Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, edited by Tom Flynn. 897p. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2007. 978-1-59102-391-3; 2006-12121. $199.

New Encyclopedia of Unbelief With its high degree of religiosity, the United States has long been something of an aberration among developed countries. Demonstrating the separation of church and state, many western European nations have frequently elected officials who openly rejected religion. Yet, most Americans still say they would not vote for an individual who did not believe in God. This past year, non-believers pressed presidential candidates to acknowledge that those lacking religious beliefs possessed the same constitutional rights as believers. The surprisingly evasive and grudging responses of certain candidates clearly illustrated the point the activists were trying to make: the candidates and many Americans were not treating non-believers as equals. In 2007, 6 percent of respondents to a Gallup poll were willing to admit that they did not believe in God. Small though that number may be, it was triple the 2 percent figure that answered likewise in 2001. This 200 percent increase makes non-believers one of the fastest-growing minorities in the United States. While 86 of Americans still profess a belief in a higher power, active participation in organized churches, particularly the formerly dominant mainline Protestant churches, is dwindling. Concurrent with an increasing diversity of faith, a questioning attitude with regard to religion is growing in the United States. Like its predecessor, Gordon Stein's Encyclopedia of Unbelief (Prometheus Books, 1985), this all new encyclopedia encompasses a wide range of religious skepticism. Over 500 expert written entries examine every aspect of agnosticism, atheism, and secular humanism as well as ancient antecedents, dissenting medieval movements, and modern challenges to prevailing views on religion. Selected regional surveys of unbelief explore cultural differences in the acceptance of religion, particularly Christianity, in different parts of the world. Closer examinations are made of the historical representation of unbelief in the literature of specific countries. Numerous biographies and essays on the Enlightenment, humanism, feminism, Marxism, popular suffrage and related movements help place modern unbelief in its historical context. Arguments for and against the existence of God, religion, reincarnation, resurrection, immortality and other key religious concepts are discussed in detail. So too are philosophical questions of ethics and morality. In comparison to Stein's work, the present encyclopedia provides considerable detail about the organization of unbelievers in the past 30 years. That this survey tends to emphasize the more activist type of unbelievers is not surprising. Other differences from the earlier work reflect recent world changes. With the fall of communism, there is little Marxist philosophy represented in the arguments presented in the articles. On the other hand, several entries respond to the growth of evangelical and fundamental forms of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. In sum, the result is a tool that serves as an excellent introduction to the state of unbelief in the world today, as well as a historical survey of its development. This essential guide is highly recommended for academic and public libraries.

— John Lawrence