The Oxford Handbook of Secularism

ISBN-13: 9780199988457 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 792 str.

Phil Zuckerman; John R. Shook

Opis

As recent headlines reveal, conflicts and debates around the world increasingly involve secularism. National borders and traditional religions cannot keep people in tidy boxes as political struggles, doctrinal divergences, and demographic trends are sweeping across regions and entire continents. And secularity is increasing in society, with a growing number of people in many regions having no religious affiliation or lacking interest in religion. Simultaneously, there is a resurgence of religious participation in the politics of many countries. How might these diverse phenomena be better understood? Long-reigning theories about the pace of secularization and ideal church-state relations are under invigorated scrutiny by scholars studying secularism with new questions, better data, and fresh perspectives.

The Oxford Handbook of Secularism offers a wide-ranging and in-depth examination of this global conversation, bringing together the views of an international collection of prominent experts in their respective fields. This is the essential volume for comprehending the core issues and methodological approaches to the demographics and sociology of secularity; the history and variety of political secularisms; the comparison of constitutional secularisms across many countries from America to Asia; the key problems now convulsing church-state relations; the intersections of liberalism, multiculturalism, and religion; the latest psychological research into secular lives and lifestyles; and the naturalistic and humanistic worldviews available to nonreligious people.

Recenzje

Throughout the text, the myriad contributors offer observations and analysis on the ethics, effects, and challenges of secularism. These threads weave throughout the extensive and diverse range of topics, pulling them together into a surprisingly cohesive set of commentaries. The result is not a book without fault, but one whose collective merits far outweigh any particular gripes. The final point in favor of the text is its forty-three page index. Exhaustive and well-organized, it provides the necessary mechanism for navigating a handbook of this size and scope. This text is an essential reference book

O autorze

Phil Zuckerman is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Program in Secular Studies at Pitzer College. He is co-author (with Frank Pasquale and Luke Galen) of The Nonreligious: Understanding Secular People and Societies (OUP 2016) and author of Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion (OUP 2011). John R. Shook is Director of Education and Senior Research Fellow, Center for Inquiry and Visiting Assistant Professor of Science Education and Research Associate in Philosophy at the University at Buffalo.