Beyond idols : the shape of a secular society

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Title:

Author:

Fenn, Richard K.

ISBN:

9780195143690

Personal Author:

Fenn, Richard K.

Publication Information:

Oxford [England] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2001.

Physical Description:

196 p. ; 24 cm.

Contents:

1. Idols, Idolatry, and Unnecessary Suffering -- 2. Starting on the Path to Secularity: The Agony of the Possible -- 3. Heroes, Charismatic Figures, and Celebrities as Cultural Idols -- 4. Brotherhoods, Sisterhoods, and Secularization: Creativity, Secularity, and the Creation of Space for the Present Generation -- 5. Toward a Theory of a Society without Idols: From Civil Religion to Public Religiosity -- 6. Stifling the Sociological Imagination -- 7. Ambiguity, Controversy, and the Limits of Language as the Bearer of the Sacred -- 8. Beyond Idolatry: Religionless Christianity.

Abstract:

"It is common in modern Western thought to consider the process of secularization ongoing , inevitable, and indeed in many nations nearly complete. A closer look at such phenomena as religious nationalism, modern fascism, and the recurrence of political witch-hunts, however, causes us to question whether a truly secular society is possible. Drawing on studies of a wide range of national societies, including the United States, Japan, Norway, and Sri Lanka, Richard K. Fenn attempts to articulate the nature of a genuinely secular society, to argue for its benefits, and to suggest the conditions under which it could emerge."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject Term:

Secularism -- United States.

Civil religion -- United States.

Christian sociology -- United States.

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025513165	306.6 F334B 2001	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

This book attempts to articulate the nature of a secular society, describe its benefits, and suggests the conditions under which such a society could emerge. To become secular, argues Fenn, is to open oneself and one's society to a wide range of possibilities, some interesting and exciting, some burdensome and dreadful. While some sociologists have argued that a "Civil Religion" is necessary to hold together our newly "religionless" society, Fenn urges that there is nothing to fear--and everything to gain--from living in a society that is not bound together by sacred memories and beliefs, or by sacred institutions and practices.