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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Brilliant and provocative, 'Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?' is a book every liberal should read.
--John Gray
'A not-to-be-missed contribution to one of the most pressing and complex debates of modern time.' --Michal Boncza, Morning Star
--John Gray
'A not-to-be-missed contribution to one of the most pressing and complex debates of modern time.' --Michal Boncza, Morning Star
Book Description
Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Studying the (on average) higher fertility of religious populations from an evolutionary perspective for some years, I have been somewhat sceptical about applying such observations in the contemporary field of political analysis. But Eric Kaufmann did the job. Making clear his own, rather secular position, he is nevertheless avoiding biasses or polemics, but is informing the reader. He manages to do this by patiently combining available demographic data, historical descriptions and case studies on a wide range of populations as i.e. Haredim Jews in Israel, Mormons in the US, strong Calvinists in the Netherlands, Salafist movements in the Muslim world and many more. Although he is discussing projections and problems, Kaufmann doesn't fall into the trap of mindless alarmism, carefully weighing further options for secular und moderate religious movements, too. Although my interest started from the purely empirical and evolutionary side, I began to like the book for its political and philosophic clout in presenting tough questions and tentatively probing for new answers. For almost any reader, this will be a captivating and thought-provoking read and for scientists from different fields a chance to discuss, test and revise or expand sound observations and hypotheses.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A. S. Smith
Format:Paperback
The title grabbed my attention.Religious belief has been declining in Britain and Europe for the last 200 years,and people assumed that a liberal, secular society would gradually spread to the rest of the world.
Eric Kaufmann argues from detailed case studies of fundamentalist religious believers, that they will come to dominate society by sheer force of numbers. Some groups like the Quiverfull sect in the USA have a deliberate policy of having as many children as possible.The prospect of peace in the Middle East will be harder to achieve in the face of growing numbers of hardline Jewish and Muslim people.
This is not an anti-religion book like those by Dawkins and Hitchens but it raises concerns about how we cope with increasing numbers of fundamentalist believers in western societies.Having more babies is not the answer! Western women only gained equal access to education and jobs in the twentieth century and we are not keen to give that up. Nor do we want to contribute to over-population and the environmental problems it can cause.
The author argues for a new emphasis on human happiness and secular moral values, but stresses that there are no easy ways to deal with the growth of fundamntalism.A fascinating read.
Eric Kaufmann argues from detailed case studies of fundamentalist religious believers, that they will come to dominate society by sheer force of numbers. Some groups like the Quiverfull sect in the USA have a deliberate policy of having as many children as possible.The prospect of peace in the Middle East will be harder to achieve in the face of growing numbers of hardline Jewish and Muslim people.
This is not an anti-religion book like those by Dawkins and Hitchens but it raises concerns about how we cope with increasing numbers of fundamentalist believers in western societies.Having more babies is not the answer! Western women only gained equal access to education and jobs in the twentieth century and we are not keen to give that up. Nor do we want to contribute to over-population and the environmental problems it can cause.
The author argues for a new emphasis on human happiness and secular moral values, but stresses that there are no easy ways to deal with the growth of fundamntalism.A fascinating read.
2 of 40 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not worth the money. Download the articles from Birkbeck College for free
14 May 2010
Format:Paperback
I have read many previous "academic" articles by Eric espousing the same ideas listed in this uninviting book. The truth is that rather than be bold and state his fear of Muslims taking over Europe, he coyly throws in few words about Mormons and Jews so that we get the message that he is an unbiased scholar.
Talking of biased research, I think most Middle Eastern and/or Politics departments at London University appear to have a pro-Israeli academic. This reminds me of Efraim Karsh in Kings College writing venemous anti-Islam articles and books. Take SOAS where some Jewish lecturers teaching Middle Eastern studies are unashamedly sympathetic to Israel. Is having Jewish and Pro-Israel "academics" implanted in UK universities a chance occurence? So much for ubiased academic research.
I must acknowledge that there is a minority alas of courageous Israeli scholars living inside Israel speaking/writing the truth. Please read Neve Gordon's excellent book: Israel's Occupation. It seems Israeli scholars living inside Israel are far more balanced than their Jewish brethern in the UK and the US intent on supporting Israel right or wrong.
Omar - Solo se vive una vez
Imagine there was no religion...
Talking of biased research, I think most Middle Eastern and/or Politics departments at London University appear to have a pro-Israeli academic. This reminds me of Efraim Karsh in Kings College writing venemous anti-Islam articles and books. Take SOAS where some Jewish lecturers teaching Middle Eastern studies are unashamedly sympathetic to Israel. Is having Jewish and Pro-Israel "academics" implanted in UK universities a chance occurence? So much for ubiased academic research.
I must acknowledge that there is a minority alas of courageous Israeli scholars living inside Israel speaking/writing the truth. Please read Neve Gordon's excellent book: Israel's Occupation. It seems Israeli scholars living inside Israel are far more balanced than their Jewish brethern in the UK and the US intent on supporting Israel right or wrong.
Omar - Solo se vive una vez
Imagine there was no religion...
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