"Secularization has accelerated. From 1981 to 2007, most countries became more religious, but from 2007 to 2020, the overwhelming majority became less religious. For centuries, all major religions encouraged norms that limit women to producing as many children as possible and discourage any sexual b ... ehavior not linked with reproduction. These norms were needed when facing high infant mortality and low life expectancy but require suppressing strong drives, and are rapidly eroding. These norms are so strongly linked with religion that abandoning them undermines religiosity. Religion became pervasive because it was conducive to survival, encouraged sharing when there was no social security system, and it is conducive to mental health and coping with insecure conditions. People need coherent belief systems, but religion is declining. What comes next? The Nordic countries have consistently been at the cutting edge of cultural change. Protestantism left an enduring imprint, but the 20th Century welfare added universal health coverage, high levels of state support for education, welfare spending, child care, pensions and an ethos of social solidarity. These countries are also characterized by rapidly declining religiosity. Does this portend corruption and nihilism? Apparently not. These countries lead the world on numerous indicators of a well-functioning society, including economic equality, gender equality, low homicide rates, subjective well-being, environmental protection and democracy. They have become less religious, but their people have high levels of interpersonal trust, tolerance, honesty, social solidarity and commitment to democratic norms." (Publisher description) more

"We have argued throughout this book that the various versions of the cultural convergence thesis are deeply flawed, whether one has in mind the ‘media imperialism’ argument that was fashionable during the 1970s, the ‘Coca-colonization’ claim that was popular during the 1990s, or contemporar ... y approaches advocating ‘cultural protectionism.’ The convergence thesis rests on the premise that repeated exposure to the ideas and images transmitted by CNN International, MTV, and Hollywood will gradually undermine indigenous values and norms. Consequently, many deeply conservative cultures fear that opening the floodgates to the American or Western media will erode faith in religion, respect for marriage and the family, and deference toward traditional sources of authority. But earlier chapters demonstrated how lack of access to globalized mass communications persists in many poor nations, limiting the diffusion of Western ideas and images. This book has documented the existence of multiple firewalls that prevent the mass media from penetrating parochial societies and thus influencing the culture in these places." (Page 261) more