Phil Zuckerman
- Professor of Secular Studies and Sociology
- Secular Studies and Sociology Field Groups
- Phone
- (909) 607-4495
- Office Location
Scott Hall 211
With ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ Since: 1998
Curriculum Vitae [PDF]
News Stories
BA, MA, PhD, University of Oregon
Secularity, Atheism, Apostasy, and Scandinavian Culture
- Secularism: Local/Global (SOC80)
- Sociology and Its View of the World (SOC01)
- Sociology Through Film (SOC81)
- Classical Sociological Theory (SOC110)
- Sociology of Religion (SOC114)
- Scandinavian Culture and Society (SOC79)
- Secularism, Skepticism, and Irreligion (SOC165)
Books
, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2026.
, NYU Press, 2023.
, Counterpoint Press, 2019.
The Oxford Handbook of Secularism (with John Shook), Oxford University Press, 2017, was published
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Living the Secular Life. New York: Penguin Press, 2014.
Invitation to the Sociology of Religion (Chinese translation). Beijing, China: Peking University Press, 2013.
Society without God (Italian translation). Catania, Italy: Malcor D’Edizione, 2013.
Society without God (Korean translation). Seoul, Korea: Maumsanchaek, 2013.
Studying Religion and Society: Sociological Self-Portraits. London, UK: Routledge, 2013. Co-edited with Titus Hjlem.
Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Atheism and Secularity. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2010.
Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ Contentment. New York: New York University Press, 2008.
Invitation to the Sociology of Religion. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Articles and Book Chapters
“Bringing up Nones: Intergenerational Influences and Cohort Trends,� with Vern Bengtson and David Hayward. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2018: 1-18.
“Are Human Beings Naturally Religious? A Response to Christian Smith,� in Homo Religious? Edited by Timothy Samuel Shah and Jack Friedman, Cambridge University Press, 2018.
“The Trump Administration’s Alternative Christianity,� Los Angeles Times August 11, 2017
“Secularism and Social Progress,� Free Inquiry, April/May 2016 was voted as Winner of the Selma V. Forkosch Best Article of 2016 Award
“Atheism, Secularity and Well-Being,� Sociology Compass, vol.3, no.6 (December 2009).
“Why Are Danes and Swedes So Irreligious?� Nordic Journal of Religion and Society, vol. 22, no.1 (2009).
“A·É±ð¾±²õ³¾,â€� Free Inquiry, vol.29, no.3 (2009).
Recent Conference Presentations, Invited Talks and Commentary
“Religious vs. Secular Approached to Morality in the Age of Trump,� Jefferson Center, Ashland, Oregon, March 13, 2017
“What is Secular Studies?� University of Köln, January 10, 2017
““, Oct. 23, 2013
“Secular Life in America,� Georgetown University, Washington D.C, Feb. 21, 2013
“The Rise of Irreligion in Europe and the USA: Causes and Consequences,� St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Palm Desert, CA, Jan. 25, 2013
“What is Secular Studies?� Santa Barbara Humanists Association, Oct. 20, 2012
Professor Zuckerman’s contributions to “The Blog� the Huffington Post include “Taxes, Unions, and Healthcare—Oh, My!� (November 13, 2012) and “One Nation under God—Not!� (September 6, 2012).
“Obama’s Battle for Ohio’s Atheist Vote,� Op-Ed, Bloomberg View, Oct. 17, 2012
“Goodness and Godlessness� University Synagogue, Irvine, CA, May 25, 2012
“Secular Studies� Orange Country Freethought Alliance Annual Meeting, UC Irvine, May 20, 2012.
“Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion,� West Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers, Grand Junction, Colorado, March 25, 2012.
“Faith No More: Contemporary Apostasy in America� Center for Inquiry, Washington, D.C., Feb. 10, 2012
“Are We Naturally Religious? A Response to Christian Smith,� Religion, Human Personhood, Culture, and Society Seminar, Georgetown University, Feb. 10, 2012
“What We Know ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ Atheists and Secular People: A Social Science Perspective,â€� Ã…bo Academie, Turku, Finland, Jan. 19, 2012
Studying Religion and Society, (co-editor, with Titus Hjlem), Routledge, 2012.
“Contrasting Irreligious Orientations: Atheism and Secularity in the USA and Scandinavia,� Approaching Religion, v.2, n.1, June, 2012.
“Deviant Heroes: Nonconformists as Agents of Justice and Social Change.� (with Brian Wolf), Deviant Behavior 33:639-654, 2012)
Professor Zuckerman authored several op-ed pieces, including “Why Do Americans Still Dislike Atheists?� in the Washington Post, April 30, 2011; “Majoring in Secular Studies� in The Guardian, May 13, 2011; and “Why Evangelicals hate Jesus� in the Huffington Post, March 3, 2011.
“The Rise of Irreligion: Causes and Consequences,� Unitarian Universalist Community Church, Santa Monica, CA, Nov. 27, 2011
“A·É±ð¾±²õ³¾,â€� Adat Chaverim, Brentwood, CA, Oct. 8, 2011
“Contemporary Apostasy,� invited lecture, Reed College, Portland, OR, April 22, 2011.
“Religion and Irreligion in Contemporary Scandinavia,� invited lecture, Bethania Lutheran Church, Solvang, CA, March 26, 2011.
“Religion and Irreligion in Denmark,� invited lecture, Folkeuniversitet, Copenhagen, Denmark, March 13, 2011.
“Society Without God,� invited lecture, Jefferson Center, Ashland, OR, February, 17, 2011.
“Contemporary Apostasy,� invited lecture, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 26, 2010.
“Religion and Irreligion in Denmark,� invited lecture, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark, September 27, 2010.
“Secularity and Society,� presented at the Orange County Free-thought Alliance Conference, Costa Mesa, CA, May 8, 2010.
“Society Without God,� presented at the Humanist Association of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, CA, April 11, 2010, and at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, April 17, 2010.
“Islam, Immigration, and Irreligion,� Travel/Research Grant, European Union Center of California, 2010.