Secularization theories in the twenty-first century: Ideas, evidence, and problems. Presidential address

Abstract

This article argues that quantitative secularization research has made important progress in the last 20 years in seven areas. We have gained knowledge of how religion and religiosity are connected to insecurity, education, socialization, secular transition, secular competition, pluralism, and regulation. This has led to a better understanding of the causes and the form of the secularization process. In this article, the author discusses the new ideas that have led to these advances, the evidence that supports the claims, and the new problems that have appeared due to the progress made.

Belief in God, Confidence in the Church and Secularization in Scandinavia

“…Also, the differences of belief in God between people with the lowest and university education seem to be larger in Sweden than in the other two countries, especially for the levels related to a personal God ('Sometimes,' 'When in doubt,' and 'Firm'), as shown in Table 7. Recalling that the average educational level is high in the Scandinavian countries, our results support the argument that reinforcing compulsory schooling leads to declining religiosity (Hungerman, 2014, Stolz, 2020.…”

“…Sociologists have proposed several theories of secularization. For a recent review, see Stolz (2020). According to classical theory, advocated by the founders of sociology (Comte, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and Spencer), the decline of religion is a consequence of modernization.…”

“…One drawback of the secularization theories mentioned above is that they lack the actors' perspective (Stolz, 2020). The 'market theory' of religion is inspired by the principles of economy (Stark and Bainbridge, 1989, Iannaccone, 1991, 1992, Stark and Iannaccone, 1994, Sherkat and Wilson, 1995, Iannaccone, 1998.…”

“…Why, then, do the Scandinavian countries rank among the least religious? The answer lies in the structural changes resulting from secularization and development (Norris and Inglehart, 2011, Stolz and Könemann, 2016, Pew-Research-Center, 2017, Stolz, 2020. At the systemic level, the Scandinavian countries check almost every causal explanation proposed in the secularization theories mentioned in the Introduction: they have consistently high ranks in the Human Development Index; their populations are highly educated; and they have strong secular institutions (governmental, health, cultural, educational, etc.) that efficiently fulfill individuals' needs that religious institutions could previously have provided (Stolz and Könemann, 2016).…”

“…Secularization, broadly understood as the waning of religious symbols, beliefs, practices, and institutions within a society, is a phenomenon developing in most Western countries (Bruce, 2002, Norris and Inglehart, 2011, Bruce, 2011, Stolz and Könemann, 2016, Stolz, 2020. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and the Scandinavian countries in particular ( Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) are peculiar in this context, for the majority of their populations is still affiliated with the Lutheran majority churches, but their average levels of religious involvement and participation are among the lowest in the world (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005, Zuckerman, 2009, Norenzayan and Gervais, 2013.…”