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This article explores the growth of new forms of worship as embodied in the ecological veneration of the cosmos. It shows how cosmic piety is becoming an essential component of modern culture in the current context of globalization, which frequently incorporates some crucial forms of rationality. Very often, the sacralization of nature appears to be a necessary precondition for the practice of ecological rationality given certain cognitive limitations and everyday anxieties of large populations in the contemporary world. The rise and fall of an ecocentric or cosmocentric mythology are considered, together with its consequences for societal adaptation to global environmental change.
The public sphere in contemporary democracies is occupied by `authorities', `enterprises' (groups pursuing their own interests) and `altruistic associations'. The latter possess an increasingly political dimension despite their frequent claim to be non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or non-political groups. Their increasing weight could change the texture of democracy and the orientation of social policies. The new public-private sphere created by altruistic civic associations is not, however, entirely autonomous. It is dependent on pressures and influences that endanger the benefits that these associations may otherwise bring to society and to the quality of citizen participation.
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