How the Social Importance of Religion Has Receded with Modernity

Religion has always been of high social importance and influence within civilization and their 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. Secondly, as modernity has developed, scientific discovery has begun to question traditional religious views and hence has influenced the social importance of religion through this development. Finally, the sociological argument for why religion is expected to continue to decline in modern society. All of which will focus on modernity in western society.

Sociologists like Bryan Turner (1991) argued and projected that modernity was not just about industrialisation, democratisation, or urbanization, but was also about secularisation of the world (Turner, 1991). Before modernity, societal characteristics like monarchy, class hierarchies, jurisprudence, cosmology and education were very much under religious control and justification. For the majority of the 20th century, a large quantity of sociologists assumed that religions role in the ordering of the world would reduce. It was also presumed that there would be a greater separation of Church and State. ...

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