Seculosity Book Tour. Thursday, March 12, 2020, 7:30 p.m. Ligonier Town Hall Auditorium

It is a joy to welcome author and speaker David Zahl to Ligonier in promotion of his new book Seculoisty: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion (And What To Do About It). Zahl will be sharing from his book and discussing the future of American religion on Thursday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Ligonier’s Town Hall. The event is open to the public.

The book’s central thesis is that even though organized religion is on the decline, the religious impulse to “be enough” is manifesting itself in a number of traditionally secular areas of life. Modern Americans are finding self-justification in their work, parenting, eating, technology, and politics, and the question is whether these secular institutions can hold the burden of our religious yearnings.

The reception to Seculosity has been remarkably positive from both secular and sacred sources. Secular organizations including The Washington Post, The Guardian (UK), and the Irish Times have given the book glowing write-ups alongside religious organizations including Christianity Today, Christian Century, Modern Reformation, and the 1517 Project. The book has also been received well across the political and theological spectrum, with left and right leaning news organizations finding the cultural commentary helpful.

Members of Epiphany Church and the rest of the Ligonier community can purchase the book locally at Second Chapter Books, located on Ligonier’s Main St.

Author David Zahl is the executive director of Mockingbird Ministries, and the editor-in-chief of the popular Mockingbird website (www.mbird.com). He’s also the co-host of the Mockingcast Podcast. Zahl and his family live in Charlottesville, Va., where he serve on staff with Christ Episcopal Church as a college minister to students at the University of Virginia.

Seculosity Author David Zahl

Seculosity in the Media

  • Christianity Today Magazine: Five Star Review
  • Oliver Burkeman in The Guardian (UK): ” Deep down, we’re using work, politics, family and romance to achieve our own salvation. But the truth is we’re flawed.”
  • Brenda O’Brien in The Irish Times: “Even though what [Zahl] calls capital-R religion is in decline, replacement religion is booming. Just as SoulCycle’s name and ambience is no accident, many aspects of our lives have taken on an almost religious fervour, except that the object of worship is not God but a frantic desire to manage guilt and to feel “enoughness”.
  • Jason Michelli in Christian Century: ” Seculosity names the religion-saturated culture in which we find ourselves increasingly angry, judgmental, and exhausted. The religions we adhere to are no longer the conventional Sunday morning varietals. They’re religions grounded in our stances on politics, food, parenting, and leisure—areas of life which would seem to be secular.”

David Zahl in the Media