Secularization Essay ⋆ Essays on Controversial Topics ⋆ EssayEmpire

The term secularization entered formal discourse at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, when territories transferred from religious to secular political authorities. Previously, the Latin word saecularis distinguished profane from sacred. The term secularization subsequently developed wider meaning as philosophers and then sociologists used it to assess social changes.

Secularization refers to the diminishing significance of the role of religious precepts and rites in the daily activities of individuals and groups. Early sociologists perceived a steady rise in secularization, while noting that religion in varying ways continued to possess social value. Their theories of society punctuated the view that religion was no longer meeting the concerns of modern living.

The modern secularist view stemmed from the 18th-century movement called the Enlightenment. Developments in science and technology, growing literacy, and progress in the articulation of individual rights gave rise to disparate voices challenging the worldview that extant social relations reflect a divinely inspired, ordered hierarchy. Voltaire (1694-1778) challenged the logic of religion and the political authority of the church. Adam Smith (1723-90) provided an economically sound blueprint for arranging social relations. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) advanced the idea of inalienable rights. The ideas of these thinkers and many others, including G. W. F. Hegel’s (1770-1831) conceptualization of progress in history, Auguste Comte’s (1798-1857) positivist sociology, and Friedrich Nietzsche’s (1844-1900) deconstruction of the history of morality, created fertile ground upon which to observe the workings of society.

Detaching from the machinery of society in order to observe it led to the dispassionate examination of religion. The rational nature of detached examination led to a form of thinking that made issues such as faith a matter of personal choice rather than an assumed aspect of reality. Building on the ideas of Hegel and Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-72), Karl Marx (1818-83) focused on religion as an ideology. By his oft-cited statement that religion is the opiate of the masses, Marx was primarily noting that religion can mask or soothe the sting of alienation and exploitation without ameliorating it. Marx’s interest in religion centered primarily on its relationship to the political economy.

Contemporary examinations of secularization echo back to a number of observations made by early sociologists. Three theories dominate the literature on secularization. The first theory suggests that as scientific, technological, and individualistic thinking increasingly pervades culture, symbols and events formerly associated with sacred meaning become more rational, relative, and relegated to the background of everyday activities. If the social and individual orientations of people living in modern industrialized nations are compared to cultures that are not technologically advanced and are more sociocentric than egocentric, their sacred meanings appear to be more personal, private, and, for many people, configured around fulfilling secular responsibilities and enjoying secular activities.

The second theory of secularization advances the idea that changes in religious conceptions and practices do not necessarily indicate the decline of religion in society. While people in advanced industrial nations tend to pick and choose their religious orientation and have lost an immediacy of belief, religion still holds value in developed nations, and people are not any more or any less religious than earlier generations. While the social arrangements by which humankind lives may become more sophisticated, humanity’s existential condition remains the same.

Even if the form and content of religious beliefs and practices change—become more privatized and relative—religion continues to be important for people. In the process of change, religious beliefs and practices may ebb and flow. Sometimes secularization may appear to be advancing, while at other times it appears to be on the decline.

A third theory states that secularization is a self-limiting process that gives way to religious revival, such as the schismatic formation of new sects, or religious innovation, such as the formation of new religions or cults. Revivalism, or the rise and assertion of religious orthodoxy among people of many faiths, is occurring currently around the world. According to this theory, modernity has not stripped away the desire among people to affirm the reality of the supernatural. People of faith will allow their religious ideas and practices to mix with the secular world only so far before they feel a need to reassert the importance of the sacred.

Theories of secularization arrive at different conclusions depending upon whether the focus of analysis concerns the individual, social organization, or society. Worldwide comparisons suggest that, at the societal level of analysis, most Western European nations are secular states; however, at the individual level of analysis, interest in issues typically categorized as religious continues. Modernity’s challenge to traditional religious structures may intensify individual interest in existential well-being.

Tensions between religious and secular orientations exist both within and between many nations, such as France and Turkey, which are secular states with growing populations of traditional Muslims. Israel not only contends with tensions that exist with some of its neighbors but also experiences tensions due to conflicting values between Orthodox and Reform Jews. Likewise, the United States contends with religious conflicts both within and beyond its borders. The United States is the most pluralistic and religiously oriented nation in the industrialized world. Its unique status may be due to its historical separation of church and state. While social and political tensions occur periodically because of this dividing wall, it nevertheless provides the space for such debates to be heard.

An ongoing debate in the United States concerns the role of religion in deciding public policy. A central aspect of secularization is the diminishing role among religious leaders to affect political decision making. Compared with Western Europe, the United States is distinctive in its support of leaders who convey a traditional Christian message. A complex social issue concerns the assertion of traditional values and norms that may threaten the rational-legal procedures that underpin democratic freedoms.

Bibliography:

Dobbelaere, Karel. 1981. “Secularization: A Multi-dimensional Concept.” Current Sociology 29(2):1-216.
Gay, Peter. 1995. The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism. New York: Norton.
Greeley, Andrew M. 1985. Unsecular Man. New York: Schocken.
Norris, Pippa and Ronald Inglehart. 2006. Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Roberts, Keith A. 2003. Religion in Sociological Perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Stark, Rodney and William Sims Bainbridge. 1986. The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Formation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

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