LibGuides UFV: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion E.D.I.: Atheism &amp; Secularism

Resources

Atheism is defined as the doctrine or belief that there is no God, gods, or supreme beings. The word atheism comes from the prefix "a," meaning without, and the root "theism," meaning a belief in a god or gods. The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries saw a sharp increase in the percentage of people, both in the US and worldwide, identifying themselves as "nonreligious," which includes those who describe themselves as either atheist or agnostic. (Agnosticism is the belief or doctrine that the existence of gods cannot be proven or disproven.) Indeed, most estimates suggest that the number of nonreligious people around the world is over 1 billion, larger than any religion except Christianity and Islam. Atheism overview. By: Sexton, Jennifer, Finley, Laura, Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2020

Spiritual, but Not Religious by Robert C. Fuller
Nearly 40% of all Americans have no connection with organized religion.. In Spiritual But Not Religious, Robert Fuller... shows that alternative spiritual practices have a long and rich history in America, dating back to the colonial period, when church membership rarely exceeded 17% and interest in astrology, numerology, magic, and witchcraft ran high. Fuller traces such unchurched traditions into the mid-nineteenth century, when Americans responded enthusiastically to new philosophies such as Swedenborgianism, Transcendentalism, and mesmerism, right up to the current interest in meditation, channeling, divination, and a host of other unconventional spiritual practices.
The Secular Sacred [electronic resource] : Emotions of Belonging and the Perils of Nation and Religion 1st ed. 2020. by Balkenhol, Markus. editor.
Call Number: JA76
Summary: How do religious emotions and national sentiment become entangled across the world? In exploring this theme, The Secular Sacred focuses on diverse topics such as the dynamic roles of Carnival in Brazil, the public contestation of ritual in Northern Nigeria, and the culturalization of secular tolerance in the Netherlands. The contributions focus on the ways in which sacrality and secularity mutually inform, enforce, and spill over into each other.
The Secular Enlightenment by Margaret Jacob
Call Number: B802 .J33 2019
A major new history of how the Enlightenment transformed people's everyday livesThe Secular Enlightenment is a panoramic account of the radical ways that life began to change for ordinary people in the age of Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau. In this landmark book, familiar Enlightenment figures share places with voices that have remained largely unheard until now, from freethinkers and freemasons to French materialists, anticlerical Catholics, pantheists, pornographers, readers, and travelers. Margaret Jacob, one of our most esteemed historians of the Enlightenment, reveals how this newly secular outlook was not a wholesale rejection of Christianity but rather a new mental space in which to encounter the world on its own terms.
Atheism As a Positive Social Force by Raymond W. Converse
Call Number: BL2747.3 .C66 2003
The origin of religion : the earliest beliefs -- The early written records -- Modern religion in the Near East and Rome -- Christianity, Persia, and Islam -- Modern religious thought and the birth of atheism -- A redefinition of atheism -- Atheism as a positive social force -- Atheism in the U.S. -- Atheism as the arbiter of social self-interest -- The task of atheism -- Atheism and Islam.
Empires of Belief by Stuart Sim
Call Number: B837 .S489 2006
This book challenges all forms of fundamentalism and unexamined belief systems from a philosophical and sceptical viewpoint.Is unquestioning belief making a global comeback? The growth of religious fundamentalism seems to suggest so. For the sceptically minded, this is a deeply worrying trend, not just confined to religion. Political, economic, and scientific theories can demand the same unquestioning obedience from the general public. Stuart Sim outlines the history of scepticism in both the Western and Islamic cultural traditions, and from the Enlightenment to postmodernism. Setting out what a sceptical politics might be like, Empires of Belief argues that we need less belief and more doubt: an engaged scepticism to replace the pervasive dogmatism that threatens our democracies.
Atheism and Secularity by Phil Zuckerman (Editor)
Call Number: BL2747.A85 2010
Who are atheists? How does atheism relate to various aspects of our social world, such as politics, feminism, globalization, and the family? And what is the current state of atheism internationally? Atheism and Secularity addresses the growing interest in the non-religious world by exploring these and related questions.