For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery

Rodney Stark's provocative new book argues that, whether we like it or not, people acting for the glory of God have formed our modern culture. Continuing his project of identifying the widespread consequences of monotheism, Stark shows that the Christian conception of God resulted—almost inevitably and for the same reasons—in the Protestant Reformation, the rise of modern science, the European witch-hunts, and the Western abolition of slavery. In the process, he explains why Christian and I...