Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide

Pippa Norris, Ronald Inglehart

Cambridge University Press, Oct 17, 2011 - Political Science

This book develops a theory of existential security. It demonstrates that the publics of virtually all advanced industrial societies have been moving toward more secular orientations during the past half century, but also that the world as a whole now has more people with traditional religious views than ever before. This second edition expands the theory and provides new and updated evidence from a broad perspective and in a wide range of countries. This confirms that religiosity persists most strongly among vulnerable populations, especially in poorer nations and in failed states. Conversely, a systematic erosion of religious practices, values and beliefs has occurred among the more prosperous strata in rich nations.

Contents

• PART II Case Studies of Religion and Politics: 81
• PART III The Consequences of Secularization: 157
• CONCLUSIONS: 213
• Appendix A Classifications of Types of Society: 283
• Appendix B Concepts and Measures: 287
• Appendix C Technical Note on the Freedom of Religion Scale: 293
• Notes: 295
• Bibliography: 331
• Index: 359

About the author

Pippa Norris is the McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a visiting professor at Sydney University. Her work analyzes comparative elections and public opinion, gender politics, and political communications. Companion volumes by this author and Ronald Inglehart, also published by Cambridge University Press, include Rising Tide (2003) and Cosmopolitan Communications (2009).

Ronald Inglehart is Professor of Political Science and program director at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. His research deals with changing belief systems and their impact on social and political change. He helped found the Euro-Barometer surveys and directs the World Values Surveys. Related books include Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic and Political Change in Forty-Three Societies and Development, Cultural Change and Democracy (with Christian Welzel).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide; Cambridge Studies in Social Theory, Religion and Politics
• Authors: Pippa Norris, Ronald Inglehart
• Edition: 2, revised
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011
• ISBN: 1139499661, 9781139499668
• Subjects: Philosophy / Political; Political Science / Comparative Politics; Political Science / General; Religion / Religion, Politics & State