دانلود کتاب تناقض سکولار در مذهب بی مذهبی

On a chilly Sunday morning in April 2013, I sat in the parlor of a large brick house in a suburb of New York City. Outside were acres of bare trees and dead grass still waiting for the warmth of spring. The men and women I met wore comfortable shoes, and their clothes were made from fabrics like corduroy and moleskin. Among them were a chemist, a professor, a doctor, and an artist. All of them were white, and most were over fifty. While we sipped coffee and ate cake, they asked me polite questions about who I am and where I am from. Several had gone to graduate school in New York, and before moving to Westchester, one had lived near my apartment in Manhattan. They asked me about my research and wanted to know the questions that kept me up at night. One man recommended a book about cosmology and another a podcast about quantum physics. Before I could ask, they guessed what a researcher would like to know. I learned about the religions they grew up in, their careers, and their families, and they told me their reasons for joining their community. As our conversation was winding down, Sunday School ended, and a group of children ran through the room looking for cake. I wandered after them in search of the kind man who had offered to drive me home.