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Recent Books 
Reformation Myths
Five Centuries of Misconceptions and (Some) Misfortunes
Rodney Stark
SPCK August 17, 2017
Introduction: The mythical “Protestant”
1. The myths of full pews, pious kings, and limited monarchies
2. The misfortune of state churches, forced piety, and bigotry
3. The misfortune of nationalistic states
4. The myth of the Protestant Ethic |
5. The myth of the Protestant scientific ‘revolution’
6. The myth of Protestant individualism and suicide
7. The myth of Protestant secularization
8. The myth of harmful Protestant effects on the Catholic Church
Conclusion |
Why God?
Explaining Religious Phenomena
Rodney Stark
Templeton Press, April 2017
Introduction: Ungodly “Theories” and Scurrilous Metaphors
1. The Elements of Faith
2. Monotheism and Morality
3. Religious Experiences, Miracles, and Revelations
4. The Rise and Fall of Religious Movements |
5. Church and Sect: Religious Group Dynamics
6. Ecclesiastical Influences
7. Religious Hostility and Civility
8. Individual Causes and Consequences of Religiousness
9. Meaning and Metaphysics
Appendix: Propositions, Definitions, and Deductions |
Bearing False Witness
Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History
Rodney Stark
Templeton Press, May 2016
Introduction: Confronting Distinguished Bigots
1. Sins of Anti-Semitism
2. The Suppressed Gospels
3. Persecuting the Tolerant Pagans
4. Imposing the Dark Ages
5. Crusading for Land, Loot, and Converts |
6. Monsters of the Inquisition
7. Scientific Heresies
8. Blessed Be Slavery
9. Holy Authoritarianism
10. Protestant Modernity
Postscript |
The Triumph of Faith
Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever
Rodney Stark
Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2015
Introduction: Confounding the Secularization
Faithful
Chapter 1: A Global Portrait of Faith
Chapter 2: Europe: The Grand Illusions
Chapter 3: The Churching of Latin America
Chapter 4: Islam Intensified
Chapter 5: Sub-Saharan African Piety
Chapter 6: The “Unchurched” Japanese |
Chapter 7: Converting China
Chapter 8: Faith in the “Four Asian Tigers”
Chapter 9: The Hindu Revival
Chapter 10: Religious America
Conclusion: Why Faith Endures
Notes
Bibliography
Index |
A Star in the East
The Rise of Christianity in China
Rodney Stark and Xiuhua Wang
Templeton Press, 2015
Preface
Chapter 1: The New Religious Awakening in China
Chapter 2: Christian Missions to China: 1860–1950
Chapter 3: Repression and Christian Resistance
Chapter 4: Converting the Educate
Chapter 5: Converting Rural China
Chapter 6: Future Prospects and Consequences
Notes
Bibliography
Index |
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Religious Hostility
A Global Assessment of Hatred and Terror
Rodney Stark and Katie E. Corcoran
ISR Books, 2014
Introduction: The New Religious Wars
I. Faiths on Earth
II. Religious Atrocities
III. Religious Hostility
IV. Conflicts of Irreligion
V. Embracing Religious Extremism |
VI. Religious Repression
VII. Religious Refugees
VIII. True Faiths and Civility
Endnotes
Index
Bibliography |
How the West Won
The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity
Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Feb 2014
Introduction
I. Classical Beginnings (500 BCE-500)
1. Stagnant Empires and the Greek ‘Miracle’
2. Jerusalem’s Rational God
3. The Roman Interlude
II. Early Medieval Progress (500-1200)
4. Blessings of ‘European’ Disunity
5. Northern Lights Over Christendom
6. Freedom and Capitalism
III. Medieval Transformations (1200-1500)
7. Climate, Plague and Social Change
8. Universities and Natural Philosophy
9. Industry, Trade, and Technology
10. Discovering the World |
IV. The Dawn of Modernity (1500-1750)
11. New World Conquests and Colonies
12. The Rise and Fall of the Golden Empire
13. Luther’s Reformation: Myths and Realities
14. Exposing Muslim Illusions
15. Science Comes of Age
V. Modernity (1750- )
16. The Industrial ‘Revolution’
17. Why Britain? Liberty, Merit and the ‘Bourgeois’
18. Globalization and Colonialism
Bibliography |
America’s Blessings
