America's crisis of values : reality and perception by Baker, Wayne E instant download

America's crisis of values : reality and perception by Baker, Wayne E instant download

xvi, 307 pages : 24 cm, \"This book explores the moral terrain of America today, analyzing the widely held perception that the nation is in moral decline. It looks at the question from a variety of angles, examining traditional values, secular values, religious values, family values, economic values, and others. Using unique data from the World Values Surveys, the largest systematic attempt ever made to document attitudes, values, and beliefs around the world, this book systematically evaluates the perceived crisis of values by comparing America's values with those of over sixty other nations.\"--Jacket, Includes bibliographical references and index, 1. A question of values -- The widespread perception of crisis -- Three ways to think about a crisis of values--loss, unfavorable comparison, and division -- Threats to America as an imagined community -- Conclusion -- 2. America's values in global context -- Two dimensions of cultural variation and change -- Global cultural maps -- Loss of traditional values -- Unfavorable comparisons with other societies -- Why have some values changed and others stayed the same? -- Conclusion -- 3. Culture war -- The culture war thesis -- The polarization of Americans -- Linkage of the hierarchy of beliefs -- The connection between social capital and moral visions -- Is there an American culture war--could there be? -- Conclusion -- 4. Dynamics of crisis -- Tides of American history -- An interpretation of the dynamics of crisis -- Conclusion -- 5. The search for meaning -- Mixed systems, cultural contradictions, and cognitive dissonance -- Rising spirituality and the \"new age\" -- The special role of absolutism in America -- An integration of opposites -- Summary of key findings -- Appendix A. World values surveys -- Appendix B. Statistical tables