos Publisher: Black Rose Books Ltd. ISBN: 9781551643120 Category : Atheism Languages : en Pages : 444
Book Description
Asks freethinkers to declare their atheism in defiance of the stigmatization of disbelief. With the rise of religious fundamentalism worldwide and a new 'spiritualism' in North America, expressed disbelief in God or gods has become a taboo once again in the Anglo-American world. In the last few years, however, atheism has witnessed a resurgence exemplified by the best-selling works of Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. Faith in Faithlessness is intended to contribute to the reassertion of the legitimacy of godlessness as a philosophical and moral stance. It is a unique anthology that presents a comprehensive selection of writings, by some of the world's most celebrated thinkers, past and present, who eloquently address the most significant questions concerning religious belief. Included are essays by Benedict de Spinoza, Diderot, Paul-Henry Thiry D'Holbach, David Hume, Thomas Paine, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Stuart Mill, George Elliot, W.E.H. Lecky, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Charles Bradlaugh, Anatole France, Charles Darwin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Robert G. Ingersoll, Ludwig Feuerbach, Michael Bakunin, Karl Marx, Emma Goldman, H.L. Mencken, Clarence Darrow, Carl Van Doren, Bertrand Russell, Sigmund Freud, Albert Camus, Albert Einstein, Francis Crick, Gore Vidal, Kai Nielsen, Christine Overall, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Michel Onfray, Elizabeth Second Anderson, Tariq Ali, Salman Rushdie, Kurt Vonnegut. Also included are other celebrity atheists and a major resource guide. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION FROM THE EARLY CLASSICS 1. Theologico-Political Treatise - Benedict de Spinoza 2. Thoughts on Religion - Denis Diderot 3. The System of Nature - Paul-Henry Thiry, Baron d'Holbach 4. The Natural History of Religion - David Hume 5. The Age of Reason - Thomas Paine 6. A Refutation of Deism - Percy Bysshe Shelley 7. Immortality - John Stuart Mill 8. Evangelical Teaching - George Eliot 9. The Spirit of Rationalism in Europe - W.E.H. Lecky 10. The Christian Church and Women - Elizabeth Cady Stanton 11. Humanity's Gain from Unbelief - Charles Bradlaugh 12. Miracle - Anatole France 13. Autobiography - Charles Darwin 14. The Antichrist - Friedrich Nietzsche 15. God and the Constitution - Robert G. Ingersoll 16. The Essence of Religion in General - Ludwig Feuerbach 17. God and the State - Michael Bakunin 18. Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right - Karl Marx FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY CLASSICS 19. The Philosophy of Atheism - Emma Goldman 20. On the Scopes Trial - H.L. Mencken 21. The Lord's Day Alliance - Clarence Darrow 22. Why I Am an Unbeliever - Clarence Darrow 23. Is There a God? - Bertrand Russell 24. The Claims of Theology - A.J. Ayer 25. The UNbelievers and the Christians - Albert Camus 26. Science and Religion - Albert Einstein FROM THE LATER 20th CENTURY and 21st CENTURY 27. Monotheism and Its Discontents - Gore Vidal 28. How Is Atheism to Be Characterized? - Kai Nielsen 29. Atheism - Christine Overall 30. The Atheist Manifesto - Sam Harris 31. Why There Almost Certainly Is No God - Richard Dawkins 32. Religion as an Original Sin - Christopher Hitchens 33. In the Service of the Death Fixation - Michel Onfray 34. Thank Goodness! - Daniel C. Dennett 35. For the Love of Reason - Louise M. Anthony 36. If God Is Dead, Is Everything Permitted? - Elizabeth Second Anderson 37. An Atheist Childhood - Tariq Ali A Rapper's Song - Greydon Square 38. Humanism and the Territory of Novelists - Salman Rushdie 39. Why My Dog Is Not a Humanist - Kurt Vonnegut EPILOGUE: A New Enlightenment: The Second Wave - Dimitrios Roussopoulos NOTES ON THE CONTRIBUTORS RESOURCE GUIDE from the Website of Richard Dawkins CREDITS AND PERMISSIONS Celebrity quotes throughout, including from George Bernard Shaw, Voltaire, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Aldous HUxley, Tennessee Williams, Charles Bukowski, Jean-Paul Sartre, Noam Chomsky, Sigmund Freud, Ingmar Bergman, Katharine Hepburn, John Malkovich, Robert Altman, Jodie Foster, Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie, Jack Nicholson, Howard Stern, Isaac Asimov, Woody Allen, Richard Leakey, James Watson, Jean Roddenberry, Gloria Steinem. DIMITRIOS ROUSSOPOULOS is author and/or editor of some eighteen books.
Author: Michael Staudigl Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351007149 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 350
Book Description
Are we living in a ‘post-secular age’, and can phenomenology help us better understand the discontents of secularism? From Habermas’ claim that the secular hypothesis has failed for democratic reasons to the fact that religion, far from its predicted dwindling, is as strong as ever (or even stronger than before), some have concluded that secularism as we know it is over. Others have questioned whether we have ever truly been secular, if the concept applies only to European societies, or whether the very notion of religiosity is merely a weapon of pacification in the hands of Western universalism. The post-secular notion thus lingers between sociological fact and philosophical theory, and it is the latter that we need to investigate if we want to confront the challenges that any ‘return of religion’ entails. Although phenomenology has furnished manifold devices to rethink religious experience in a post-metaphysical way, its investigations often remain individualistic and beholden to unproductive dichotomies. This volume assembles investigations into secularism’s discontents by addressing religion’s role in forming the fabric of contemporary societies and unveiling new constellations of faith and reason beyond many beloved modernist dichotomies (e.g. theism/atheism, myth/Enlightenment, fundamentalism/tolerance) that often go under-investigated. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Philosophical Studies.
Author: T. Ngo
Author: T. Ngo
Author: Guenter Lewy
Author: Ranjan Ghosh
Author: Petra Klug
Author: Jacques Berlinerblau
Author: Morteza Hashemi
Author: Leigh Eric Schmidt
Author: Dimitrios I. Roussopoulos
Author: Michael Staudigl