Podcasts Culture Point of Inquiry Phil Zuckerman - The Sociology of Irreligion

Phil Zuckerman - The Sociology of Irreligion

Published: Sept. 18, 2012, 6:03 a.m.

Host: Chris Mooney

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How many atheists are there in the world? Where do they live? What kind of people are they, and how do they get that way?

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Are they happy? Are they prosperous? Do they drag their societies down into a cesspool of immortality\u2014as is often alleged\u2014or, is it precisely the opposite?

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All of these questions are amenable to scientific study. With, like, data. It's just that people didn't much bother\u2014until now.

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One pioneer in the sociological study of atheists is Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology at Pitzer College. He's the author of Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment, and Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion. And we're excited to have him on this week to reveal what we actually know about secularity\u2014on a global scale.