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Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society
Demonstrates definitively that the secularization thesis is correct, and religion is losing its grip on societies worldwide
In the decades since its introduction, secularization theory has been subjected to doubt and criticism from a number of leading scholars, who have variously claimed that it is wrong, flawed, or incomplete. In Beyond Doubt , Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun mount a strong defense for the theory, providing compelling evidence that religion is indeed declining globally as a result of modernization.
Though defenses of secularization theory have been mounted in the past, we now have many years’ worth of empirical data to illuminate trends, and can trace changes not just at a given point in time but over a trajectory. Drawing on extensive survey data from nations around the world, the book demonstrates that, in spite of its many detractors, there is robust empirical support for secularization theory. It also engages with the most prominent criticisms levied against the theory, showing that data that are said to refute the narrative of religious decline are easily explainable and in keeping with the broader tendency toward secularization.
Beyond simply defending secularization theory, the authors endeavor to formalize it, offering clear definitions of relevant terms and creating propositions that can be repeatedly and accurately tested. Beyond Doubt offers the strongest argument to date for the existence of a global secularization trend, and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike who study religion and secularism.
In the decades since its introduction, secularization theory has been subjected to doubt and criticism from a number of leading scholars, who have variously claimed that it is wrong, flawed, or incomplete. In Beyond Doubt , Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun mount a strong defense for the theory, providing compelling evidence that religion is indeed declining globally as a result of modernization.
Though defenses of secularization theory have been mounted in the past, we now have many years’ worth of empirical data to illuminate trends, and can trace changes not just at a given point in time but over a trajectory. Drawing on extensive survey data from nations around the world, the book demonstrates that, in spite of its many detractors, there is robust empirical support for secularization theory. It also engages with the most prominent criticisms levied against the theory, showing that data that are said to refute the narrative of religious decline are easily explainable and in keeping with the broader tendency toward secularization.
Beyond simply defending secularization theory, the authors endeavor to formalize it, offering clear definitions of relevant terms and creating propositions that can be repeatedly and accurately tested. Beyond Doubt offers the strongest argument to date for the existence of a global secularization trend, and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike who study religion and secularism.
240 pages, Paperback
Published May 9, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 15, 2025
Indifference is contributing to the secularization of society. Society is becoming more secular and the authors give a master class in why that is happening.
Unfortunately, anecdotal shapes reality: people will say things like ‘a football player got a heart attack a week after getting a covid vaccine, therefore vaccines are dangerous,’ or ‘I heard a nurse tell a friend that a Covid vaccine was dangerous.’ These are anecdotes about the world that re-enforced a person’s priors. The problem, of course, anecdotes can mislead. That’s where a fact-based story with convincing narratives come in handy. I harp on the efficacy of covid vaccines because I had never seen a more well-designed statistical experiment than the certification of the early covid vaccinations.
Rigorous data analysis using context, contrast and relations is the best way to understand the world. All other approaches are just feelings, the best stories we tell about the world use facts and rigorous data analysis as their guide. Science is beautiful to behold and this sociological approach does it right and gives compelling conclusions. I suggest the reader just sit back and watch the process unfold and note how the authors derive their conclusions.
I did not know South Korea was no longer hyper-religious, and the decline in the USA is real and on-going. Indifference will make Christians crawl into their own caves and just disappear by everyone else saying ‘who cares.’ I find that appealing. 82% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. The sooner the MAGA base disappears the better.
There’s a way to use statistics correctly and the authors tell the story that the statistics are saying while covering the context, contrast, and relations.
Unfortunately, anecdotal shapes reality: people will say things like ‘a football player got a heart attack a week after getting a covid vaccine, therefore vaccines are dangerous,’ or ‘I heard a nurse tell a friend that a Covid vaccine was dangerous.’ These are anecdotes about the world that re-enforced a person’s priors. The problem, of course, anecdotes can mislead. That’s where a fact-based story with convincing narratives come in handy. I harp on the efficacy of covid vaccines because I had never seen a more well-designed statistical experiment than the certification of the early covid vaccinations.
Rigorous data analysis using context, contrast and relations is the best way to understand the world. All other approaches are just feelings, the best stories we tell about the world use facts and rigorous data analysis as their guide. Science is beautiful to behold and this sociological approach does it right and gives compelling conclusions. I suggest the reader just sit back and watch the process unfold and note how the authors derive their conclusions.
I did not know South Korea was no longer hyper-religious, and the decline in the USA is real and on-going. Indifference will make Christians crawl into their own caves and just disappear by everyone else saying ‘who cares.’ I find that appealing. 82% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. The sooner the MAGA base disappears the better.
There’s a way to use statistics correctly and the authors tell the story that the statistics are saying while covering the context, contrast, and relations.
March 25, 2024
This book convincingly proves two very important points: 1) religion offers nothing uniquely essential, so it can decline in a society. 2) religious belief, behavior and belonging are all declining in many countries, and this trend is likely to continue.
