Author: Ryan Cragun

Religion and Development in the Global South, by Rumy Hasan (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017, ISBN 978-3-319-57062-4). 225 pp. Hardcover, $109.99.   I agreed to review this book believing that Rumy Hasan had found and compiled compelling evidence that religion slows socio-economic development (that is how the book is described in promotional materials). The idea that …

Humanists have an identity problem, and it’s a problem at multiple levels. I remember very clearly the first time I told my Mormon brother that I was a humanist in a discussion on Facebook.

The secular movement can develop in one of two ways, depending on what end point is desired. Then we’ll need a third plan.

Santa Claus is described in many stories as knowing whether children are “naughty or nice.” This is bothersome for two reasons.

There Is No God: Atheists in America, by David A. Williamson and George Yancey (Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2013, ISBN 978-1-4422-1849-9) 150 pp. Hardcover, $36.00. There Is No God: Atheists in America offers very little that is new or noteworthy in the budding field of social scientific research on atheists in the …

Here’s a question you won’t find on a Gallup or Pew survey: “How much do you hate religious proselytizing?” Wouldn’t it be nice to know how Americans really feel about being evangelized? Don’t expect the answer soon! The problem is that neither major polling organizations nor such major funders of research as the Templeton and …

The home in the photo is the $1.75 million mansion of the Reverend Randy White, the former head pastor of Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Florida. While some people may be bothered by the fact that there are pastors who live in multimillion dollar homes, this is old news to most. But here is …

Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion, by Phil Zuckerman (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-974001-7) 224 pp. Cloth, $24.95. Historically, those most interested in the reasons people leave religion have been the religious. Those who have already left typically aren’t concerned with why people leave; they’re just glad for the company. But …

Are all Mormons devout and orthodox believers? Or are some of them freethinkers? And if there are freethinking members inside this religion with a reputation for conformity, are they marginalized? If so, why would they stay? Religious belief and affiliation serve many different needs. They offer adherents a sense of purpose and meaning, a sense …

Starting in the mid-nineteenth century, there was a widespread intentional and strenuous effort to compartmentalize organized religion on college campuses.1 That effort was largely successful. The modern academy has been widely regarded as a secular sphere; it allows religion as a private activity but does not advocate religiosity among its students. This is now changing. …