God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World Hardcover - 2009 - 1st Edition

by John Micklethwait; Adrian Wooldridge

Two Economist writers show how and why religion is booming aroundthe world and reveal its vast effects on the global economy, politics,and more

On the street and in the corridors of power, religionis surging worldwide. From Russia to Turkey to India, nationsthat swore off faith in the last century or even tried to stampit out are now run by avowedly religious leaders. Formerlysecular conflicts like the one in Palestine have taken on anovertly religious cast. God Is Back shines a bright light on thishidden world of faith, from exorcisms in São Paulo to religiousskirmishing in Nigeria, to televangelism in California andhouse churches in China.

Since the Enlightenment, intellectuals have assumedthat modernization would kill religion and that religiousAmerica is an oddity. As God Is Back argues, religion andmodernity can thrive together, and America is becoming thenorm. Many things helped spark the global revival of religion,including the failure of communism and the rise of globalism.But, above all, twenty-first century religion is being fueled bya very American emphasis on competition and a customer-drivenapproach to salvation. These qualities have characterizedthis country's faith ever since the Founders separatedchurch and state, creating a religious free market defined byentrepreneurship, choice, and personal revelation. As marketforces reshape the world, the tools and ideals of Americanevangelism are now spreading everywhere.

The global rise of faith will have a dramatic and far-reachingimpact on our century. Indeed, its destabilizing effectscan already be seen far from Iraq or the World Trade Center.Religion plays a role in civil wars from Sri Lanka to Sudan.Along the tenth parallel, from West Africa to the Philippines,religious fervor and political unrest are reinforcing each other.God Is Back concludes by showing how the same Americanideas that created our unique religious style can be appliedaround the globe to channel the rising tide of faith away fromvolatility and violence.