Frequently Bought Together
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
by John W. Dean
|
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris |
by Joseph LeDoux
|
Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists by Dan Barker |
by Daniel C. Dennett
|
Editorial Reviews
Review
Amazing Conversions addresses the how and why of conversion to and away from religious faith. Canadian social psychologists Bob Altemeyer and Bruce Hunsberger surveyed thousands of young adults in order to investigate the backgrounds and lives of amazing believers (individuals who became devout believers in spite of little or no religious upbringing) and amazing apostates (individuals who became agnostic or atheists irrespective of their strong religious training). The authors document in great detail the answers provided by interviewees to questions such as "At what age did the first questions about your religion arise in your mind?" or "In what ways are you glad because you no longer believe?" Readers interested in the intellectual, emotional, and social influences on religious belief and non-belief will find the scenarios of individuals fascinating reading. Although amazing believers and apostates seem to contradict their own socializing process, Altemeyer and Hunsberger contend that their research demonstrates the power of socialization, since other social factors (family strife, employment, relationships) influence the conversion process. One might suspect that many forms of religious belief and conversion are not susceptible to a statistical survey approach and the attempt by the researchers to quantify religious belief seems problematic. The authors will strike many readers as theoretically naive in claiming that the survey method produces only random error but not systematic distortion. Given that the surveyed group consisted entirely of Canadian university students, this study is more valuable in its depiction of actual cases of religious conversion than in its general conclusions. -- From Independent Publisher
Product Description
This groundbreaking study uncovers fascinating new data on sudden shifts in religious and non-religious belief. "Amazing Conversions" explores, for the first time ever, the reasons why converts join, and apostates go. The focus of this absorbing study is on some amazing people, with unique stories to tell those who join a religious group in spite of being raised in non-religious (or even anti-religious) families, and those who, at great personal cost, choose to leave religion in spite of having a deeply religious background. Why would an atheist's son become a Christian fundamentalist? Why would a "good Catholic girl" decide that she really is an atheist? The authors, both social psychologists, surveyed thousands of young adults to find that small number who were 'amazing believers' or 'amazing apostates'. These rare individuals tell their stories, which are supplemented by their responses to a detailed questionnaire. The resulting picture shows that amazing believers and amazing apostates are dramatically different groups of people, in spite of the fact that their lives now stand in opposition to previous (non)religious training. You, too, can complete the same questionnaire to learn more about yourself and your beliefs. Have you experienced an amazing conversion?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
› Visit Amazon's Bob Altemeyer Page
› Visit Amazon's Bob Altemeyer Page
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
50% buy the item featured on this page: Amazing Conversions: Why Some Turn to Faith & Others Abandon Religion $35.98 |
 |
28% buy Atheists: A Groundbreaking Study of America's Nonbelievers $18.88 |
 |
19% buy The Authoritarian Dynamic (Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology) $31.33 |
 |
3% buy The Authoritarian Specter $52.16 |
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
Product Information from the Amapedia Community
Beta (What's this?)Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.
› See featured Amapedia.com articles
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Living > Faith
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Psychology
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Psychology & Christianity
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Atheism
Look for Similar Items by Subject
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. |
