Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: cultural religion, least religious nations, societal health, United States, Social Democrats, National Church (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sociologist Zuckerman spent a year in Scandinavia seeking to understand how Denmark and Sweden became probably the least religious countries in the world, and possibly in the history of the world. While many people, especially Christian conservatives, argue that godless societies devolve into lawlessness and immorality, Denmark and Sweden enjoy strong economies, low crime rates, high standards of living and social equality. Zuckerman interviewed 150 Danes and Swedes, and extended transcripts from some of those interviews provide the book's most interesting and revealing moments. What emerges is a portrait of a people unconcerned and even incurious about questions of faith, God and life's meaning. Zuckerman ventures to answer why Scandinavians remain irreligious—e.g., the religious monopoly of state-subsidized churches, the preponderance of working women and the security of a stable society—but academics may find this discussion a tad thin. Zuckerman also fails to answer the question of contentment his subtitle speaks to. Still, for those interested in the burgeoning field of secular studies—or for those curious about a world much different from the devout U.S.—this book will offer some compelling reading. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Much that he found will surprise many people, as it did him."
- New York Times

"[Zuckerman] tells of a magical land where life expectancy is high and infant mortality low, where wealth is spread and genders live in equity, where happy, fish-fed citizens score high in every quality-of-life index: economic competitiveness, healthcare, environmental protection, lack of corruption, educational investment, technological literacy ... well, you get the idea. Zuckerman (who has explored the sociology of religion in two previous books) has managed to show what nonbelief looks like when it's ‘normal, regular, mainstream, common.’ And he's gone at least partway to proving the central thesis of his book: ‘Religious faith -- while admittedly widespread -- is not natural or innate to the human condition. Nor is religion a necessary ingredient for a healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and ... deeply good society.’ "

- Louis Bayard, Salon.com

"For those interested in the burgeoning field of secular studies—or for those curious about a world much different from the devout U.S.—this book will offer some compelling reading."
- Publishers Weekly

"Puts to rest the belief that you need God in order to be a moral person, that irreligious societies are wracked by social problems, and that godless people are unhappy and unmoored. . . . In the case of Scandinavia: God may be dead, but Swedes and Danes lead rich, full lives. Society Without God is a colorful, provocative book that makes an original contribution to debates about atheism and religiosity. Ideal for classroom use, it will get students thinking about their own lives and choices."
- Arlene Stein, author of Shameless: Sexual Dissidence in American Culture

"Society without God is both a sociological analysis of irreligion and Zuckerman's apologia pro vita sua. He wants us to know that, contrary to the deeply held beliefs of some Americans, a society without god can be a good society and an irreligious person can be a moral person, too.  To his credit, Zuckerman provides enough nuance and detail to allow a skeptic like me to see what Peter Berger called ‘signals of transcendenceÂ’ in the society without god he portrays. Along with the volume's engaging writing style, this makes it ideal for classroom use. I know my students will enjoy reading and discussing Society without God."
- David Yamane, author of The Catholic Church in State Politics: Negotiating Prophetic Demands and Political Realities

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 227 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814797148
• ISBN-13: 978-0814797143
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,971 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #8 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Agnosticism
  #44 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Church & State
  #54 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Sociology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WHAT'S GOD GOT TO DO WITH IT? NOT MUCH!, October 27, 2008

By	G. Charles Steiner "Charles Steiner" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Phil Zuckerman, a social scientist, has a really pleasant story to tell in this easy-to-read book about the people living in Denmark and Sweden. According to Zuckerman, who spent 14 months in Scandanavia between 2005 and 2006, the Danes and Swedes live a comfortable secular life in which they doff their cap to Christianity (state Lutheranism) the way sneezing in the U.S. warrants the response "Bless you": easy-breezy and without much fervency or depth of thought. They live a "cultural religion," much as George Santayana (not mentioned in this book) characterized himself as a Catholic atheist.

The people of Sweden and Denmark are largely a nice people with largely secular lives. From the social scientist's viewpoint, the fact that there exists these two nations whose people exhibit little religious fanaticism or fervency disproves any notion that there is a "God gene" or that religious belief is somehow intrinsic to the existential nature of being human.

The last chapter, "Back to the USA," sadly shows not much hope exists, however, that such a way of life as the Scandanavians presently possess can be widely achieved in the U.S. The cultural, historical, and sociological forces are much too different. The book offers a shining glimpse of what life can be like -- unfettered by irrational stupidities and fanatical hatred, especially on the politcal level.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spot on! From a Scandinavian perspective., December 25, 2008

By	Bo Kristoffersson "BoHenry" (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a Scandinavian, living and working in Stockholm, Sweden, and I read Mr. Zuckerman's book from that perspective.

Obviously he is very well read on the issues of Scandinavian societies and on religion in general, but I have to say that given that he only spent a year or so in Scandinavia, I'm very impressed with his thorough understanding of the finer nuances of the Nordic countries and the mentality of its people (he mainly deals with Denmark and Sweden) - and his descriptions and analysis of people's attitudes to religious and societal matters are interesting.

In his book he shows that societies can be sane, prosperous and humane without people having a God-fearing approach to life, and he also presents some interesting ideas and explanations as to why the Scandinavian societies have become so secular, and reversely, why the USA has become so religious.

His book and studies are clearly built on sociological research methods, but he carries a personal tone throughout the book which makes it very pleasant to read. And although some of the interviews in the book can be a bit lengthy at times, they provide a direct and valuable insight into the way the common Dane or Swede thinks on matters of religion, the church, life, death, etc.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in society and religion. And I also think it's a valuable read for us Scandinavians, to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves on the matter of religion...

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The world can be more peaceful without organized religion, December 13, 2008

By	W. Roth "Northsailer" (Southeast, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book presents an excellent case study of how solid, peaceful, and advanced society can be when we collectively view the world without acting out the literal word of the books that support organized religion. One major takeaway that surprised me was the contrast and comparison between how the Danes and Swedes viewed religion with a sense of spirituality and culture and the Americans viewed religion with a sense of literal and rigid interpretation and how that translated into our societies differences. I am personally embarrased of how our America thinks and behaves relative to this topic. To a great degree, we can step back and view American Christianity similar to how we view the worship of ancient cultures - Greek, Egyptian, Mayan, Incan, and see how antiquated our thinking is around this subject.

This book was recommended to me through the Sam Harris blog, and I recommend it for anyone that is asking the question, what would society look like if we walked away from the literal interpretation of the Bible? While the book doesn't get into Islam, the same parallels can be drawn and points inferred. It briefly touches Judaism, which is ironically viewed more similarly to the Dane and Swede view of Christianity. Jews are surprisingly secular when viewing social topics.

One last stat that surprised me was how large the secular/free-thinking/humanist population is across the world - 4th largest group (if you had to group this populus against labeled groups of believers and non-believers). Of the 6.8 billion of us currently on our planet, 2 billion are admittedly Christian (Catholic, Episcopal/Anglican, Lutheran,etc), 1.2 are Muslim, 900 million are Hindu, and 750 million are admittedly freethinkers. My instincts tell me that if we count the people that really are freethinkers, but can't yet part with their religious label, the number is much higher.

At any rate, we seem to be waking up around the globe and viewing religion for what it really is. This book is a good piece for those wondering how moral, peaceful, economically solid, and culturally advanced we can be if we let go of the stories from these ancient books and live our lives by our true moral and instinctual compass.