Praise for How The West Really Lost God

Catholic Book Reviews Monthly—September 2013 Edition

Religion, in Eberstadt's view, has frequently been on the decline, but it has also made numerous resurgences, and there is nothing to prove that Christianity will not make a comeback in the West. In order to explain why religious influence ebbs and flows, it is important to understand the causes of the process. There is, however, a lot of controversy as to why these cultural shifts happen, and Eberstadt makes a compelling case as she addresses and critiques the potential causes of secularization...The future of religion in the West is uncertain, but if history is any guide, there may be many surprises as to what might happen. If Eberstadt is correct in her analysis, in order to revitalize religion, believers will have to revitalize the family.
—Chris Chan

LifeSiteNews—August 21, 2013

"Mary Eberstadt takes on the tangled threads of faith and family in How the West Really Lost God: A New Theory of Secularization (Templeton Press, 2013). Despite the title, it's not simply a book about religion (or lack thereof); Eberstadt makes it clear that faith and family are undeniably linked. She uses the visual of the DNA double-helix strand: religious commitment and participation as one strand, strong and healthy families as the other, with ladder-like bars holding the two together. With the collapse of one, she argues, the inevitable happens: the breakdown of the other."

Discerning Hearts Blog –- August 6, 2013

"Mary Eberstadt delivers a compelling theory about the decline of Christian religion in the Western world. By the analysis of data on the family, from pre-Revolutionary France to contemporary culture in the West, she demonstrates how the natural family is the prime nurturing force for Christianity in a society."

Christianity Today—July 15, 2013

"Eberstadt offers up some good reasons for why family and faith are connected."
—Jordan Hylden

Reformation 21 (online blog) -– July 2013

"For those who want to reflect on the consequences of family atrophy for churches and Christian influence, this is a worthwhile read."
—D. G. Hart

The Gospel Coalition Online

"Any important contribution to the secularization debate is worth praising. A book that exposes a major blind spot in this important field and presents a plausible theory for what ought to fill it is a significant accomplishment."
—Greg Forster

The Weekly Standard—June 17, 2013

"[A] fascinating work of forensic demography which manages to take the telescope through which we've long studied the relationship between family formation and religiosity and flip it entirely around to let us peer through the other side. What she shows us is compelling. With luck, researchers in the academic world will follow her lead and take a new look at the phenomenon of demographic decline, too."
—Jonathan V. Last, a senior writer at The Weekly Standard and author of What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster.

First Things Online—June 4, 2013

"In her excellent book, How the West Really Lost God, Mary Eberstadt argues that the sharp decline in religious belief (and the waning influence of the churches) in the Western world is related directly to the decline of the traditional family."
—Elizabeth Scalia

Daily News, Galveston County—June 10, 2013

"She convincingly demonstrates how, during the last half-century, Western Civilization has come adrift from its Christian roots."
—Mark Lardus

National Catholic Register—June 8, 2013

"In her characteristically methodical fashion and employing an impressive amount of research, Eberstadt adds new considerations to the debate over how and why Christianity has really come to decline in important parts of the West. Her argument remains intriguing until the last page... She gives a balanced account of the consequences, proposing both a pessimistic as well as an optimistic view of the future. Eberstadt succeeds in presenting an even-handed interesting and comprehensive look at today's trends that leaves the reader with much to ponder."
—Mary Zurolo Walsh

Our Sunday Visitor—May 12, 2013

How the West Really Lost God is a clear, compelling and ultimately convincing presentation of the relationship between faith and family. It's not a call to action. But it doesn't need to be. The Church has already told Christians what to do. The book just dispels any lingering doubts about the necessity of doing it.

The Catholic Thing Online Review—May 20, 2013

"[A] remarkable, powerful, prescient book...In the event, the conversation has been changed by Mary Eberstadt. We say three things identify good real estate: 'location, location, location.' Now we'll say the measure of a truly blessed cultural future is: family, family, family."