God is back

The title may make it sound like a argument for faith-based politics or a breathless refutation of neo-atheism, but it is neither. In God is Back, former Economist journalists John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, show that, contrary to the expectation of liberal seularism, the world is a very religious place, and it’s getting more religious. And contrary to Dawkins and Hitchens, religion doesn’t “poison everything”. Rather, on almost every measure, societies and individuals do better when they are underpinned by a strong religious ethic.

What’s interesting is that neither Micklethwaite or Wooldridge are especially religious themselves, nor do they uncritically accept religious assumptions. They recognise that religion is not always a force for good, especially when coupled with the power of the state. But, with thorough research and analysis, they argue that God is alive and healthy in the twenty-first century, and that’s not such a bad thing.

The Australian carried an interesting excerpt from God is Back a few weeks ago. Read it here.