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Start giftingHow the West Really Lost God
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Learn moreIn this magisterial work, leading cultural critic Mary Eberstadt delivers 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. Eberstadt turns this standard account on its head. Marshalling an impressive array of research, from fascinating historical data on family decline in pre-Revolutionary France to contemporary popular culture both in the United States and Europe, Eberstadt shows that the reverse has also been true: the undermining of the family has further undermined Christianity itself.
Drawing on sociology, history, demography, theology, literature, and many other sources, Eberstadt shows that family decline and religious decline have gone hand in hand in the Western world in a way that has not been understood before—that they are, as she puts it in a striking new image summarizing the book's thesis, "the double helix of society, each dependent on the strength of the other for successful reproduction."
Mary Eberstadt is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. She has written widely for magazines and newspapers, among them First Things, Policy Review, the Weekly Standard, the Wall Street Journal, and Commentary. Her previous books include Home-Alone America, Adam and Eve after the Pill, and the satire The Loser Letters.
Nan McNamara is an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator and garnered the "Best Audiobook of 2016" distinction for her narration of Mister Monkey by Francine Prose. Her twenty-plus years as a professional actress on stage, television, and film translate into audiobook storytelling that AudioFile magazine calls "richly observed," "heartbreaking," and empowers her to "smoothly shift to whatever character, time, or emotion she is portraying." Nan has narrated nearly 100 titles in numerous genres. She is also the recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award, LA Weekly Award, StageRaw Award, Robby Award, and Scenie Award for her numerous stage performances (including Wit, for which she shaved her head) and has recorded hundreds of voice-overs for radio/TV, video games, and promos. Nan's film/television work includes portraying powerhouse attorney Bonnie Pearl on Major Crimes, a recurring stint on Switched at Birth as Brenda Powers, having fun with Emmy winner Tony Hale in Not That Funny, being killed by Jamie Kennedy in the opening of Foreclosed with Marlee Matlin and Paul Sorvino, and being reunited with her two kidnapped children on Criminal Minds. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, Nan received her bachelor's degree in theater (cum laude). Ever the optimist, one of her lifelong dreams is for the Minnesota Vikings to reach the Super Bowl.