"God is not dead." —Wall Street Journal Believe it or not, the world is more religious than ever before. Everyone seems to take it for granted that the world is getting more secular—that faith is doomed by modernity. Scientists, secularists, and atheists applaud the change; religious believers lament it. But here's the thing: they're all wrong—and the bestselling author and influential scholar of religion Rodney Stark has the numbers to prove it.The Triumph of Faith explodes the myth that people around the world are abandoning religion. Stark marshals an unprecedented body of data—surveys of more than a million people in 163 nations—to paint the full picture that both scholars and popular commentators have missed. And he explains why the astonishing growth of religion is happening and what it means for our future. Stark's bracing book is full of insights that defy the conventional wisdom. With vigorous prose he reveals: •Why claims about Millennials' lack of religion are overblown and historically ignorant •Why Islam is NOT overtaking Christianity •How 4 out of 5 people worldwide now belong to an organized religion •How 50 percent have attended a worship service in the past week •Why much-ballyhooed studies from the Pew Research Center and others get the religious landscape wrong •Why atheists remain few, anywhere—despite all the talk of the "New Atheism" As Stark shows, secularists have been predicting the imminent demise of religion for centuries. It is their unshakable faith in secularization that may be the most "irrational" of all beliefs. As the author of How the West Won, The Victory of Reason, and many other bestselling works, Rodney Stark has a richly deserved reputation for writing page-turning, myth-busting books. He is also a groundbreaking scholar who has so reshaped the social scientific study of religion that his work has become the basis of a "new paradigm." Stark puts all those talents on full display in The Triumph of Faith.This book will change how you see both religion and the forces of secularization.

A Faith Like Mineis a wonderful celebration of the diversity of religious faith, as experienced in the daily lives of children across the world. What do other people believe? How do they pray? What are the differences between churches, mosques, and temples?

Introduces the origins and traditions of twenty-eight religious groups, including the Amish, Baptists, and Buddhists.

Demography drives religious change. High-fertility societies, like most of contemporary Africa, tend to be fervent and devout. The lower a population's fertility rates, the greater the tendency for people to detach from organized or institutional religion. Thus, fertility rates supply an effective gauge of secularization trends. In Fertility and Faith, Philip Jenkins maps the demographic revolution that has taken hold of many countries around the globe in recent decades and explores the implications for the future development of the world's religions. Demographic change has driven the secularization of contemporary Western Europe, where the revolution began. Jenkins shows how the European trajectory of rapid declines in fertility is now affecting much of the globe. The implications are clear: the religious character of many non-European areas is highly likely to move in the direction of sweeping secularization. And this is now reshaping the United States itself. This demographic revolution is reshaping Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. In order to accommodate the new social trends, these religions must adapt to situations where large families are no longer the norm. Each religious tradition will develop distinctive emphases concerning morality, gender, and sexuality, as well as the roles of clergy and laity in the faith's institutional structures. Radical change follows great upheaval. The tidal shift is well underway. With Fertility and Faith, Philip Jenkins describes this ongoing phenomenon and envisions our collective religious future.

The major world religions once seemed far away, but now are in our neighborhoods. How can Christians understand them? How can we respond in a way that is faithful to Christianity while being respectful of the other religions?Martinson writes from his experience as a missionary and as a teacher of world religions. He approaches world religions as families of faith: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam Hinduism and Buddhism Confucianism and TaoismHe provides authoritative information and helpful perspectives on the world religions, showing how we can best engage in dialogue with their followers. Questions for discussion are included.

In Cycles of Faith, noted historian of religion Robert Ellwood makes the case that the five largest world religions all move through the stages of Apostolic, Imperial, Devotional, Reformation, and Folk Religion. A completely revised edition of his 1988 book, The History and Future of Faith, Ellwood's readable text can provide a useful, theoretical framework to many classes in religious studies.

Designed to introduce general readers to the great diversity of religion that exists today, this fascinating and very useful book provides short descriptions of the beliefs and practices of the world religions and the denominational branches, of Christianity. Now in paperback.