Secularization

For other uses, see Secularization (disambiguation).
Church on Læsø, Denmark which was transformed into a spa in 2008

In sociology, secularization (British English: secularisation) is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level."[1] There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism, irreligion, nor are they automatically antithetical to religion.[2] Secularization has different connotations such as implying differentiation of secular from religious domains, the marginalization of religion in those domains, or it may also entail the transformation of religion as a result of its recharacterization (e.g. as a private concern, or as a non-political matter or issue).[3][4]

Secularism's origins can be traced to the Bible itself and fleshed out throughout Christian history into the modern era.[5] "Secular" is a part of the Christian church's history, which even has secular clergy since the medieval period.[6][7][8] Furthermore, secular and religious entities were not separated in the medieval period, but coexisted and interacted naturally.[9][10] Significant contributions to principles used in modern secularism came from prominent theologians and Christian writers such as St. Augustine, William of Ockham, Marsilius of Padua, Martin Luther, Roger Williams, John Locke and Talleyrand.[11]

The term "secularization" can also mean the lifting of monastic restrictions from a member of the clergy,[12] and to deconsecration, removing the consecration of a religious building so that it may be used for other purposes.[13] The first use of "secular" as a change from religion to the mundane is from the 16th century that referred to transforming ecclesiastical possessions for civil purposes, such as monasteries to hospitals; and by the 19th century it gained traction as a political object of secularist movements.[1] In the 20th century, "secularization" had diversified into various versions in light of the diversity of experiences from different cultures and institutions.[14] Scholars recognize that secularity is structured by Protestant models of Christianity, shares a parallel language to religion, and intensifies Protestant features such as iconoclasm, skepticism towards rituals, and emphasizes beliefs.[15] In doing so, secularism perpetuates Christian traits under a different name.[15]

The secularization thesis expresses the idea that through the lens of the European enlightenment modernization, rationalization, combined with the ascent of science and technology, religious authority diminishes in all aspects of social life and governance.[16][17] In recent years, the secularization thesis has been challenged due to some global studies indicating that the irreligious population of the world may be in decline as a percentage of the world population due to irreligious countries having subreplacement fertility rates and religious countries having higher birth rates in general.[18][19][20] Christian sociologist Peter L. Berger coined the term desecularization to describe this phenomenon.[21] In addition, secularization rates are stalling or reversing in some countries/regions such as the countries in the former Soviet Union or large cities in the Western world with significant amounts of religious immigrants.[22][23] There is no particular monolithic direction or trend for secularization since even in Europe, the trends in religious history and demographical religious measures (e.g. belief, belonging, etc) are mixed and make the region an exception compared to other parts of the world.[24] Even global studies show that many people who do not identify with a religion, still hold religious beliefs and participate in religious practices, thus complicating the situation.[25][26]

  1. ^ a b Latré, Stijn; Vanheeswijck, Guido (1 January 2015). "Secularization: History of the Concept". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition): 388–394. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.03113-5. ISBN 9780080970875.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Eller was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Bullivant, Stephen; Lee, Lois (2016). A Dictionary of Atheism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191816819.
  4. ^ Ertit, Volkan (2018). "Secularization: The Decline of the Supernatural Realm1". Religions. 9 (4): 92. doi:10.3390/rel9040092.
  5. ^ Berlinerblau, Jacques (2022). Secularism: The Basics. Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 9780367691585. In the first part of this book we will chart the slow, unsteady development of political secularism (Set 2) across time and space. You might be surprised to see that we'll trace its origins to the Bible. From there we will watch how secularism's core principles emerged, in dribs and drabs, during the Christian Middle Ages, the Protestant Reformation, and the Enlightenment. Secularism, some might be surprised to learn, has a religious genealogy.
  6. ^ Thomas, Hugh M. (2014). The Secular Clergy in England, 1066-1216. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198702566.
  7. ^ Eller, Jack David (2022). Introducing Anthropology of Religion : Culture to the Ultimate (Third ed.). Routledge. p. 282. ISBN 9781032023045.
  8. ^ "Secular Priest". Religion Past and Present Online. Brill. April 2011.
  9. ^ Tierney, Brian (1988). The Crisis of Church and State, 1050-1300 : With Selected Documents. Toronto: Published by University of Toronto Press in association with the Medieval Academy of America. ISBN 9780802067012.
  10. ^ Strayer, Joseph R. (2016). On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691169330.
  11. ^ Berlinerblau, Jacques (2022). Secularism: The Basics. Routledge. p. 35. ISBN 9780367691585.
  12. ^ "secularization". Retrieved 2 May 2018 – via The Free Dictionary.
  13. ^ Donald S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum (2000). "Secularizing a Consecrated Building". An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church. The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. This service is used to deconsecrate and secularize a consecrated building that is to be taken down or used for other purposes.
  14. ^ Glasner, Peter E. (1977). The Sociology of Secularisation : A Critique of a Concept. London: Routledge & K. Paul. ISBN 9780710084552.
  15. ^ a b Blankholm, Joseph (2022). The Secular Paradox : On the Religiosity of the Not Religious. New York: New York University Press. p. 8. ISBN 9781479809509.
  16. ^ "The Secularization Debate", chapter 1 (pp. 3-32) of Norris, Pippa; Inglehart, Ronald (2004). Sacred and Secular. Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83984-6.
  17. ^ Hekmatpour, Peyman (2020-06-01). "Inequality and Religiosity in a Global Context: Different Secularization Paths for Developed and Developing Nations". International Journal of Sociology. 50 (4): 286–309. doi:10.1080/00207659.2020.1771013. ISSN 0020-7659. S2CID 219748670.
  18. ^ Zuckerman, Phil (2006). "3 - Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns". In Martin, Michael (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. pp. 47–66. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521842700.004. ISBN 9781139001182.
  19. ^ Cultures and Globalization: Conflicts and Tensions edited by Helmut K Anheier, Yudhishthir Raj Isar, SAGE, Mar 27, 2007, page 253
  20. ^ Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann, Belfer Center, Harvard University/Birkbeck College, University of London
  21. ^ Desecularization: A Conceptual Framework by Vyacheslav Karpov, Journal of Church and State, Volume 52, Issue 2, Spring 2010, Pages 232–270, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csq058
  22. ^ London: A Rising Island of Religion in a Secular Sea by Eric Kaufmann, Huffington Post, February 20, 2013
  23. ^ A Global Resurgence of Religion? by Assaf Moghadam, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, Paper No. 03-03, August, 2003
  24. ^ Davie, Grace (2022). "15. Religion, Secularity, and Secularization in Europe". The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Europe. Oxford University Press. pp. 270, 273, 278, 282. ISBN 978-0198834267.
  25. ^ "Religiously Unaffiliated". The Global Religious Landscape. Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life. 18 December 2012.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference Unaff Yet Rel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).