Il trionfo della fede. Perché il mondo non è mai stato così religioso

Rodney Stark, The Triumph of Faith: Why the World Is More Religious Than Ever (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2015). Hardcover | Kindle Fifty years ago, Anthony F. C. Wallace expressed the belief of many Western intellectuals when he wrote, “Belief in supernatural powers is doomed to die out all

The title of Rodney Stark's latest analysis of global religious dynamics, "The Triumph of Faith: Why the World is More Religious than Ever" is accurate enough, but is also slightly disingenuous. A more honest title would be "The Triumph of Conservative, Evangelical Christianity." The key takeaways o Leggi tutto

Rodney Stark is of course known by everyone who calls themselves a sociologist of religion. The progenitor of not just one but two theories of religion, his academic work did much to reinvigorate some key debates in the discipline from the 1980s to 1990s. In his late years, he focused on popular boo Leggi tutto

Je regrette de ne pas avoir lu ce livre plus tôt, c'est une des lectures les plus encourageantes et les plus importante de cette année. Rodney Stark, sociologue spécialiste des religions montre région par région à quel point la thèse de la sécularisation est fausse, et que dans l'ensemble le monde e Leggi tutto

I was most surprised by the fact that religiosity seems to grow more among wealthy people, not (as commonly assumed) among the poor. One attempt to explain this is the “spiritual deprivation theory” - wealthy people realize that not all their needs can be met by material goods.

There are a great many books that are written that lament the seeming hold of ethical monotheism in general and Christianity in particular on the West or in the world at large [1].  What this book does is seek to reframe the discussion of faith by discussing the fact that the world is increasingly r Leggi tutto

This book didn’t have much meat, it should have been an article. Basically it’s just that the polls about religiousness say that people are less likely to be a member of a church but they still believe, pray and practice. A minority are atheists and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change dramat Leggi tutto

This is a fascinating book because it so convincingly debunks a common myth. The myth is the "secularization thesis"--the belief (common among sociologists and some "religious studies" professors) that as societies modernize, they inevitably become more secular. Using data from the Gallup World Poll Leggi tutto

An excellent, entertaining and eye-opening overview of religiousness in the world. In western society both those in favor of religion and against religion, think faith is on the decline. Why? Because we're told so by the "secularization faithful" (As Rodney Stark calls them) who claim religion is a

It may feel like we are living in a faithless world but in fact more people are seeking out God more than ever before. The vast majority of people think about the meaning and purpose of life and don't just adopt the beliefs handed down to them. Instead they reflect and evaluate on their own and come Leggi tutto