Tag Archives: Secularism

America’s Religious Revenge: Or, What We’re Doing Wrong

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Rayan Zehn

I’ve been arguing for years that as the US shifts more towards secular policies, displacing historically sacred values, and as the religious population in the US slowly dwindles, a religious (namely, Christian) reaction will most likely occur. Well, we’ve entered … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Secular Health in US Probably on the Rise, Despite Evangelical Revival

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Rayan Zehn

When we examine the US’s sociopolitical climate it is very tempting to believe reactionary evangelicalism is a growing trend. Once thought critically endangered, evangelical politics appears to be gaining support. More importantly, it appears to be a driving force. When … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Science | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Rise of Secularism and the Fall of Christianity: Google Books N-Gram Analysis

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

Google Books’ Ngram allows users to search for the frequency of terms appearing in books in Google’s database of printed material. The results show how often those terms have appeared in print over the years. Today I was messing around … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

True Believers, Religion, Politics, and Willingness to Die

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

I’m currently working on some rather cool simulations, attempting to determine the conditions sufficient to cause mass rebellious movements, where being killed by your own government is preferable to living in the status quo. I’m referring to armed insurrection with … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Benefits of Changing Religions in the US? (SS#17)

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

In the June 2015 edition of Social Currents, Jennifer L. Glass (et al) published “Leaving the Faith: How Religious Switching Changes Pathways to Adulthood among Conservative Protestant Youth.” Glass and her team—after reviewing the literature—noticed an interesting trend; white conservative Protestants “experience … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Sundays | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Lost Causes: The Downside of Secularization

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

A few years ago I was on a board of directors for a non-profit organization that works for the repeal of capital punishment in my state. Last night I attended a member’s meeting for the organization to discuss the current … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

How Did Christianity Become Secularized?

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

The title here, which remains an unanswered question, might make a lot of people uncomfortable. Some Christians might shun the idea of their religion being secular, and others, particularly non-Christians, might scoff at the idea — Christianity in the US is … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Trusting Atheists: Remember Kids, the Police Exist (SS#4)

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

There’s a general consensus that atheists are to be distrusted. Without belief of an all powerful being who ultimately serves as a judge, jury, and executioner for all of our earthly transgressions, who’s to say atheists aren’t breaking any and … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Sundays | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why Secularism Is Important (a video on international politics)

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

It’s been a while since I’ve made a video. It might be dry for some, but isn’t politics always dry? In this video I make an academic argument, with illustrations, why secularism is important. The examples I use come from … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Science | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sacred and Secular

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Rayan Zehn

Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide by Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris (2004) is an empirical study into the postmodern society, which sounds like an oxymoron; however, postmodernism as a field is too vast, by definition, to result in useful knowledge. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment