Grace Without God

Starred review from May 9, 2016
Nonplussed by her young son’s question “What are we?” when they saw a Greek Orthodox procession, secular writer Ozment answered, “We’re nothing.” She writes, “I decided then and there that I would seek a better answer for my son, for myself, and for my family. I knew that we were something, but what?” In this wide-ranging book, Ozment, a journalist and former senior editor at National Geographic, skillfully weaves together interviews with cutting-edge academic experts, her personal story, helpful statistics, and her experiences attending gatherings across the U.S. where she talked with many others on the same quest. Detailing the sense of loss she and others have felt without the benefits of traditional religion—“identity and belonging, rituals, shared stories, moral authority, and belief in God and the afterlife”—Ozment then delves into the many ways secular Americans are trying to build community and shared meaning, with a keen eye for the paradoxes and hazards of those efforts. Her focus throughout is finding ways to raise honest, kind, and compassionate children outside of a religious framework. The author includes extensive resource information for others on a similar search, including lists of books for children by age group. This well-crafted, accessible exploration of a pressing topic, full of hard questions and astute observations, can serve as a springboard for discussion by parents—and others—who wonder whether people “need God to be good.”

June 15, 2016

The United States is seeing an unprecedented increase in the number of people who do not consider themselves religious, who no longer identify with the faith they grew up with, or who are in some way reimagining what religion means to them. Journalist Ozment offers a measured discussion of what this cultural shift means in the long term for individuals, communities, and culture. Infused with personal anecdotes along with interviews with scholars and religious leaders, topics include how organized religion affects individual identity and sense of belonging (e.g., when leaving religion means leaving one's heritage behind), secularization (including differences in secularized vs. religious rituals such as "coming of age" with a driver's license vs. a bar mitzvah), faith and science (e.g., how age and cognitive differences can affect belief), and more. VERDICT Ozment successfully writes an informative and relatable discussion on the changing landscape of religion, society, and identity. Recommended for readers interested in the sociology of religion.--Jennifer Harris, Southern New Hampshire Univ. Lib., Manchester

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.