Religion In Modern Society Research Articles

Transpersonal Ether: personhood, family and religion in modern societies

Abstract This article consists of a theoretical review of the conjunction between lived experience of family belonging and religious encompassment in modern societies, resorting to data resulting from a comparative study of personhood, family and religion in urban Brazil, concentrated in a network of upper social strata and in a medical context of palliative care. In both contexts people move in what may be called a “transpersonal ether”, a complex enmeshing of personhood in kinship and religious experiences that far exceeds the limits of the rational, autonomous, units privileged by hegemonic scientific knowledge and individualistic ideology. Our interest is to contribute to the understanding of the processes and characteristics of the “extended self” in general modern conditions and to explore the circumstances in which these dimensions tend to become more explicit, as phenomenological limits and counterparts to the individualization and disenchantment that has characterized Western modernity.

KAGAWA TOYOHIKO (1888–1960): WITNESS TO THE COSMIC DRAMA

AbstractAt home and abroad, Kagawa Toyohiko was probably the best‐known Japanese Christian evangelist, social reformer, writer, and public intellectual of the twentieth century, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twice (1947, 1948) and the Nobel Peace Prize three times (1954, 1955, 1956). Appealing to the masses with little knowledge of Christian faith, Kagawa believed that a positive, religio‐aesthetic interpretation of nature and science was a key missiological concern in Japan. He reasoned that a faith rooted in the kenotic movement of incarnation and self‐giving must strongly support the scientific quest. A voracious reader of science and especially biology, he argues for “directionality,” or what he calls “initial purpose” in the long, painful, cosmic journey from matter to life to mind (or consciousness). Through an antireductionistic, a posteriori methodological pluralism that sought to “see all things whole,” this “scientific mystic” employed Christian, Buddhist, Neo‐Confucian, personalist, and vitalist ideas to envision complementary roles for science and religion in modern society.

Does a Nation's Religious Composition Affect Generalized Trust? The Role of Religious Heterogeneity and the Percent Religious

Is religion more of an integrative or a divisive force in contemporary societies? We use multilevel analyses of World Values Survey data from 77,409 individuals in 69 countries to examine how both the percent of the population that is religious and the religious heterogeneity of a country are related to generalized social trust, the willingness of individuals to trust “most people.” When we first examine the main effects of the percent religious and religious heterogeneity we find no evidence that either variable is related to trust in the ways predicted by major theories. However, the combination of these two variables has a huge negative relationship with trust. Countries that are both highly religious and religiously heterogeneous (diverse) have, on average, levels of trust that are only half the average levels of countries with other combinations of these two variables. The results have important implications for understanding the role of religion in modern societies.

When Science Replaces Religion: Science as a Secular Authority Bolsters Moral Sensitivity.

Scientific and religious thinking compete with each other on several levels. For example, activating one generally weakens the other. Since priming religion is known to increase moral behaviour and moral sensitivity, priming science might be expected to have the opposite effect. However, it was recently demonstrated that, on the contrary, science priming increases moral sensitivity as well. The present set of studies sought to replicate this effect and test two explanations for it. Study 1 used a sentence unscrambling task for implicitly priming the concept of science but failed to replicate its effect on moral sensitivity, presumably due to a ceiling effect. Study 2 replicated the effect with a new measure of moral sensitivity. Study 3 tested whether science-related words create this effect by activating the idea of secular authority or by activating analytic thinking. It was demonstrated that words related to secular authority, but not words related to analytic thinking, produced a similar increase in moral sensitivity. Religiosity level of the participants did not influence this basic finding. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that science as a secular institution has overtaken some of the functions of religion in modern societies.