While it is disheartening to hear that a quarter of all Americans, still believe the Bible is the literal truth delivered from some God, I am relieved that a slightly larger quarter now believe it’s just a collection of man-made stories.
As for WHY this trend, I would’ve liked a little more discussion of how organized religion is utilized by authority and misused for evil. I guess the authors wanted to keep this book diplomatic and neutral. They cite possible reasons (referring to other theorists) as exposure to a diversity of religions, modernity, children having enough autonomy for freedom of thought, and a lack of existential threats for sufficient personal security. Their detailed model summarized on page 37 is complete and compelling.
And for a book published in 2018, the graphics look very dated, and the tone is overly dry academic. Why start when a fairly boring chapter on sociology theory? It does ground the discussion with propositions and definitions, probably increasing the long term durability and effectiveness of the theories.
In the conclusion they appropriately dunk on a set of sociologists who incorrectly claim religion is not declining. Yet I can’t help but believe that those sociologists don’t care about right or wrong, they are just demonstrating the depth of their faith and writing to a public audience what they want to hear. Truth matters, which in my opinion is another missing argument here.
While it is disheartening to hear that a quarter of all Americans, still believe the Bible is the literal truth delivered from some God, I am relieved that a slightly larger quarter now believe it’s just a collection of man-made stories.
As for WHY this trend, I would’ve liked a little more discussion of how organized religion is utilized by authority and misused for evil. I guess the authors wanted to keep this book diplomatic and neutral. They cite possible reasons (referring to other theorists) as exposure to a diversity of religions, modernity, children having enough autonomy for freedom of thought, and a lack of existential threats for sufficient personal security. Their detailed model summarized on page 37 is complete and compelling.
And for a book published in 2018, the graphics look very dated, and the tone is overly dry academic. Why start when a fairly boring chapter on sociology theory? It does ground the discussion with propositions and definitions, probably increasing the long term durability and effectiveness of the theories.
In the conclusion they appropriately dunk on a set of sociologists who incorrectly claim religion is not declining. Yet I can’t help but believe that those sociologists don’t care about right or wrong, they are just demonstrating the depth of their faith and writing to a public audience what they want to hear. Truth matters, which in my opinion is another missing argument here.
February 1, 2024
CENTRAL RESEARCH QUESTION:
Has modernization sparked a decline in religious beliefs, behaviors, and belongings? If so, how (in a descriptive sense) and why (in an explanatory sense)?
THESIS or THESES:
There is enough empirical evidence to claim that modernization causes a decrease in religious beliefs, behaviors, and belonging.
METHODS:
Statistical analysis of cross-national survey data, ethnography, structural-functionalist quantitative and qualitative sociology, and theory.
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT(S):
Beyond Doubt begins with the authors’ appreciative criticism of anti-secularization theories, especially as depicted in Rodney Stark’s corpus. In demonstrating the influence and breath of anti-secularization process theories, the authors then claim that “religiosity can—and often does—diminish significantly in society.” And that “far from being a falsified myth, the secularization of many societies is readily observable by numerous objective measures” (7). In other words, religious belief, practice, and identities have remarkably declined.
However, before developing the theses of the book, the authors define religion as “the amalgamation of ideas, rituals, practices, symbols, identities, and institutions that humans collectively construct based upon their shared belief in the supernatural” (9). On the other hand, the authors, after quickly surveying literature on secularism, define secularization, at least on a microlevel, as a “a social process in which fewer people, over time, believe in supernatural claims, fewer people engage in religious behaviors, and fewer people belong to or identify with a religion” (12). After presenting data that demonstrates the decline of religious beliefs, behaviors, and belongings (13-15), the authors clarify their theses and address trivial points that scholars may highlight by way of disagreement; one such clarification is that the authors do not take religious forms and expressions to have only changed, but to have changed and declined.
At the beginning of the first chapter, the authors survey literature on secularism and subsequently provide a formal and testable theory of secularization. In surveying the literature, the authors summarize secularization theory as “modernization creates problems for religion” (22). However, the authors are careful not to equate differentiation with secularization, as they see differentiation as indicator of an increased likelihood of secularization. Nevertheless, the authors theoretically insist that differentiation, rationalization, and specialization increase the likelihood of secularization (23-29). After theoretically developing their concept of secularization, the authors then trace classic secularization theories. From Max Weber’s contention that rationalization leads to disenchantment and Durkheim’s theory of differentiation to Berger’s concept of the sacred canopy and Inglehart’s notion of existential security, the authors show how principal figures in sociology have theorized secularism (30-35). Doing so allows the authors to address various critiques of secularization theory: namely, the religious economies model and the change not decline argument (37-45). While disagreeing with these two critiques, the authors note that they do not think secularization is inevitable, that secularization can, in rare cases, be reversed, and that the book does not offer a macro structural-functionalist theory, but a mid-theory narrowly focused on religion (46-51).
