Chigūnah gharb khudā rā vāqi'an az dast dād?: Persian 1401

In How the West Lost God?, leading cultural critic Mary Eberstadt offers a powerful new theory about the decline of religion in the Western world. The conventional wisdom is that the West first experienced religious decline, followed by the decline of the family. This changes the standard calculation. Bringing together an impressive body of research, from fascinating historical data on the decline of the family in pre-revolutionary France to contemporary popular culture in the United States and Europe, Eberstadt shows that the reverse was also true: the weakening of the family further weakened Christianity. Drawing on sociology, history, demography, theology, literature, and many other sources, Eberstadt shows that the decline of the family and the decline of religion in the Western world have gone hand in hand in a way not previously understood. It puts it into a striking new image that sums up the book's thesis, "the double helix of society, each dependent on the power of the other for successful reproduction." In the sobering final chapters, Eberstadt describes the enormous consequences of the mutual destruction of family and faith in the West. While it is fashionable in some circles to praise the decline of religion and the nuclear family, as Eberstadt shows, there are enormous social, economic, civic, and other costs to both declines. His conclusion considers the tantalizing question: Will the economic and demographic crisis now convulsing Europe and spilling over into America have the unintended consequence of reviving the family as the most viable alternative to the failed welfare state? which can provide the basis for a religious religion.