Secularization thesis

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The secularization thesis or also secularization theory represents a central theoretical approach of the sociology of religion . Its starting point is the assumption that there is a tension between modernity and religion, which in the long term leads to a loss of social significance of religion. The processes of rationalization , individualization and differentiation (functional differentiation) of societies associated with modernization are particularly held responsible for this . The processes of urbanization (with the dissolution of the strong tradition of transmission in rural areas) and democratization (which opposes the more hierarchically organized church structures) can also be added.

In their theoretical derivation, the supporters of the secularization thesis refer to classics of sociology , such as Max Weber , who saw a “disenchantment” of the world taking place in the course of modernization.

Supporters of the secularization thesis see this theoretical assumption as empirically proven by the declining membership rates of the Christian churches, the declining participation in church life and also a smaller number of people who adopt religious traditions. In addition, reference is made to the decreasing binding force of religious norms, which, among other things, lead to higher divorce rates. Their empirical evidence is largely concentrated in Europe.

The latter in particular has provoked the contradiction of other approaches in the sociology of religion. Supporters of the religious market model point to the position of Europe as a special case. Secularization theorists (especially Bruce) counter this accusation with reference to the USA - the central counterexample of market theorists - as a special case. Thomas Luckmann, on the other hand, accuses the advocates of the secularization thesis for an overly narrow understanding of religion and religiosity.

Representatives of the theory of secularization are Steve Bruce and Bryan R. Wilson , in Germany the Münster sociologist Detlef Pollack , the Leipzig sociologist Gert Pickel and the Frankfurt sociologist Ulrich Oevermann . Peter L. Berger should also be named as a representative , although in recent decades he has largely distanced himself from the assumption of secularization in his statements.

Recently, various attempts have been made to combine the previously competing approaches. The considerations of Jörg Stolz should be mentioned here as an example .

literature

  • Peter L. Berger: The Sacred Canopy. Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion. New York 1967. [German translation: Peter L. Berger: On dialectics of religion and society. Elements of a Sociological Theory. Frankfurt am Main 1973.]
  • Peter L. Berger: The Heretical Imperative: Contemporary Possibilities of Religious Affirmation. London 1980. [German translation: Peter L. Berger: The compulsion to heresy. Religion in a pluralistic society. Frankfurt am Main 1980.]
  • Steve Bruce: God is Dead. Secularization in the West. Oxford 2002.
  • Karel Dobbelaere: Secularization: An Analysis at Three Levels. Brussels 2002.
  • Franzmann, Manuel: Secularized Faith. Case reconstructions for the advanced secularization of the subject. Beltz, Weinheim 2017, ISBN 978-3-7799-2939-0
  • David Martin: On Secularization. Towards a Revised General Theory. Aldershot 2005.
  • Ulrich Oevermann: A model of the structure of religiosity. At the same time a structural model of life practice and social time. In: Monika Wohlrab-Sahr (Ed.): Biography and Religion. Between ritual and self-search. Campus, Frankfurt am Main 1995, pp. 27-102.
  • Ulrich Oevermann, Manuel Franzmann: Structural religiosity on the way to religious indifference. In: Manuel Franzmann, Christel Gärtner, Nicole Köck (Eds.): Religiosity in the secularized world. Theoretical and empirical contributions to the secularization debate in the sociology of religion. (Publications of the Sociology of Religion Section of the German Society for Sociology, Volume 11). 2006, pp. 49-82.
  • Gert Pickel, Olaf Müller: Church and Religion in Contemporary Europe. Results from theoretical and empirical research. Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-531-16748-0 .
  • Gert Pickel: secularization, individualization or market model? Religiousness and its explanatory factors in a European comparison. In: Cologne journal for sociology and social psychology. 62, 2010, pp. 219-245.
  • Detlef Pollack: Secularization - a modern myth? Tübingen 2003, ISBN 3-16-148214-X .
  • Detlef Pollack: return of religion? Studies on religious change in Germany and Europe II. Tübingen 2009.
  • Bryan Wilson: Religion in Sociological Perspective. Oxford 1982.

Web links