Abstract
This essay was originally written as discussion paper to reassess the significance of the Sixties in the West. It adopts a transatlantic perspective, encompassing (North) Western Europe and the USA. In most accounts of the Sixties, the changes in the field of religion are barely noticed. If they are mentioned at all, it is either the sudden decline of participation that is underscored, usually interpreted as the final step of two centuries of gradual dechristianization and secularization, or the renewal of Vatican II and the opposition provoked by Humanae vitae. However, parallel to the questioning of the secularization thesis as master narrative of modern history, scholars of religion have emphasized other developments, in particular the rise of Evangelicals in the USA. Often, the Sixties are considered as a spiritual age, even the beginning of a ‘Fourth Awakening’ in the USA. This article argues that the Sixties marked the start of a major transformation of the place of religion in society. This transformation came more clearly to the fore in the USA than in Europe. Hence, it is concluded that Europe is not more ‘modern’, as advocates of the secularization argue, but actually culturally more conservative than the USA.
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