Search Results for: Inglehart

The world gets more secular as it gets better: data continue to show that religion is unnecessary and inimical to healthy and moral societies

Shall we start the week with some good news? How about the increasing secularization of the world, as described and explained in Foreign Affairs by political scientist Ronald Inglehart? We’ve read about Inglehart before, including his excellent book with political science collaborator Pippa Norris, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide.  I highly recommend that … Continue reading The world gets more secular as it gets better: data continue to show that religion is unnecessary and inimical to healthy and moral societies

The Middle East and Ireland losing their religion

Two of the last holdout areas for religion—countries and regions that have historically been resistant to nonbelief—are now becoming surprisingly secular. Those are Ireland in the West and seven countries in the Middle East—at least according to recent surveys. The stunning thing about both areas is how fast the change is coming. Let’s take the … Continue reading The Middle East and Ireland losing their religion

New York Times editorial page editor makes the “Little People” argument for religion

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of … Continue reading New York Times editorial page editor makes the “Little People” argument for religion