How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists
Templeton Press, 2012
1: Creating Religious America
2: Crime and Prosocial Behavior
3: Fertility and Family
4: Sexuality
5: Mental and Physical Health
6: Generous Citizenship |
7: Achievement and Success
8: Intellectual Life
Conclusion: Counting Our Blessings
Notes
Bibliography
Index |
The Triumph of Christianity
How The Jesus Movement Became The World’s Largest Religion
HarperOne, 2011
Introduction
Part One: Christmas Eve
1. The Religious Context
2. Many Judaisms
Part Two: Christianizing the Empire
3. Jesus and the Jesus Movement
4. Missions to the Jews and the Gentiles
5. Christianity and Priviledge
6. Misery and Mercy
7. Appeals to Women
8. Persecution and Commitment
9. Assessing Christian Growth |
Part Three: Consolidating Christian Europe
10. Constantine’s Very Mixed Blessings
11. The Demise of Paganism
12. Islam and the Destruction of Eastern and North African Christianity
13. Europe Responds: The Case for the Crusades
Part Four: Medieval Currents
14. The “Dark Ages” and Other Mythical Eras
15. The People’s Religion
16. Faith and the Scientific “Revolution” |
Part Five: Christianity Divided
17. Two “Churches” and the Challenge of Heresy
18. Luther’s Reformation
19. The Shocking Truth About the Spanish Inquisition
Part Six: New Worlds and Christian Growth
20. Pluralism and American Piety
21. Secularization: Facts and Fantasies
22. Globalization
Conclusion
Bibliography | Notes | Index |
God’s Battalions
The Case for the Crusades
HarperOne, 2009
Introduction: Greedy Barbarians in Armor?
1. Muslim Invaders
2. Christendom Strikes Back
3. Western Ignorance Versus Eastern “Culture”
4. Pilgrimage and Persecution
5. Enlisting Crusaders
6. Going East |
7. Bloody Victories
8. The Crusader Kingdoms
9. The Struggle to Defend the Kingdoms
10. Crusades Against Egypt
Conclusion: Mission Abandoned
Bibliography
Index |
Discovering God
The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief
HarperOne, 2007
Introduction: Revelation and Cultural Evolution
1. Gods in Primitive Societies
2. Temple Religions of Ancient Civilizations
3. Rome: An Ancient Religious Marketplace
4. The ‘Rebirth’ of Monotheism
5. Indian Inspirations
6. Chinese Gods and ‘Godless’ Faiths |
7. The Rise of Christianity
8. Islam: God and State
9. Conclusion: Discovering God?
Bibliography
Index |
Cities of God
The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome
HarperSanFrancisco, 2006
1. Missions and Methods
2. The Urban Empire
3. Christianization
4. Cybele and Isis: ‘Oriental’ Forerunners
5. Paul and the Mission to the Hellenized Jews
6. Gnosticism and Heresy
7. The Last Days of Paganism
Conclusion: Why Historians Should Count |
Acknowledgements
Statistical Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index |
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The Victory of Reason:
How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success
Random House, 2005
Spanish, Italian, Chinese, French, Portuguese, German and Korean translations
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The Rise of Mormonism
Edited by Reid L. Neilson
Columbia University Press, 2005
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Exploring The Religious Life
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004
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For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery.
Princeton University Press, 2003
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One True God: Historical Consequence of Monotheism.
Princeton University Press, 2001
Indonesian, Turkish and French translations
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Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion.
With Roger Finke
University of California Press, 2000
Chinese translation
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The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History.
Princeton University Press, 1996
German, Dutch, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese, Italian, Korean, Japanese and Chinese translations.
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