I'm sure Putnam is right that there's been a decline in certain kinds of organizations like bowling leagues. But people participate in communities in other ways.
Peter L. Berger

If the cultural elite has its way, the U.S. will be much more like Europe.
Peter L. Berger

The negative side to globalization is that it wipes out entire economic systems and in doing so wipes out the accompanying culture.
Peter L. Berger

But we don't have an example of a democratic society existing in a socialist economy - which is the only real alternative to capitalism in the modern world.
Peter L. Berger

I think what I and most other sociologists of religion wrote in the 1960s about secularization was a mistake. Our underlying argument was that secularization and modernity go hand in hand. With more modernization comes more secularization.
Peter L. Berger

Our institute's agenda is relatively simple. We study the relationship between social-economic change and culture. By culture we mean beliefs, values and lifestyles. We cover a broad range of issues, and we work very internationally.
Peter L. Berger

The basic fault lines today are not between people with different beliefs but between people who hold these beliefs with an element of uncertainty and people who hold these beliefs with a pretense of certitude.
Peter L. Berger

When certain branches of the economy become obsolete, as in the case of the steel industry, not only do jobs disappear, which is obviously a terrible social hardship, but certain cultures also disappear.
Peter L. Berger