The notion of secularization: Drawing the boundaries of its contemporary scientific validity

Abstract

The notion of secularization as an incompatibility between modernization and religion derives from the analysis of the process of modernization of Western European societies. This process led to a weight loss of religion in society and to a progressive differentiation of social spheres, such as religion, politics, science, etc. Following on from this analysis the category and the theory were extended to take on a universal scope in order to describe the modernization processes that would occur in other societies. From the very beginning, sociology has provided exceptions to the rule of secularization. The first was noted by de Tocqueville: American exceptionalism. Then came the processes of rapid economic growth of some Asian Pacific countries (Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc.). Progressively, the entry of new countries into the field of interest of sociologists is showing the Eurocentric nature of the concept. The case of Western Europe, which was the rule, became the exception. Even the notion of religion as a separate social sphere is considered by some social scientists to be ethnocentric. Despite its previous Eurocentrism, the notion of secularization remains useful for sociologists. It has served to account for European religious change, and its analytical instruments can be applied to other cases and may be useful for interpreting these cases either with regard to how they adhere to the Western European model, or how they differ from it -still further, if we consider the huge extent of contemporary international migration. If sociologists want to understand the new Western European societies, they must reapply this analytical rather than predictive version of the concept.

Can the State Make you More Religious? Evidence from Turkish Experience

“…Universal decrease in demand for religion might be an answer. Proponents of the secularization theory claim that as societies develop, particularly through modernization, rationalization, and advances in science and technology, demand for religion will decline (Pérez‐Agote 2014). Secularization trends might have been more influential on Turkish Muslims than the Islamization policy of the AKP.…”

Creyentes Religiosos en España por Clases Sociales: Resultados de 268.261 Personas: 2013 to 2022

“…This dichotomization, which may correspond to the religious-secular binomial (Catholics and believers of another religion and not believers, atheists and agnostics) is common in religious research (Panadero, Gilart & Ortí, 2022;Ruiz, 2022Ruiz, , 2017Voas & Chaves, 2016;González-Anleo, 2016;Pérez-Agote, 2014Martín-Huete, 2015;Casanova, 2012;Brañas-Garza, García-Muñoz & Neuman, 2011;Inglehart & Foa, 2010;Pérez-Agote & Santiago-García, 2005). At the same time, it favours the creation of multidimensional explanatory models, which allow the generation of cross tabulations with descriptive information for numerous groups and allows the expression of a very powerful binomial logistic model, a proposal included in this work.…”

“…In Spain, research on the relationships between religious identification, measured binary (declaring oneself religious yes/no), religious-(believer)/secular, and other variables, such as gender, age, ideology, educational attainment of the interviewees or the effect of time (reference historical years) has been common. These are mainly descriptive and bivariate analyses (Panadero, Gilart & Ortí, 2022;González-Anleo, 2016;Pérez-Agote, 2014Inglehart & Foa, 2010;Pérez-Agote & Santiago-García, 2005). Multivariate analyses (Pérez-Agote, 2012;Brañas-Garza, García-Muñoz & Neuman, 2011) have been infrequent and conducted with limited samples (n < 1,500).…”

Enganging Secularization with Expository Preaching

“…It was later employed in the Middle Ages by canon law to indicate a monk abandoning the regimen of his order, who was secularized by returning to the world. [2] The Renaisance in the West towards the end of the 16th century, naturally influenced the way humans perceive them selves and encouraged them to review their relationship with the (Ultimate Reality) commonly called God. [3] The orientation changes that occurred at this time had a very broad and profound impact.…”

“…A Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, in struggling with the term "secular", or "secularity" was trying to make distinguish into three senses which is all three modes of secularity make reference to "religion": as that which is retreating in public space (1), or as a type of belief and practice which is or is not in regression (2), and as a certain kind of belief or commitment whose conditions in this age are being examined (3). [ Long before Taylor's 'The Secular Age' book appeared, in 1965, Harvey Cox, a Babtist theologian from America and the theology professor from Harvard University was known as one of the radical theologians or secular theologians.…”