Given the authors surveyed literature and developed their theories, they then turn to empirical data. Beginning with a story on the demise of Christianity in Scotland, the authors illustrate how religious behaviors (understood as participation in religious services), belonging (construed as identification with a religion), and belief in god(s), have, in near unanimity, declined throughout the world (53-66). One notable exception includes a rise in religious participation in post-Soviet Union countries (59). The authors then briefly demonstrate that low development in a region increases the likelihood of religiosity in that region—and vice versa.
Building on the work of the second chapter, the authors closely inspect secularization in Norway, Chile, South Korea, and the United States. However, the authors now expand their data to account for beliefs in heaven, hell, miracles, spirituality, and life after death. First, the authors show how the disestablishment of the Church of Norway caused people to become less religious (72-77). Then, turning to Catholicism in Chile, the authors acknowledge that though most Chileans believe in God, life after death, heaven, and religious miracles, they nonetheless insist, via analysis of survey data, that the secularization process is not limited to the highly developed West (78-82). The authors then focus on South Korea and—against Stark & Co. who have cited South Korean evangelical Christianity as evidence against secularization—illustrate how modernization since 2005 has decreased religiosity and, perhaps, is increasing skepticism towards the Americanization of South Korea (83-88). To conclude the chapter, the authors refute the idea that the United States is an exception to secularization (89-96).
Changing methodologies, chapter four is where the authors address the idea that religion is innate and secularism is unnatural. The chapter reveals that nonreligious people have existed throughout history, many people today are not religious, a growing number of societies are increasingly secular, and people raised without religion tend to say areligious (98). To refute the idea that religion is normal/healthy/given, the authors delineate between those who understand all human activity, including religion, as ‘natural’ and those who view religion as ‘normal’ or ‘healthy.’ In other words, they call this thesis “religion as correctly natural and secularity as problematically unnatural” (99). After debunking the presumed naturality of religion, the authors trace a long durée of atheist people/groups in human history (101-103). This tracing leads the authors to a discussion on the millions of secular people in the contemporary world; such evidence demonstrates the illogical nature of claims which presume religion to be natural and innate. After speculation on the origins of religion, the authors state that religion continues to persist because of socialization; by this they mean that people adopted the behaviors and norms of those in their social spheres (108-113).
Once again shifting methodologies and goals, the fifth chapter is driven by the authors’ aim to portray what secular life looks like in highly secularized contexts. From religious indifference as an indicator of late stage secularism and ethical values as determinative of social life to various forms of community engagement and life-cycle rituals, secular people are a far cry from the immoral and meaningless heathens that many conservative religious people construe them as (116-128). While also addressing how secular people understand and appreciate raising children, ageing, and dealing with crises, the authors demonstrate that secular people do not inevitability ‘give up’ on secularity and turn to religion at a turning point in life (129-138).
The final chapter of the book analyses possible exceptions to the secularization process. The three supposed exceptions to the secularization process that the authors address are cultural defense, government restrictions, and forced secularization. The authors understand these supposed exceptions, relatively, as “religiosity is used to generate solidarity among the citizens in defense of an external threat, countries that restrict people’s ability to leave religion, and countries that try to force secularization all have low levels of differentiation” (159). However, in focusing on specific countries that are usually referenced as exceptions to this process, the authors conclude that the often-cited countries do not have both high levels of differentiated and rationalization. In other words, the countries in the study are not exceptions.
SCHOLARS THE AUTHOR IS IN CONVERSATION WITH:
Rodney Stark, Auguste Comte, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Peter Burger, and Christian Smith.
CRITICISM:
• The depiction of secularization and modernization in this work are largely passive. The authors pay little attention to who causes modernization and why; if they were to further inspect this non-passive development of modernization, it would lead them to critically assess, in concert with theorists and historians of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism, their categories of modernization, secularization, and rationalization.
• If rationalization (understood as technological efficiency, empirical/scientific evidence, etc.) is a contributing factor to secularization, as the authors repeatedly claim, then I would take it that a brief study on the deep irrationality of modernity, such as the creation of humanity’s extinction, may complicate this notion of rationalization and secularism. Modern societies do not seem, on a macro, meso, and micro level, to be characterized by rationalization; as such, I would press these authors to critically reformulate the relationship between secularism and rationalization.
• Though the authors note that secularization can in rare insistences be reversed (47), I would think that Israel must be an exception to this theory of secularization? I know that the de-secularization of Israel has to do with starkly different birth-rates between orthodox and non-orthodox Jews; however, I would think the authors should address how the increasing rationalization and modernization of Israel has simultaneously provided grounds for a massive increase in religious activity. (Note: I later found an interview with the authors in which they state that they should have written a chapter on Israel.)
• I understand why the authors are hesitant to claim that this project is a macro-structuralist theory, as they take religion to not be a determining factor of all life; however, part of me wanted them to own it and say with their chest that “macro-structuralist theories are f*cking back.” This is a transhistorical argument that accounts for the absence or presence of belief, practice, and institutional affiliation—just claim that this is a macro-theory and prove it!
