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Theories of secularization
Effects of secularization on religion
Religion and social change
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Secularization
The word secularization is derived from the Latin word saeculum(world) it was first used to refer the transfer of property from the church to the civil princes. Now it denotes the process by which religion loses some or all of its power, dominance and authority. Secularization as a concept refers to the actual historical process whereby this dualist system “ this world'; and the sacramental structures of mediation between this world and the other world progressively breakdown until the entire medieval systems of classification disappear, to be replaced by new systems of spatial structuration of the spheres. The structured division of 'this world'; into two separate spheres, 'the religious'; and 'the secular'; has to be distinguished and kept separate. From now on, there will be only one single 'this world';, the secular one, within which religion will have to find its own place. If before, it was the religious realm which appeared to be the all-encompassing reality within which the secular realm found its proper place, now the secular sphere will be the all-encompassing within which religious sphere will have to adapt.
There are several conceptions of secularization.
1. Decline of religion
2. Differentiation of institution, practices and activities from religion
3. Transposition of norms from religion to the world
4. Desacralization of the world
5. Conformity of religion to the world
There are also causes of secularization
1. Industrializa...
than it has been in the past, it is the argument of whether or not
Secularization of the western civilization did not happen overnight, it progressed over several centuries. The Western world had become increasingly secular since the Middle Ages it had also become increasingly religious. Secularization refers to the historical process in which religion loses social and cultural significance. During the periods of 1300 to 1550 some causes for secularization in society began with many issues from the Roman Catholic Church, decline of power began because of its involvement in the politics of the developing territorial states such as the long residence at Avignon from 1309-1378 known as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism from 1378-1415 when there were two and then three men, each of whom claimed to
of this paper I am going to focus on the establishment of religion above mentioned in the
World War II's aftermath was very different for each Canadian province. The west was quickly developing, as they were undergoing a reform to liberalism. This was not the case for Quebec, which in turn gave the province a conservative and alienated image. During the 1950s and 1960s, they were undergoing vigorous changes, known as Révolution Tranquille, translating to the Quiet Revolution. The Canadian province shifted their socio-political and socio-cultural exercises that further developed into reflecting the ideas and values of secularization, the declining social and cultural significance of religion. Before the Quiet Revolution was the Duplessis Era, in which the Roman Catholic Church held a majority of the power. This resulted in Quebec
...e, vague topics. The disunity made the Church too unstable to continue possessing political power and so the State became the head of politics, and now we have separation of Church and State, which is renders this time “a secular Western culture” (Powell 6).
The first way in which Canada distinguishes itself following the American Revolutionary War was through traditional political values. “The two north American societies display clear differences rooted in their formative events”4. Having been formed out of violent revolution in opposition to British tyranny has made American views on personal liberty unyielding. Canada being founded on peaceful negotiation tends to take a more conservative approach when it comes to conflict resolution and peoples freedoms. Secularism or the separation of the church from state matters is abundantly clear in the British North American colonies, “...The colonies and territories that became Canada developed under greater state control, either as conquered colonies
Israel is a state founded on the ideology of being a land for the Jewish people. To be able to accomplish this feat, it has been reasoned by Theodor Herzl, in his publication “Der Judenstaat” (1896), that the Jewish people see themselves as more than a religious body, but rather as a nation which is able to create political institutions in a land of its own. While presenting this idea, Herzl also put down a separation of church and state, creating a non-theocratic state. He claimed that “Faith unites us, knowledge gives us freedom.” The debate over how much of an input religion should have in Israeli policy and public life is continuing today. Different groups of Israelis with diverse religious observances often have distinct views of the role that Judaism should have in the running of the Jewish State. This is reflected in the voting patterns of people with differing levels of religiosity, which has an effect on the level of religious impact on Israeli laws and society.
History has frequently demonstrated that forces of religion, sometimes involving other factors which include war, economics or technology, all help bring about the ‘social transformation’ of the world we live in today. Religion, in many sense can be referred to as the celebration or even ‘self-worship’ of the human society, this is so the functions of religion can stabilize society and put a powerful effect on many people around the world over numerous generations.
