Review
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Title: Living the Secular Life: New Answers To Old Questions
Author: Phil Zuckerman
Publisher: Penguin Press
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2014 (due for release December 8)
Number of Pages: 288
Binding: Hard cover
ISBN10: 1594205086
ISBN13: 978-1594205088
Price: $25.95
Reviewed by Richard Packham for the Association for Mormon Letters
[This review is based on pre-publication uncorrected proof sheets.]
Those of us who follow developments in the world of Mormonism have seen the efforts of the church in the last couple of years to help non-Mormons see members of the LDS church in a more attractive light. The “I am a Mormon” YouTube campaign, the similar billboard campaign in the UK, and the very recent release in theaters of the full-length documentary “Meet The Mormons” are all examples. These campaigns seem to be based on a perception by church leaders and their public relations advisers that the world at large views Mormons unfavorably, as “weird” or even “cult-like.” The long-favored Mormon mantra from my own childhood that proudly proclaimed, “We are a peculiar people,” has now been replaced by the claim that “We’re ordinary folks, just like you!”
What does this have to do with the book under review here? Reading this book I was continually struck by the similarities between the message of this book and the message of the Mormon advertising campaigns. This book serves for the secular population the same purpose as the Mormon PR efforts: the message is: “We non-believers are ordinary folks, just like you!”
“Secular” is used in this book to include all those who have no belief in God or gods or who are unaffiliated with any church or religion. The term includes, for purposes of the author, those who are usually labeled atheist, agnostic, humanist, secularist, or free-thinker. These are the people who responded in a nation-wide survey of American religious affiliations and beliefs that they had “none.”
Why, you may ask, is such a message needed on behalf of secularists? Like Mormons, secularists are a minority of the U.S. population. But whereas Mormons make up less than two percent of the population, a figure that seems not to have changed much in the last 20 or 30 years, the “nones” make up one of the fastest-growing sectors in such surveys, increasing from around 5% a few decades ago to around 20% today. And among the younger generation the percentage is even larger and growing faster.
So what’s the problem? Unlike Mormons, who play an active role in the political life of the nation, with a Mormon coming close to winning the presidency in 2012, and with seven percent of the members of Congress being Mormon (remember: less than 2% of the population is LDS), secularists have almost no chance of getting elected to any public office, according to surveys. Voters have consistently said they would rather vote for an adulterer or a Muslim than an atheist. Former President Bush (the elder) asserted that atheists should not be considered patriotic citizens. Atheists cannot live a moral life, according to 53% of the American public. This in spite of the fact that less than one percent of America’s prison population is non-religious.
The author summarizes this situation with authority. He is a professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and has spent many years studying and writing about secularists in America and other countries. His previous books include “Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion” (2011) and “Society Without God” (2008). His present book is not just a dry recounting of survey results and statistics, but includes dozens of detailed interviews and life stories of ordinary contemporary secularists.
Unlike most religious groups, whose members share a large body of common beliefs and attitudes, the “nones” have only one characteristic in common: nonbelief or simple lack of interest in any form of religion. They are extremely diverse. Some of them may share some beliefs (such as a more liberal political attitude, or a belief that death is the end of personal existence), but none of those apply to all secularists. There is no “atheist creed” or doctrinal board. Labeling someone as atheist or secularist says absolutely nothing else about what that person believes or does.
A large part of the book is made up of personal accounts of secularists of various kinds. Some of the stories are sad, primarily because of the persecution suffered from believers, and some are uplifting and inspiring. All show that lack of religion does not automatically lead to unhappiness, cynicism, immorality, or lack of human kindness. On the contrary, one gets the impression that lack of religion can lead to a greater appreciation for life, for one’s fellow humans, for a desire to “do good.”
The author provides statistics showing that those nations and those American states whose populations are more secular have a much lower incidence of societal problems such as murder, crime, child abuse, teen pregnancy, abortion, drug abuse, illiteracy, etc., whereas those countries and states that are most religious seem not to be protected from such ills by their greater religiosity. He does not claim a cause-and-effect relationship; only that such figures belie the claims of religionists that religion leads to better societies and better people.
Unlike some recently popular “new atheist” authors, Zuckerman is not an advocate of doing away with religion. He acknowledges that religion is a help and a comfort to many people, thus serving a useful purpose in society. He claims that his own personal views are based on a common secular attitude of awe at the beauties and complexities of life and the universe, and says that rather than using terms like “secularist,” “atheist,” “agnostic,” etc., he calls himself an “aweist.”
From his experiences and those of others he has interviewed, he offers suggestions for how other secularists can deal with their being a sometimes maligned and even persecuted minority. Especially when raising children, who are often subjected to taunts from other children telling them that they are “going to hell,” a non-believing parent needs advice and support. One mother took her children out of school for that reason, but then was ostracized by other home-school parents, because she was not Christian, like them. Zuckerman advises secularists to come out of the closet and allow believers to see that non-believers can be (and are) good neighbors, good citizens, and good friends.
Religionists who have a negative or even fearful attitude toward non-believers should read this book for an introduction to the lives of some representative every-day atheists. And secular people who feel isolated and shunned, or who are afraid to come out of the secular closet, may see from this book that they are not alone, but part of a growing and vibrant segment of society.
Interesting review. Among the various high-quality friends my older son found in high school (in western Wisconsin) were several who did not have any religious faith, as well as some who had such belief.
I think that for young Mormon growing up in parts of the United States and the world as a whole that are not overwhelmingly religious, the basic message of this book is one they already know. It’s important that the rhetoric we use as Mormon acknowledge that there are, indeed atheists, agnostics, and others who can be and often are highly moral people and worthwhile friends.