Rodney Stark is the distinguished professor of the social sciences
and codirector of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor
University. He also is an honorary professor of sociology at Peking
University in Beijing, China. He was previously professor of
sociology and of comparative religion at the University of
Washington, and a research sociologist at the University of
California, Berkeley. His PhD is from UC, Berkeley. Many of his
previous books have won national and international awards, and many
have been translated into a total of seventeen foreign
languages.
Rodney Stark is the distinguished professor of the social sciences
and codirector of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor
University. He also is an honorary professor of sociology at Peking
University in Beijing, China. He was previously professor of
sociology and of comparative religion at the University of
Washington, and a research sociologist at the University of
California, Berkeley. His PhD is from UC, Berkeley. Many of his
previous books have won national and international awards, and many
have been translated into a total of seventeen foreign languages.
"Religion is alive and well across the globe, and Why
God? presented an excellent theory as to how and why religious
belief is an enduring aspect of human life. In the book, Stark
suggested that his ideas are a sociological theory of religion, and
he encouraged further research to prove him wrong and develop an
even more nuanced understanding of religion. . . . As long as
humans have hearts to demand moral goodness and minds to wonder at
the universe, they will also have a need for God, Stark suggested.
Religion, it seems, is as unavoidable as death and taxes." --Tyler
O'Neil, PJ Media"Sociologist of religion Rodney Stark offers a
sympathetic explanation of why people might come to believe in God
that is refreshingly free of jargon and a corrective to more
hostile accounts of belief, and which will still illuminate much
for those of us within the walls of churches." --Nick Mattiske,
Journey"Impressively informed and informative, thoughtful and
thought-provoking, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization
and presentation, Why God?: Explaining Religious Phenomena is an
exceptional work of outstanding scholarship that will have
particular interest and relevance for clergy, academics, and
non-specialist general readers with an interest in religion, belief
systems, and faith-based relationships as a part of the human
experience. While very highly recommended for personal, community
and academic library Religion/Spirituality collections and
supplemental studies lists, it should be noted that Why God? is
also available in a Kindle format." --John Burroughs, Midwest Book
Review
"Starks book is worth reading. . . There is plenty of helpful
information and food for thought in here." --Nick Peters, Deep
Waters
08/03/2017 "An informed and informative, thoughtful and
thought-provoking guide for anyone who wants a thorough
understanding of religion and our relationship to it, as well as a
firm refutation to those who think religion can exist without the
divine, will find "Why God?" to be an absorbing read from beginning
to end. A masterpiece of seminal scholarship" -- Able Greenspan.
Midwest Book Review
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