• The authors use GDP data as if it were an empirical metric of modernization. This is an issue because GDP data is not empirical. It is a set of made-up numbers imagined to indicate economic growth or degrowth. Thus, the authors would need to rely on other data to define and indicate modernization. Otherwise, the author’s demonstration of modernization is commendable.
PRAISE:
Stylistically, the authors do a nice job of balancing a plethora of empirical data with an engaging and fluid writing style. Though similar in content to Casanova, this book was a more enjoyable and appealing read.
I appreciate how much attention the authors gave to the vast amount of literature on secularism, secularization, and secularity. Similarly, they did as much while not needlessly addressing every theoretical controversy that has preoccupied other scholars of secularism.
OPEN QUESTIONS AND PATHS FORWARD:
Can anyone empirically say what the density of religious beliefs, practice, and institutions was in the early United States? I was under the impression that it was a low density of religion; however, these authors insist that (e.g., 25) it was certainly more religious than the contemporary United States.
AUTHOR’S UNDERSTANDING OF “Secular, Secularism, Secularization, or Secularity”:
In short, the authors’ understanding of secularization is “a social process in which fewer people, over time, believe in supernatural claims, fewer people engage in religious behaviors, and fewer people belong to or identify with a religion” (12). As far as secularism is concerned, the authors insist in chapter five that secularism is a set of non-religious patterns, ethics, norms, and values that allow secular people to live meaningful and purposeful lives in such a way that does not rely on religious beliefs, practices, and institutions.
Has modernization sparked a decline in religious beliefs, behaviors, and belongings? If so, how (in a descriptive sense) and why (in an explanatory sense)?
THESIS or THESES:
There is enough empirical evidence to claim that modernization causes a decrease in religious beliefs, behaviors, and belonging.
METHODS:
Statistical analysis of cross-national survey data, ethnography, structural-functionalist quantitative and qualitative sociology, and theory.
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT(S):
Beyond Doubt begins with the authors’ appreciative criticism of anti-secularization theories, especially as depicted in Rodney Stark’s corpus. In demonstrating the influence and breath of anti-secularization process theories, the authors then claim that “religiosity can—and often does—diminish significantly in society.” And that “far from being a falsified myth, the secularization of many societies is readily observable by numerous objective measures” (7). In other words, religious belief, practice, and identities have remarkably declined.
However, before developing the theses of the book, the authors define religion as “the amalgamation of ideas, rituals, practices, symbols, identities, and institutions that humans collectively construct based upon their shared belief in the supernatural” (9). On the other hand, the authors, after quickly surveying literature on secularism, define secularization, at least on a microlevel, as a “a social process in which fewer people, over time, believe in supernatural claims, fewer people engage in religious behaviors, and fewer people belong to or identify with a religion” (12). After presenting data that demonstrates the decline of religious beliefs, behaviors, and belongings (13-15), the authors clarify their theses and address trivial points that scholars may highlight by way of disagreement; one such clarification is that the authors do not take religious forms and expressions to have only changed, but to have changed and declined.
At the beginning of the first chapter, the authors survey literature on secularism and subsequently provide a formal and testable theory of secularization. In surveying the literature, the authors summarize secularization theory as “modernization creates problems for religion” (22). However, the authors are careful not to equate differentiation with secularization, as they see differentiation as indicator of an increased likelihood of secularization. Nevertheless, the authors theoretically insist that differentiation, rationalization, and specialization increase the likelihood of secularization (23-29). After theoretically developing their concept of secularization, the authors then trace classic secularization theories. From Max Weber’s contention that rationalization leads to disenchantment and Durkheim’s theory of differentiation to Berger’s concept of the sacred canopy and Inglehart’s notion of existential security, the authors show how principal figures in sociology have theorized secularism (30-35). Doing so allows the authors to address various critiques of secularization theory: namely, the religious economies model and the change not decline argument (37-45). While disagreeing with these two critiques, the authors note that they do not think secularization is inevitable, that secularization can, in rare cases, be reversed, and that the book does not offer a macro structural-functionalist theory, but a mid-theory narrowly focused on religion (46-51).
Given the authors surveyed literature and developed their theories, they then turn to empirical data. Beginning with a story on the demise of Christianity in Scotland, the authors illustrate how religious behaviors (understood as participation in religious services), belonging (construed as identification with a religion), and belief in god(s), have, in near unanimity, declined throughout the world (53-66). One notable exception includes a rise in religious participation in post-Soviet Union countries (59). The authors then briefly demonstrate that low development in a region increases the likelihood of religiosity in that region—and vice versa.
