Phil Zuckerman

  • Professor of Secular Studies and Sociology
  • Secular Studies and Sociology Field Groups
portrait of Phil Zuckerman
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,â€� 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,â€� 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.â€� (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.