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Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century Paperback – April 19, 2011

by Eric Kaufmann (Author)

13 customer reviews

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Dawkins and Hitchens have convinced many western intellectuals that secularism is the way forward. But most people don't read their books before deciding whether to be religious. Instead, they inherit their faith from their parents, who often innoculate them against the elegant arguments of secularists. And what no one has noticed is that far from declining, the religious are expanding their share of the population: in fact, the more religious people are, the more children they have. The cumulative effect of immigration from religious countries, and religious fertility will be to reverse the secularisation process in the West. Not only will the religious eventually triumph over the non-religious, but it is those who are the most extreme in their beliefs who have the largest families.

Within Judaism, the Ultra-Orthodox may achieve majority status over their liberal counterparts by mid-century. Islamist Muslims have won the culture war in much of the Muslim world, and their success provides a glimpse of what awaits the Christian West and Israel. Based on a wealth of demographic research, considering questions of multiculturalism and terrorism, Kaufmann examines the implications of the decline in liberal secularism as religious conservatism rises - and what this means for the future of western modernity.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brilliant and provocative. . . .A book every liberal should read."—John Gray

"Kaufmann is controversial, highly informative, and thought provoking. A not-to-be-missed contribution to one of the most pressing and complex debates of modern time."—Morning Star

About the Author

Eric Kaufmann, an American academic, is currently Reader in Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London. In 2008-9, he was a Fellow at the Belfer Center, Harvard University. He is a frequent contributor to Prospect and other publications.

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Profile Books; Main edition (April 19, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1846681448
ISBN-13: 978-1846681448
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 13 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,992,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3069 in Books > History > World > Religious > Religion, Politics & State
- #3289 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Church & State
- #4709 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion

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Joel in Somerville

Deserves more recognition

September 12, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

'Shall the Religious' is well-organized, well-written, and presents multiple interpretations of data when appropriate.

The thesis is fascinating, and should be more widely known than it currently is. Many in the past have passingly noted the correlation between religiosity and fertility, but Kaufmann delves into this topic with mountains of data and thorough analysis more than I've ever seen on the subject. Refreshingly, he doesn't go the route of making demographic predictions for the sake of arousing fear or furthering some agenda. Kaufmann does have his own opinions, but successfully keeps them unobtrusive in the larger text.

After analyzing the data, Kaufmann concludes that the biggest political changes of the 21st century will come not from clashes BETWEEN different cultures or religions, but rather from divergences WITHIN religions. This is an unusual angle. And after hearing his argument, I'm convinced.

In my experience, most demographic projections that are more than a few decades out tend to be way off the mark. Demographic projections assume that present conditions continue with minimal change, and don't take into account 'quantum leaps' in demography. In reality (such as with the case of Iran's TFR dropping from 7 children per woman to 2 children per woman in a short time), changes in population behavior can occur rapidly. With that in mind, when Kaufmann speaks of religious fundamentalists, it's not clear to me that their behavior in 2010 will match their behavior in 2050. But his interpretation is absolutely worth considering nonetheless.

Finally, as mentioned in another review, the book raises some really profound philosophical questions. Is there something intrinsically necessary or inevitable about religion? Is it the case, for purely practical reasons, that individualistic societies cannot survive in the long run? Can a 'high culture' maintain its sophisticated and open nature, or does history ensure that any advanced civilization will ultimately be subsumed by 'barbarians at the gates'?

Big questions.

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Francoise

How Kindle destroys reading pledasure.

September 26, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Terrific nook ... In HARD copy! Too bad my kindle devices are such Rube Goldberg nightmare that do more to obstruct and destroy my reading pleasure than to encourage it. It's enough to make a book lover hate reading. The problem with my Kindle books is the Rube Goldberg nightmare called a Kindle reader guaranteed to kill anyone's pleasure for reading.

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Lewis Woolston

Hard data and hard conclusions

July 18, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I have had a long fascination with extremist religious groups and love reading good books about them. I was interested in this book after reading about the quiverfull movement and i was not dissapointed by the author's work. The author uses hard scientific data to analyze population demographics amongst religious and secular populations and comes to the conclusion that the religious really will inherit the earth. As much as Dawkins and other opponents of religion might like to fantasize about a secular society where science and reason guide us to a bright future even they would have to acknowledge the hard scientific data in this book. To put it simply....demography doesn't lie and birthrates are the most accurate predictions of the future. An excellent book which will really make you think about the state of western civilization in the next 50 to 100 years.

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Aphrahat

Good Disinterested demographic look at religions.

June 10, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Kauffman gives a superbly well researched and referenced look into how demographic trends will travel in the future and the large roles religion will play in these trends.

He gives an impartial, unbiased analysis which would be difficult on such a contentious subject. Highly recommended for anyone interested in getting a fact based glimpse into the future of religion and society in the 21st century.

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November 20, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Kaufmann provides plenty of data and interprets it--overall--modestly. He makes a strong case for an increasing religious presence and power in the world by virtue of significantly higher demographic increases among the most religiously conservative, endogamous groups. Whether that will be positive or negative is a values-laden question. He answers in the negative.

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Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century Paperback – April 19, 2011

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