In the Middle East, powerful forms of Islam are growing in popularity and becoming increasingly active in politics. From Brazil to El Salvador, Protestant Evangelicalism spread with great success, instilling spiritual and sacred passion throughout Latin America. Pentecostalism is also growing”great”and not only throughout Latin America, but also in Africa and even China. In the Philippines, tens of thousands of people surrendered to new religious movements such as El Shaddai. Many countries of the former Soviet Union, which have adhered to atheism for decades, have emerged with faith that is not only intact, but also strong and passionate. Even in Canada, a country barely known for its religious vitality, there is evidence of a revival of spirituality and religion.
In the midst of vibrant global piety, on a vast sea of sacredness, Denmark and Sweden float like small boats of surviving secular life, in which most people are not religious and do not worship Jesus or Vishnu, do not worship the scriptures holy, do not worship, and do not believe in the essential dogma of the world’s major religions. The people in it show that God’s worship can weaken, prayer can stop, and the Gospel can go unlearned, but humans can still treat others politely, schools and hospitals can still run smoothly, crime can remain minimal, babies and the elderly can receive all the care and attention they need, the economy can develop, pollution can remain minimized, ticket fines can be paid, and children can be loved in a safe and warm home.
This book explores in more depth and attempts to explain how and why certain societies are not religious in today’s deeply religious world.