Building on the work of the second chapter, the authors closely inspect secularization in Norway, Chile, South Korea, and the United States. However, the authors now expand their data to account for beliefs in heaven, hell, miracles, spirituality, and life after death. First, the authors show how the disestablishment of the Church of Norway caused people to become less religious (72-77). Then, turning to Catholicism in Chile, the authors acknowledge that though most Chileans believe in God, life after death, heaven, and religious miracles, they nonetheless insist, via analysis of survey data, that the secularization process is not limited to the highly developed West (78-82). The authors then focus on South Korea and—against Stark & Co. who have cited South Korean evangelical Christianity as evidence against secularization—illustrate how modernization since 2005 has decreased religiosity and, perhaps, is increasing skepticism towards the Americanization of South Korea (83-88). To conclude the chapter, the authors refute the idea that the United States is an exception to secularization (89-96).
Changing methodologies, chapter four is where the authors address the idea that religion is innate and secularism is unnatural. The chapter reveals that nonreligious people have existed throughout history, many people today are not religious, a growing number of societies are increasingly secular, and people raised without religion tend to say areligious (98). To refute the idea that religion is normal/healthy/given, the authors delineate between those who understand all human activity, including religion, as ‘natural’ and those who view religion as ‘normal’ or ‘healthy.’ In other words, they call this thesis “religion as correctly natural and secularity as problematically unnatural” (99). After debunking the presumed naturality of religion, the authors trace a long durée of atheist people/groups in human history (101-103). This tracing leads the authors to a discussion on the millions of secular people in the contemporary world; such evidence demonstrates the illogical nature of claims which presume religion to be natural and innate. After speculation on the origins of religion, the authors state that religion continues to persist because of socialization; by this they mean that people adopted the behaviors and norms of those in their social spheres (108-113).
Once again shifting methodologies and goals, the fifth chapter is driven by the authors’ aim to portray what secular life looks like in highly secularized contexts. From religious indifference as an indicator of late stage secularism and ethical values as determinative of social life to various forms of community engagement and life-cycle rituals, secular people are a far cry from the immoral and meaningless heathens that many conservative religious people construe them as (116-128). While also addressing how secular people understand and appreciate raising children, ageing, and dealing with crises, the authors demonstrate that secular people do not inevitability ‘give up’ on secularity and turn to religion at a turning point in life (129-138).
The final chapter of the book analyses possible exceptions to the secularization process. The three supposed exceptions to the secularization process that the authors address are cultural defense, government restrictions, and forced secularization. The authors understand these supposed exceptions, relatively, as “religiosity is used to generate solidarity among the citizens in defense of an external threat, countries that restrict people’s ability to leave religion, and countries that try to force secularization all have low levels of differentiation” (159). However, in focusing on specific countries that are usually referenced as exceptions to this process, the authors conclude that the often-cited countries do not have both high levels of differentiated and rationalization. In other words, the countries in the study are not exceptions.
SCHOLARS THE AUTHOR IS IN CONVERSATION WITH:
Rodney Stark, Auguste Comte, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Peter Burger, and Christian Smith.
CRITICISM:
• The depiction of secularization and modernization in this work are largely passive. The authors pay little attention to who causes modernization and why; if they were to further inspect this non-passive development of modernization, it would lead them to critically assess, in concert with theorists and historians of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism, their categories of modernization, secularization, and rationalization.
• If rationalization (understood as technological efficiency, empirical/scientific evidence, etc.) is a contributing factor to secularization, as the authors repeatedly claim, then I would take it that a brief study on the deep irrationality of modernity, such as the creation of humanity’s extinction, may complicate this notion of rationalization and secularism. Modern societies do not seem, on a macro, meso, and micro level, to be characterized by rationalization; as such, I would press these authors to critically reformulate the relationship between secularism and rationalization.
• Though the authors note that secularization can in rare insistences be reversed (47), I would think that Israel must be an exception to this theory of secularization? I know that the de-secularization of Israel has to do with starkly different birth-rates between orthodox and non-orthodox Jews; however, I would think the authors should address how the increasing rationalization and modernization of Israel has simultaneously provided grounds for a massive increase in religious activity. (Note: I later found an interview with the authors in which they state that they should have written a chapter on Israel.)
• I understand why the authors are hesitant to claim that this project is a macro-structuralist theory, as they take religion to not be a determining factor of all life; however, part of me wanted them to own it and say with their chest that “macro-structuralist theories are f*cking back.” This is a transhistorical argument that accounts for the absence or presence of belief, practice, and institutional affiliation—just claim that this is a macro-theory and prove it!
• The authors use GDP data as if it were an empirical metric of modernization. This is an issue because GDP data is not empirical. It is a set of made-up numbers imagined to indicate economic growth or degrowth. Thus, the authors would need to rely on other data to define and indicate modernization. Otherwise, the author’s demonstration of modernization is commendable.
PRAISE:
Stylistically, the authors do a nice job of balancing a plethora of empirical data with an engaging and fluid writing style. Though similar in content to Casanova, this book was a more enjoyable and appealing read.
