Contrasting irreligious orientation: atheism and secularity in the USA and Scandinavia

Authors

• Phil Zuckerman Pitzer College

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.67488

Keywords:

Atheism, Secularism, Irreligion, United States, Scandinavia, Apostasy, Religious change, Agnosticism

Abstract

Atheism and secularity are not static, fixed orientations. Rather, atheism and secularity are contoured, malleable, and deeply shaped by cultural and social forces. A clear example of the degree to which atheism and secularity can be lived and expressed quite differently in different socio-cultural locations is revealed by comparing and contrasting the ways in which they are manifested in the United States and Scandinavia.