In the article The Other Confessional History: On Secular Bias in The Study of Religion by Brad S. Gregory, Gregory discusses the ongoing secularity and secularization happening in the study of religion. He discusses religion within social sciences, whether or not religious events from the past are real or not based on the metaphysical naturalism of the said event, religion in relations to epistemological skepticism, and just plain secularization. After having read the article, it has lead me to believe that secularization really is another form of confessional history. The definition of confessional history, to my understanding, is “to write history from a religiously biased point of view” in such a way that it hinders the full capacity and full understanding of the historical event’s content. In this case, the secularization of religious events fits the definition as it takes away from the historical content of the history itself. Gregory discusses secularization in his article and
Secularity, as commonly understood in the sociopolitical context of the United States, denotes a separation of religion from state, and often most public areas – the public sphere. Secularism is understood to mean that the United States has no official religion, and thus the public sphere, as created by the government, is free from religious control. Further, secularism is largely understood to be a Western sociopolitical body of thought. While secularism certainly exists in many non-Western countries, its cornerstone is in the West.
Among these issues, the special role of clerics in communicating the grace necessary for salvation through sacraments was essential for reform advocates. Nonetheless, the origins of the tenth and eleventh centuries’ reform movement are still strongly debated in modern literature. Are they rooted in the monastic renewal associated with Cluny, or are they primarily, if not exclusively, due to the revolutionary reformer of Gregory VII? In order to answer these questions, including how these religious reforms led to the investiture conflict, it is essential to first begin with the recognition that the Gregorian reform movement evolved gradually and that we cannot single out one event to define the origins of the reform. However, there is no question whether the same roots fostered both monastic and church reform, and that the monastic reforms prepared the way for the reform of the church at large. In this perspective, both branches of the reform – monastic and ecclesiastical – were expressions of similar concern for the power and influence of secular
Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, it has received a rise in the late twentieth century. It occurs differently in different parts of the world but arises in societies that are deeply troubled or going through a crisis (Heywood, 2012, p. 282). The rise in Religious Fundamentalism can be linked to the secularization thesis, which implies that victory of reason over religion follows modernization. Also, the moral protest of faiths such as Islam and Christianity can be linked to the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, as they protest the influence of corruption and pretence that infiltrate their beliefs from the spread of secularization (Heywood, 2012, p. 283). Religious Fundamentalists have followed a traditional political thought process, yet, have embraced a militant style of activity which often can turn violent (Heywood, 2012, p. 291).
Religion has always been of high social importance and influence within civilization and society. This essay will argue that as modernity has progressed the social importance of religion has receded, but the gradient of this recession and by how much varies upon the society. Modernity typically refers to a “post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions” (Barker, 2000). This essay will focus on the degradation of the social importance of religion, not spirituality, which is fundamentally different. Firstly, I will investigate, the impact of modernity on religion from the sociologists and modernisation theorists’ perspective.
The United States of America is a country that was formed on different beliefs. These beliefs are what make America the diverse country it is today. One of the biggest debates in this country is the division between church and state. The United States is one of the few countries that believe in a separation between church and state. I believe that the United States is a secular nation with religious influences. We are not fully on one side of the argument, fully secular or fully religious, but blended to compliment both sides.
The author started the chapter by introducing or defining the term secular. The meaning of secular is originated from the word saeculum, which refers to the place and time and from this concept, this is how the westerners viewed the religion as the historical part of the culture and lead to the process of secularism. The process of secularism begins when there is a clash or the separation between the church authority and the leader of state. The church is strictly opposed the idea of scientific knowledge that carried by the state. As the consequences there were separation between religion and scientific or logical knowledge. The westernized knowledge is starting point of the secular knowledge when they totally rejected the concept of God in the knowledge and believe religion is traditional. Thus, the concept of secularism is refers to an ideology due to the process of revolution from tradition to