I appreciate how much attention the authors gave to the vast amount of literature on secularism, secularization, and secularity. Similarly, they did as much while not needlessly addressing every theoretical controversy that has preoccupied other scholars of secularism.
OPEN QUESTIONS AND PATHS FORWARD:
Can anyone empirically say what the density of religious beliefs, practice, and institutions was in the early United States? I was under the impression that it was a low density of religion; however, these authors insist that (e.g., 25) it was certainly more religious than the contemporary United States.
AUTHOR’S UNDERSTANDING OF “Secular, Secularism, Secularization, or Secularity”:
In short, the authors’ understanding of secularization is “a social process in which fewer people, over time, believe in supernatural claims, fewer people engage in religious behaviors, and fewer people belong to or identify with a religion” (12). As far as secularism is concerned, the authors insist in chapter five that secularism is a set of non-religious patterns, ethics, norms, and values that allow secular people to live meaningful and purposeful lives in such a way that does not rely on religious beliefs, practices, and institutions.
November 22, 2024
Extremely accessible and clear presentation of secularisation theory and current evidence to back it up. Much of the text is basically--as often happens when people talk about secularisation--correcting misconceptions about the basic arguments, but also showing how and why the more refined criticisms aren't convincingly refuting the basic premise. I also like that the authors leave room for improvement, as it is obvious that there are other ways of looking at religious change too. But so far, as the book convincingly argues, secularisation is the most useful approach.
November 9, 2023
I saw this book on the new arrivals shelf at our library, and the topic resonated with me, so I decided to check it out on a whim. To my surprise and slight dismay, the book struck a very academic tone right off the bat, and I felt I might be a bit out of my depth. To my greater surprise, that academic tone didn't entirely put me off, and I still felt compelled to continue reading the book! Ultimately, it wasn't even that bad. I guess I have just enough familiarity with this type of writing to have felt comfortable with the structure and flow of the book, and it was short enough to feel doable.
I found the subject matter very interesting, especially the discussion of modernization, differentiation, and rationalization as key driving factors of increased secularization.
I was a little surprised again when I discovered that the authors of the book were apparently rooting for the increase of secularization--the opposite of what I had come to the book expecting for some reason--but I guess the obvious grounding in academia should have tipped me off to that before encountering the snide little remarks about religion that crept in here and there.
Even though we were looking at the topic from opposite sides, I still found the analysis and discussion of the global process of secularization to be interesting and their interpretation to be illuminating, though a bit smug for my taste at times. Overall, it's an interesting book with good food for thought for anyone on either side of the topic of increasing secularity of societies around the world. I wouldn't recommend it as a casual read, but if you don't mind a little intellectual exercise and the topic is one that interests you, they do a decent job of maintaining a pretty conversational tone throughout.
I found the subject matter very interesting, especially the discussion of modernization, differentiation, and rationalization as key driving factors of increased secularization.
I was a little surprised again when I discovered that the authors of the book were apparently rooting for the increase of secularization--the opposite of what I had come to the book expecting for some reason--but I guess the obvious grounding in academia should have tipped me off to that before encountering the snide little remarks about religion that crept in here and there.
Even though we were looking at the topic from opposite sides, I still found the analysis and discussion of the global process of secularization to be interesting and their interpretation to be illuminating, though a bit smug for my taste at times. Overall, it's an interesting book with good food for thought for anyone on either side of the topic of increasing secularity of societies around the world. I wouldn't recommend it as a casual read, but if you don't mind a little intellectual exercise and the topic is one that interests you, they do a decent job of maintaining a pretty conversational tone throughout.
September 3, 2024
Beyond Doubt is excellent! And above and beyond and gives hope to a Secularized Planet Earth!
November 2, 2024
this started out pretty dry and textbook-like, but after 40 pages or so got more interesting and readable. if it's a subject you are interested in, I recommend it.
September 7, 2024
Dark Side Secularism
Disposable Or Disposed Replacement Of Human’s As Only Material Matter
Whom Are Thrown Away As Never Existed: Forgotten & Obsolete : Decommissioned And
Disposable Of :
Lacking Hope Is What’s Left Humanity Just On Its Way To Nuclear ☢️ Holocaust: Read Nuclear War: A SCENARIO Author Annie Jacobsen+ Face it : Humans Are Fallen Creatures & Fallible. I’m Convinced Sin Is Genuine & Obey God Best Lifestyle. “Soul Is Not Matter” And Everlasting. Secular Atheist ‘Doesn’t Work For Me (Nor Everyone), But I Agree Book Correct Decline In Religion. I Was Agnostic Prior Timeframe & Respectful Understand, (READ Lots Books Pertaining It). A CREATOR Made A “Spiritual” & Material World (Orderly Within Single Atom & Physics) & FAITH Does Have Its Benefits. Read Author Scott Peck (Psychiatrist) Book “People Of The Lie” Is My Suggestion To Re-Think Agnostic Stance Per A “COGNITIVE DISSONANCE” Position On EVIL OFTEN By Atheist.
