Philip Joseph Zuckerman is asociologist andprofessor of sociology and secular studies atPitzer College inClaremont, California.[2][3] He specializes in the sociology of substantialsecularity and is the author of eight books, includingBeyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society (2023)What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life (2019).
Zuckerman is a professor of sociology and secular studies atPitzer College in Claremont, California.[7] He is also an affiliated adjunct professor atClaremont Graduate University.[8] He was a guest professor atAarhus University inDenmark in 2006 and 2010.[9] He serves as the special series editor of the Secular Studies book series published by NYU Press.[10] He is the Executive Director of Humanist Global Charity, formerly known as Brighter Brains Institute,[11] which works in 51 nations to fund secular education, humanist students, women's collectives, orphans, helplines, and offers internships in Africa and India Development.[12][11] Zuckerman is on the editorial board ofSecularism and Nonreligion and is a convener of theNon-religion and Secularity Research Network Conference.[13] He is also on the editorial board for the journalSecular Studies.[14]
Zuckerman is research editor and a contributing writer at OnlySky, an online platform "dedicated to protecting America’s secular democracy through reality-based journalism, storytelling, and commentary."[15][16]
Phil Zuckerman's analysis finds differing levels of atheists and agnostics in countries around the world[17]
Phil Zuckerman is the author of seven books, includingThe Nonreligious[18], co-authored with Luke Galen and Frank Pasquale;Living the Secular Life;[19]Faith No More;[20]Society without God;[21]Invitation to the Sociology of Religion;[22]What it Means to be Moral;[23] andStrife in the Sanctuary.[24] His works have been translated into six languages, includingPersian, Korean and Turkish.[25]
Phil Zuckerman's 2008 bookSociety without God notes that Denmark andSweden, "probably the least religious countries in the world, and possibly in the history of the world", enjoy "among the lowest violent crime rates in the world [and] the lowest levels of corruption in the world".[26] Zuckerman identifies that Scandinavians have "relatively high rates of petty crime and burglary", but "their overall rates of violent crime—such as murder, aggravated assault, and rape—are among the lowest on earth".[27] In 2009,New York Times columnistPeter Steinfels commented thatSociety Without God provides evidence that an irreligious society can flourish.[28]Society Without God won the silver prize inForeword magazine's religion book of 2008,[29] and was featured inThe New York Times.[30]
Zuckerman'sLiving the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions was released in 2014 and reviewed inThe New York Times by Susan Jacoby.[31]Living the Secular Life was designated a "Best Book of 2014" byPublishers Weekly[32] and was featured in a commentary byNew York Times columnist David Brooks.[33]
Zuckerman has said that 20 percent of the United States are irreligious and 30 percent of citizens under 30 are.[34] Zuckerman has commented that religion is often conflated with patriotism in the United States.[35] He has stated that while "he applauds the passion and purpose" ofAmerican Atheists, they are a minority, as the majority of atheists in America "are not angry, do not hate religion and do not need a forum to vent".[36]
Zuckerman has found that murder rates in Scandinavian countries lowered after abolishing thedeath penalty, and has opposed the use in the United States.[37]
Zuckerman has found that the religiously unaffiliated tend to be more inclined toprogressive politics, and the decline in Protestant Christianity in America is a blow to conservative causes.[38] Zuckerman has commented on the rise of "Jews of no religion", people who identify as being wholly or partially Jewish while having no religion.[39] Zuckerman commented that growing atheist movements in the United States were a response to the impact of theChristian right.[40]
In 2023 he was invited to participate in an Oxford Union debate. He addressed the proposition "This House Believes that God is a Delusion." He suggests that there is no satisfactory single definition of God and asks why any God would oversee a world in which more secular countries enjoy a better standard of living than devout countries.[41]
In 2011 he founded and currently chairs the secular studies program at Pitzer.[42] When the secular studies program was announced, theInstitute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture atTrinity College noted it was the first program to offer a degree in secular studies.[43] The program lets students major in secular studies, including in a core course "Sociology of Secularity".[44][45] The first student to graduate from Pitzer College with a degree in secular studies was the first student in the United States with such a major.[46]
Zuckerman, Phil; Kasselstrand, Isabella and Ryan T. Cragun (2023).Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society. New York University Press. ISBN 978-1479814282.
Zuckerman, Phil (2019).What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life. Berkeley: Counterpoint Press.ISBN978-1640092747.
Zuckerman, Phil (2016).The Nonreligious: Understanding Secular People and Societies. London: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780199924943.
Zuckerman, Phil (2014).Living the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions. London: Penguin Press.ISBN9781594205088.
Zuckerman, Phil (2011).Faith no more : why people reject religion. New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780199740017.
Zuckerman, Phil (2010).Atheism and secularity. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger.ISBN9780313351815.
Zuckerman, Phil (2008).Society without God : what the least religious nations can tell us about contentment. New York: New York University Press.ISBN9780814797143.
Manning, Christel; Zuckerman, Phil (2005).Sex and religion. Belmont, California: Thomson Wadsworth.ISBN9780534524937.
Zuckerman, Phil (2003).Invitation to the Sociology of Religion. New York & London: Routledge.ISBN9780415941266.
^Zuckerman, Philip (1998).Opposite Sides of the Street: Religious Schism and One Jewish Community's Struggle (PhD dissertation). Eugene, Oregon: University of Oregon.OCLC39738985.
^Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns, in: Michael Martin (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press 2007
^Zuckerman, Phil; Galen, Luke W.; Pasquale, Frank L. (2016-03-01).The Nonreligious: Understanding Secular People and Societies (1 ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780199924943.
^Zuckerman, Phil (2015-10-27).Living the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions (Reprint ed.). Penguin Books.ISBN9780143127932.
^Zuckerman, Phil (2015-06-01).Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion (Reprint ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780190248840.
^Zuckerman, Phil (2010-06-07).Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment. New York; Chesham: NYU Press.ISBN9780814797235.
^Zuckerman, Phil (2003-07-26).Invitation to the Sociology of Religion (1 ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.ISBN9780415941266.
^Zuckerman, Phil (October 2008).Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment. New York: New York University Press. p. 2.ISBN978-0-8147-9714-3. Zuckerman's work is based on his studies conducted during a 14-month period in Scandinavia in 2005–2006.
