Mass attachment to religion is rapidly declining in most of the world; Why, and What comes next? The world is becoming less religious. Since 2007, there has been a pervasive decline in religious belief and most of the world's people now say that God is less important in their lives than they said He was in the quarter century before 2007. The American public showed the most dramatic shift of all. The United States, which for many years stood as a highly religious outlier among the world's high-income countries, now ranks as the 12th least religious country for which data are available. Many factors contributed to this dramatic worldwide shift, but as Inglehart shows, certain ones stand out. For centuries, virtually all major religions encouraged women to stay home and produce as many children as possible; and they sternly discouraged divorce, abortion, homosexuality, contraception, and any other form of sexual behavior not linked with reproduction. These norms were necessary for societies to survive when facing high infant mortality and low life expectancy: societies that didn't instill them tended to die out. Recent technological advances have greatly increased life expectancy and cut infant mortality to a tiny fraction of its historic levels, making these norms no longer necessary for societal survival. These norms require repressing strong natural urges, but, since they present traditional norms as absolute values, most religions strongly resist change. The resulting tension, together with the fact that rising existential security has made people less dependent on religion, opened the way for an exodus from religion. Utilizing a massive global data base, Inglehart analyzes the conditions under which religiosity collapses, and explores its implications for the future.

The common perception of Islam in the media is one of austerity and rigidity, and in extreme cases, severe cruelty. The situation is not helped by the strict and narrow-minded interpretation of the religion by a number its adherents. However, those who are willing to scratch below the surface and look further will see that nothing is further from the truth; that Islam does not teach anything except universal love, mercy, compassion, peace & benevolence. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri is an eminent and internationally renowned Islamic scholar, orator and author. In this book, he presents numerous quotations from the Qur'an and authentic hadith to help the reader discover the prime position of the qualities of mercy and compassion in the Islamic faith. Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri has meticulously referenced all quotations to ensure accuracy and clarity in order to dispel any doubts about the matter. Through his distinctive solid scholarship and methodology, Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri demonstrates how Islam promotes spiritual endeavour, moderation, ease and tolerance, and is not merely concerned with ritualism and outward forms of piety. For Muslims, this book is essential reading to help reclaim Islam back from those who portray it as merely a socio-political enterprise devoid of compassion for humanity and the rest of creation. Non-Muslims, on the other hand, will be able to appreciate these lesser known aspects of Islam, which in fact form its core philosophy.