New Book! "Society without God" by Phil Zuckerman

JoeNYUPress
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New Book! "Society without God" by Phil Zuckerman

Society without God

Phil Zuckerman

NYU Press 2008

AMAZON LINK

"In an anecdotal and eminently readable manner, Zuckerman offers a novel idea within the study of religious sociology."
—Library Journal

"Most Americans are convinced that faith in God is the foundation of civil society. Society Without God reveals this to be nothing more than a well-subscribed, and strangely American, delusion. Even atheists living in the United States will be astonished to discover how unencumbered by religion most Danes and Swedes currently are. This glimpse of an alternate, secular reality is at once humbling and profoundly inspiring — and it comes not a moment too soon. Zuckerman’s research is truly indispensable."
—Sam Harris, founder of the Reason Project and author of the New York Times best sellers The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation

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Before he began his recent travels, it seemed to Phil Zuckerman as if humans all over the globe were “getting religion” — praising deities, performing holy rites, and soberly defending the world from sin. But most residents of Denmark and Sweden, he found, don’t worship any god at all, don’t pray, and don’t give much credence to religious dogma of any kind. Instead of being bastions of sin and corruption, however, as the Christian Right has suggested a godless society would be, these countries are filled with residents who score at the very top of the “happiness index” and enjoy their healthy societies, which boast some of the lowest rates of violent crime in the world (along with some of the lowest levels of corruption), excellent educational systems, strong economies, well-supported arts, free health care, egalitarian social policies, outstanding bike paths, and great beer.

Zuckerman formally interviewed nearly 150 Danes and Swedes of all ages and educational backgrounds over the course of fourteen months, beginning in 2005. He was particularly interested in the worldviews of people who live their lives without religious orientation. How do they think about and cope with death? Are they worried about an afterlife? What he found is that nearly all of his interviewees live their lives without much fear of the Grim Reaper or worries about the hereafter. This led him to wonder how and why it is that certain societies are nonreligious in a world that seems to be marked by increasing religiosity. Drawing on prominent sociological theories and his own extensive research, Zuckerman ventures some interesting answers.

This fascinating approach directly counters the claims of outspoken, conservative American Christians who argue that a society without God would be hell on earth. It is crucial, Zuckerman believes, for Americans to know that “society without God is not only possible, but it can be quite civil and pleasant.”

Phil Zuckerman is associate professor of sociology at Pitzer College. He is the author of Invitation to the Sociology of Religion and Strife in the Sanctuary: Religious Schism in a Jewish Community.

 

 


Nikolaj
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Well, whadda ya know... Just

Well, whadda ya know... Just what I've been talking about for the last two weeks on here.

And how's this for a nifty little tit-bit:

JoeNYUPress wrote:
outstanding bike paths, and great beer.

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I was spawned from original sin
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There'd be a mountain of money piled up to my chin


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From what I've read

From what I've read Scandanavian beer isn't usually that good - due to laws limiting the alcohol level (I believe these laws don't prohibit strong beer, but heavily tax it. )

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Jeffrick
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new book

 

      the premise sounds great.

      Two points Nikolaj:    NOT tit-bits  but Tid-bits.

                                        53 years old and never had a beer   NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Red wine mostly and any hard stuff but I am  allergic to beers;  same as battery acid to me and it looks like PISS why would any sensible person put that in their mouths?    EEEEE--yuch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Jeffrick: If you don't like

Jeffrick: If you don't like beer, that's no stone off my back. I don't like wine, so I guess we're even.

Matt: I suggest you try a Danish beer before you judge it. Reading about it hardly does justice to it.

You should be able to get a Carlsberg most places in America.

I don't know where you heard that there is state legislation on alcohol percentages. Maybe in Sweden, since they have some fairly strict laws on alcohol, but you can still get wine and booze in Sweden, so of course you can get strong beer, it may just be more expensive. Not so here in Denmark.

But for the record, a normal pilsner beer in Denmark (A Grøn Tuborg or a Carlsberg Hof) is 4.6% alcohol. Almost as common to drink among people my age are Sort Guld, or Guld Tuborg (5.8% alcohol). The Holiday brews (for Christmas and Easter) are 5.6%. And then there's the elephant beer (the drink of choice for your average Danish craftsman) which is 7.2%.

 

 

 

Oh and also, American beer is like making love in a canoo: fucking close to water.

Well I was born an original sinner
I was spawned from original sin
And if I had a dollar bill for all the things I've done
There'd be a mountain of money piled up to my chin


MattShizzle
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I've had Carlsberg and

I've had Carlsberg and wasn't impressed - better than mass market US beers but hey. And Elephant, which was pretty good.

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I like lite, low alcohol

I like lite, low alcohol beer, and rum sipping. I am a dedicated alkie city "space cowboy" ....   


MattShizzle
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I like strong beer. I did

I like strong beer. I did have another one that was a holiday beer - the name was something like aass Julol - that may have been Norwegian though.

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BTW, JoeNY, that book sounds

BTW, JoeNY, that book sounds pretty cool, thanks for posting. Welcome to wild RRS.