⚫️🔲EVIL IS A REALITY. 🔲⚫️
Yet! I Give A 5-Star As Correctly Assesses Modern Decline Of Religion And Blessings To Read This Book As Insightful. It Am Not Disagreeing Religion Decline. Their Are People Who Embrace Religion With Education Too.
Disposable Or Disposed Replacement Of Human’s As Only Material Matter
Whom Are Thrown Away As Never Existed: Forgotten & Obsolete : Decommissioned And
Disposable Of :
Lacking Hope Is What’s Left Humanity Just On Its Way To Nuclear ☢️ Holocaust: Read Nuclear War: A SCENARIO Author Annie Jacobsen+ Face it : Humans Are Fallen Creatures & Fallible. I’m Convinced Sin Is Genuine & Obey God Best Lifestyle. “Soul Is Not Matter” And Everlasting. Secular Atheist ‘Doesn’t Work For Me (Nor Everyone), But I Agree Book Correct Decline In Religion. I Was Agnostic Prior Timeframe & Respectful Understand, (READ Lots Books Pertaining It). A CREATOR Made A “Spiritual” & Material World (Orderly Within Single Atom & Physics) & FAITH Does Have Its Benefits. Read Author Scott Peck (Psychiatrist) Book “People Of The Lie” Is My Suggestion To Re-Think Agnostic Stance Per A “COGNITIVE DISSONANCE” Position On EVIL OFTEN By Atheist.
⚫️🔲EVIL IS A REALITY. 🔲⚫️
Yet! I Give A 5-Star As Correctly Assesses Modern Decline Of Religion And Blessings To Read This Book As Insightful. It Am Not Disagreeing Religion Decline. Their Are People Who Embrace Religion With Education Too.
January 11, 2025
Promotes sociology as an important "science" while itself offering little more than poll or questionnaire results. Is clearly heavily biased against religion, about which it demonstrates scant knowledge or interest, and towards which it frequently takes an outright sneering tone. Likewise, does not seriously question whether secularism is really such a positive good, or whether religion and secularism couldn't somehow beneficially complement each other. Uses data mainly to confirm that organized religion and individual belief in "higher powers" are currently in worldwide numerical decline -- which may well be true, but if so, so what? Will comfort unbelieving readers who long to be in the majority.
June 18, 2023
I find this book compelling because I am a first generation atheist in a United States where this is becoming a more common thing to be. Indeed, while I am the first of the first generation in my family, I am not the only one. I strongly suspect that the next ones will not be the only ones, either. The United States is secularizing and this interests me. I like how this book laid things out but there's a lot of conflation and confabulation I question. The thesis, overall, isn't in question. I do question its "theory of everything" nature, which makes it very hard to falsify. I suppose time will tell.
July 5, 2024
This book is not so much about the secularization of society as it is a rebuttal to one particular scholar, Rodney Stark, whom the authors seem to hate with a quite amusing vehemence. I always admire when scholars let their personal passions seep into their scholarly work, a la Pale Fire.
But the book has a few weaknesses. Stylistically, the authors are slightly too glib and facetious for my taste. Some of the later chapters are weak, particularly the one on how secular activities can function as important milestones in the same way that religious activities function for religious people. I wasn't convinced. And they leave a potentially huge issue unresolved: how will secularization theory work in the future? As they acknowledge, the countries with high fertility rates in 2024 are also countries with high rates of religiosity. Countries with low rates of religiosity have low rates of fertility. How will this coming demographic shift change the status of secularism in the future?
Overall, there were certain chapters I found worthwhile and others I found unconvincing. If you're looking for a comprehensive overview of secularization theory, look elsewhere. This book is really about the authors' personal vendetta against Rodney Stark.
But the book has a few weaknesses. Stylistically, the authors are slightly too glib and facetious for my taste. Some of the later chapters are weak, particularly the one on how secular activities can function as important milestones in the same way that religious activities function for religious people. I wasn't convinced. And they leave a potentially huge issue unresolved: how will secularization theory work in the future? As they acknowledge, the countries with high fertility rates in 2024 are also countries with high rates of religiosity. Countries with low rates of religiosity have low rates of fertility. How will this coming demographic shift change the status of secularism in the future?
Overall, there were certain chapters I found worthwhile and others I found unconvincing. If you're looking for a comprehensive overview of secularization theory, look elsewhere. This book is really about the authors' personal vendetta against Rodney Stark.
January 25, 2024
I have read several books on this topic and this one did cover the same topics, albeit with some new supporting data.
This does read a bit on the academic side, but not overly complex.
I do find the topic very interesting in just how quickly some of these trends are moving. This won't be the last book I read and I found this from reading other books by Ryan Cragun.
This does read a bit on the academic side, but not overly complex.
I do find the topic very interesting in just how quickly some of these trends are moving. This won't be the last book I read and I found this from reading other books by Ryan Cragun.
