Why America Needs Religion: Secular Modernity and Its DiscontentsWm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996 - 160 páginas This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. What is wrong with America? It has often called itself a Christian nation, yet its social and moral problems are legion. The increasing rates of crime, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, sexual promiscuity, and divorce are frequently linked to the declining importance of religious belief. But is there more than a presumed link between the strength of personal religiousness and moral behavior? Yes, says Guenter Lewy, and the large quantity of empirical data in existence which establishes that link ought to move people -- Christians and non-Christians alike -- to sit up and take note. In this trenchant analysis of the moral decline of modern America, Lewy describes the moral crisis caused by secular modernity and points to the role of religiousness -- especially Christian religiousness -- as a necessary bulwark against today's social ills. This work is all the more intriguing in that Lewy is an agnostic who has nonetheless concluded that a society that cuts itself off from the religious roots of its moral heritage is doomed to decline. Lewy traces the rise of secularism in Western society, focusing particularly on the cult of individualism, and describes the social consequences of the weakened role of religion. He demonstrates that the crisis of the family and the rise of the underclass in our inner cities are linked to the decline of traditional values and shows, on the basis of surveys and other empirical data, that genuine religiousness can ward off some of the corrosive effects of modernity. Lewy concludes by calling on Christians, adherents of other faiths, and true humanists to join forces in the struggle to reverse the current ethos of radical individualism that threatens the moral integrity of our society. |
Contenido
Christianity and Western Civilization A Historical Prologue | 1 |
The Case against Christianity | 2 |
The Case for Christianity | 8 |
Ambivalence and Moral Ambiguity | 12 |
The Unattainable Moral Balance Sheet | 19 |
The Rise of Secularism | 23 |
The Heritage of the Enlightenment | 25 |
Secular Humanism | 29 |
Conclusion | 80 |
Religiousness and Moral Conduct Are Believing Christians Different | 87 |
Juvenile Delinquency | 91 |
Adult Crime | 95 |
Prejudice and Intolerance | 99 |
Children Having Children | 103 |
Divorce | 107 |
Conclusion | 112 |
The Culture of Modernity and Its Social Consequences | 43 |
The Problem of the Underclass | 54 |
Conclusion | 61 |
Is America Becoming a More Secular Society | 65 |
Church Membership and Attendance | 67 |
Values and Beliefs | 74 |
The Role of Age and Education | 77 |
The Need for Religiousness | 117 |
The Importance of Moral Education | 120 |
The Role of the Churches and Personal Discipline | 124 |
A Personal Assessment | 131 |
147 | |
155 | |
Términos y frases comunes
abortion adult African-American argued atheists attended church behavior black churches black family Catholic century Chicago Christian church attendance civil compassion concluded conduct consequences crime crisis culture decline Delinquency divorce drugs Enlightenment entitled Ethics evangelical factor faith Free Inquiry freedom Gallup Hirschi and Stark History Humanist Manifesto Humanist Manifesto II important individuals inner cities inner-city involved James Q Jews Journal large numbers less lives marital marriage modern moral education Mormon Neuhaus out-of-wedlock births Paul Kurtz percent Peter Steinfels philosopher poverty pregnancy prejudice Princeton problems programs Protestant reason relationship religious belief religious commitment Richard John Neuhaus Robert Wuthnow Rodney Stark schools secular humanism Secular Humanist Declaration secular humanists sexual Sidney Hook slavery social scientists society teaching teenage Teenage Pregnancy thinkers tion traditional trends unchurched underclass University Press urban values clarification Washington welfare William women York young