God Is Back
History, Religion
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
Summary
Two Economistwriters show how and why religion is booming around the world and reveal its vast effects on the global economy politics and more On the street and in the corridors of power religion is surging… worldwide From Russia to Turkey to India nations that swore off faith in the last century or even tried to stamp it out are now run by avowedly religious leaders Formerly secular conflicts like the one in Palestine have taken on an overtly religious cast God Is Backshines a bright light on this hidden world of faith from exorcisms in S o Paulo to religious skirmishing in Nigeria to televangelism in California and house churches in China Since the Enlightenment intellectuals have assumed that modernization would kill religion and that religious America is an oddity As God Is Backargues religion and modernity can thrive together and America is becoming the norm Many things helped spark the global revival of religion including the failure of communism and the rise of globalism But above all twenty-first century religion is being fueled by a very American emphasis on competition and a customer- driven approach to salvation These qualities have characterized this country s faith ever since the Founders separated church and state creating a religious free market defined by entrepreneurship choice and personal revelation As market forces reshape the world the tools and ideals of American evangelism are now spreading everywhere The global rise of faith will have a dramatic and far- reaching impact on our century Indeed its destabilizing effects can already be seen far from Iraq or the World Trade Center Religion plays a role in civil wars from Sri Lanka to Sudan Along the tenth parallel from West Africa to the Philippines religious fervor and political unrest are reinforcing each other God Is Backconcludes by showing how the same American ideas that created our unique religious style can be applied around the globe to channel the rising tide of faith away from volatility and violence