December 4, 2024
"Beyond Doubt" was my introduction to the widely debated Secularization Theory, which suggests that as societies develop, religion will continue to decline. This theory, while influential, has faced significant criticism, with many scholars calling it imperfect at best. Despite this, three sociology professors—Kasselstrand, Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun, Professor of Sociology at the University of Tampa—present a strong defense for Secularization Theory in this book, arguing that modernization does indeed lead to a global decline in religious influence.
The authors present persuasive evidence, utilizing clear definitions and propositions from surveys covering over 100 countries, along with well-reasoned theoretical analysis to support their thesis. They contend that as societies undergo modernization, religion's influence on different facets of life diminishes, turning into a more private and less prominent force. Consequently, faith loses its cultural authority, and religious institutions experience a significant reduction in social power within contemporary secular societies. The authors demonstrate that secularization leads to indifference towards religion rather than active irreligion and that religious belief is primarily shaped by social influences, highlighting that secular living can still be filled with strong ethical values, meaningful purpose, and a sense of community. Overall, "Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society" provides a thorough defense of Secularization Theory and should be an interesting read for anyone interested in the role of religion in modern society.
As I am not a theologian or sociologist, and being new to Secularization Theory, I found the sections covering the topic most enlightening. Developed by sociologists in the 19th and 20th centuries, Secularization Theory posits that modernization leads to a decline in formal religiosity. Influential thinkers like Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Max Weber all supported the idea that economic and social progress would diminish religious influence. However, the theory is not without its challenges. Some studies suggest that the global irreligious population may be declining due to lower birth rates in secular countries and higher fertility in religious ones. Additionally, some regions, like former Soviet states and Western cities with significant religious immigrant populations, show stalling or reversing secularization trends. Furthermore, many people who do not identify with a religion still hold religious beliefs and practices, and the rise of new religious movements also challenges the theory's completeness, complicating the secularization narrative.
Despite these criticisms, "Beyond Doubt" offers a renewed defense of Secularization Theory. The authors argue that much of the criticism stems from a pro-religious bias and against empirical evidence. They present data from various regional and global surveys to support their claim that modernization leads to a retreat in religiosity. The book brings together various key interpretations of Secularization Theory, proposing that the forces of modernization, spurred by economic growth and rational thinking, cause a move away from supernatural beliefs towards naturalistic understandings of the world. For example, they theorize that secular life is increasingly marked by religious indifference and that in most contemporary secular settings, religion simply lacks relevance, and organized unbelief thrives where religion is strong.
In summary, "Beyond Doubt" is a particularly valuable resource for students and scholars studying religion and secularism, or anyone interested in religion in modern society.
What should I read next on this interesting topic?
The authors present persuasive evidence, utilizing clear definitions and propositions from surveys covering over 100 countries, along with well-reasoned theoretical analysis to support their thesis. They contend that as societies undergo modernization, religion's influence on different facets of life diminishes, turning into a more private and less prominent force. Consequently, faith loses its cultural authority, and religious institutions experience a significant reduction in social power within contemporary secular societies. The authors demonstrate that secularization leads to indifference towards religion rather than active irreligion and that religious belief is primarily shaped by social influences, highlighting that secular living can still be filled with strong ethical values, meaningful purpose, and a sense of community. Overall, "Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society" provides a thorough defense of Secularization Theory and should be an interesting read for anyone interested in the role of religion in modern society.
As I am not a theologian or sociologist, and being new to Secularization Theory, I found the sections covering the topic most enlightening. Developed by sociologists in the 19th and 20th centuries, Secularization Theory posits that modernization leads to a decline in formal religiosity. Influential thinkers like Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Max Weber all supported the idea that economic and social progress would diminish religious influence. However, the theory is not without its challenges. Some studies suggest that the global irreligious population may be declining due to lower birth rates in secular countries and higher fertility in religious ones. Additionally, some regions, like former Soviet states and Western cities with significant religious immigrant populations, show stalling or reversing secularization trends. Furthermore, many people who do not identify with a religion still hold religious beliefs and practices, and the rise of new religious movements also challenges the theory's completeness, complicating the secularization narrative.
Despite these criticisms, "Beyond Doubt" offers a renewed defense of Secularization Theory. The authors argue that much of the criticism stems from a pro-religious bias and against empirical evidence. They present data from various regional and global surveys to support their claim that modernization leads to a retreat in religiosity. The book brings together various key interpretations of Secularization Theory, proposing that the forces of modernization, spurred by economic growth and rational thinking, cause a move away from supernatural beliefs towards naturalistic understandings of the world. For example, they theorize that secular life is increasingly marked by religious indifference and that in most contemporary secular settings, religion simply lacks relevance, and organized unbelief thrives where religion is strong.
In summary, "Beyond Doubt" is a particularly valuable resource for students and scholars studying religion and secularism, or anyone interested in religion in modern society.
What should I read next on this interesting topic?
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews