Enforced Secularization -- Spontaneous Revival?: Religious Belief, Unbelief, Uncertainty and Indifference in East and West European Countries 1991-1998

Meulemann, Heiner

doi:10.1093/esr/20.1.47

Cited by 46 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…Formerly socialist societies provide a good testing ground for our hypothesis that the transmission of religious beliefs outside of the family strongly depends on the social context. Almost all socialist societies experienced policies that aimed at the complete abolition of religion, following the framework of “scientific atheism.” As a wide variety of work in various disciplines shows, this process of “politically forced secularization” (Meulemann :49) has been fairly successful (Borowik ; Müller and Neundorf ; Nielsen ; Tomka ). The churches were forced to give up the roles that they traditionally played in public education and social welfare, and religious organizations were monitored or prohibited (Froese ).…”

Section: Theoretcial Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Societies Provide a Strong Religious Socialization Context? Explanations Beyond the Effects of National Religiosity

Müller¹,

Graaf

Schmidt

2014

Scientific Study of Religion

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Religious socialization occurs within the immediate family as well as in the broader social context. Previous research has shown that parents' religiosity matters less for the transmission of religious beliefs in devout than in secular nations, implying smaller costs of religious socialization. In this paper we test which other societal factors affect the transmission of religious beliefs: anti-religious policies in formerly socialist countries, economic development, and income inequality. Our results indicate that societies with high levels of income inequality seem to provide the most favorable context for religious socialization.Individuals develop strong religious beliefs even if they only received little religious socialization within the family. Formerly socialist nations increased socialization costs through the overall suppression of religious practice. Economic development has no impact on socialization effects, suggesting that inequality is a more important driver of religious change than previously thought.

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Section: Theoretcial Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Societies Provide a Strong Religious Socialization Context? Explanations Beyond the Effects of National Religiosity

Müller¹,

Graaf

Schmidt

2014

Scientific Study of Religion

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“…How secularized is Germ any and w hat are the likely developments in the future? Undoubtedly, East Germ any is among the m ost secular countries o f the world (Meulemann, 2004). The re-emergence o f religion in East Germ any that some com m entators had foreseen after the breakdown of the G D R has n o t materialized.…”

Section: The Future: More Secularization or Religious Revival?mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Secularized is Germany? Cohort and Comparative Perspectives

Wolf

2008

Social Compass

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The author seeks to answer the question ``How secularized is Germany?'' on the basis of different perspectives and databases. The meaning of the term secularization is limited for this study to the decline of religiosity and its consequences, and a distinction is made between church-related and individual religiosity. First, evidence for the decline of church-related religiosity in Germany is presented. Next, it is shown that individual religiosity, i.e. religiosity not necessarily related to organized religion, is also declining. Then the analysis is extended to investigate the relationship between religiosity and non-religious attitudes. Taking two illustrative examples, it is claimed that religion today is far less salient for the way we live and see the world than it has been in the past. Finally, the focus of the analysis is broadened to an international perspective in which Germany is compared with other countries. The author ends with some thoughts on the future of secularization in Germany.

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“…Religion, having been the only force of opposition, has become practically synonymous with anti-communism in the new democratic view of political life (Borowik 2002). Politicians are aware of this and have increasingly used religion as a way to legitimise political power (Meulemann 2004). It thus appears that this supposed revival is above all a return to tradition, a way to reconstruct a country's collective memory, and a way to reconnect to what existed before the regime (Borowik 2002).…”

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confidence: 99%

Religious Change among Cohorts in Eastern Europe: A Longitudinal Analysis of Religious Practice and Belief in Formerly Communist Countries

Molteni¹

2017

RASCEE

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ABSTRACT:The situation of the formerly communist countries represents an anomaly within the sociological debate about the various secularisation processes currently underway in Europe. The main issues relate to whether or not Eastern Europe has experienced a religious revival following the fall of communism and, if so, which dimensions of religiosity are most involved in that revival. Sociologists have yet to reach a clear consensus on country trends or on the impact of Christian doctrines on these processes. We will address these issues throughout this article. The results from different piecewise regression analyses of European Values Study (EVS) data show that regular religious practice in general is declining from cohort to cohort, whereas religious belief has shown a revival followed by a decrease from the oldest to the youngest cohorts. The impact of a country's main religious traditions is a relevant factor; predominantly Orthodox countries, for example, break with the overall results by showing a slight increase of religious practice as well as stable (and very high) belief among the youngest cohort. This situation is primarily driven by data from the Russian Federation and Bulgaria.

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Enforced Secularization -- Spontaneous Revival?: Religious Belief, Unbelief, Uncertainty and Indifference in East and West European Countries 1991-1998

Cited by 46 publications

References 1 publication

Which Societies Provide a Strong Religious Socialization Context? Explanations Beyond the Effects of National Religiosity

Which Societies Provide a Strong Religious Socialization Context? Explanations Beyond the Effects of National Religiosity

How Secularized is Germany? Cohort and Comparative Perspectives

Religious Change among Cohorts in Eastern Europe: A Longitudinal Analysis of Religious Practice and Belief in Formerly Communist Countries

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