Conflictiva secularización: sobre sociología, religión e historia

En los últimos treinta años, el paradigma de la secularización como modelo explicativo del cambio religioso en la modernidad ha estado sometido a intensa contestación y debate. Mientras que un número no desdeñable de sociólogos sigue manteniendo su validez, una cantidad cada vez mayor de estudiosos critican su inadecuación y proponen modelos alternativos que ayuden a explicar la sostenida presencia de la religión en las sociedades modernas. Este artículo pretende revisar el estado de este debate, que se desarrolla principalmente en el ámbito de la sociología, y contribuir a un mejor conocimiento del mismo entre los historiadores. Asimismo, se propone poner de relieve las posibilidades de reflexión para la historia religiosa y la historia en general que ofrecen las controversias actuales sobre la secularización. Por último, reivindica la utilidad del concepto secularización en el contexto español, siempre que esta se entienda como una «secularización conflictiva», una secularización problematizada en su conceptualización y en su desarrollo historiográfico.

Säkularisierung – und was dann?

Secularization is not a descriptive category, but an interpreting category by intellectual observers of religion in modern society. This paper sketches the history of the concept and of its critics. Whereas the dominating perspective understood Secularization as the process of definitive decline of religion, in Germany secularization took also positive connotations by protestant theologians. Actually the religious decline in Europe is considered no more as forerunner for the modernizing world but as a special case, which is moreover not uniform within European nations. Until now no convincing term has been proposed to characterize the religious situation in Europe after the decline of the secularization thesis. The paper concludes by posing a number of open questions concerning the actual role of religion and secularity.

The dawn of the secular state? Heritage and identity in Swedish church and state debates 1920–1939

This article provides a study of political positions concerning the role of religion in modern society in Sweden between 1920 and 1939. It aims to increase understanding of the Swedish secularization path, with special emphasis on issues related to heritage and national identity, by comparing the dominant perspectives on these issues in the Church of Sweden and in the Social Democratic Party during that period. It addresses how these positions have influenced policies during the period, as well as some of their implications for later path dependence. It explores relations between religious issues and the concept of national heritage, as well as how the fact that both were at that time commonly seen as legitimate tasks of the state came to influence the development of Swedish church-and-state relations and heritage policies. Special attention is given to the positions of the Young Church Movement, a movement within the Church emphasizing its role as a national church with a central position in national identity, as well as to the views of Arthur Engberg, the anti-clerical Social Democratic government minister responsible for church, education, and culture in the 1930s.

Varieties of Secularization Theories and Their Indispensable Core

In the social sciences, a new discourse on religion in modern societies has established itself. It is no longer the master narrative that religion is waning in significance that dominates the perspectives in the social sciences. The new key words are “deprivatization of the religious” (José Casanova), “return of the gods” (Friedrich Wilhelm Graf), “re-enchantment of the world” (Ulrich Beck)—or, quite simply, desecularization (Peter L. Berger). Insights of the sociological classics into the strained relationship between religion and modernity are regarded as no longer valid. Instead of speaking of the decline of religion in modern societies, of a strict contrast between modernity and tradition, scholars nowadays emphasize the blurring boundaries between tradition and modernity and the resurgence of religion in modern societies. Obviously, the logic of reversal governs this new way of thinking: Criticizing the secularization theory has become a new master narrative itself and often has a great deal to do with scaremongering. That's why what is required first is as precise a reconstruction as possible of what secularization theory is actually saying. The article in its first part provides a reconstruction of the propositional content of secularization theory. The second step will then be to elaborate the various meanings of the concept of secularization. The third part finally deals with the criticisms of secularization theory and discusses the extent to which they are justified or not.

Até onde vai a religião: um estudo do elemento religioso nos movimentos da Nova Era

Os estudos sobre os Novos Movimentos Religiosos geram questionamentos acerca da própria natureza da religião. Muitos desses movimentos podem ser vistos como distantes do que é comumente aceito como uma religião. Este artigo procurou compreender o elemento religioso presente nas práticas da Nova Era, também chamadas de novas espiritualidades. Foram levantados quatro exemplos de grupos e práticas individuais com o objetivo de perceber o que as tornam religiosas. A utilização de determinados conceitos de religião é o que faz dessas práticas exemplos de religião na sociedade atual, demonstrando que o religioso vai muito além daquilo que é usualmente reconhecido como tal.

Spiritualität - Sozialwissenschaftliche Perspektiven

Abstract Spirituality is a contentious concept in the social sciences. This is above all due to the increasing number of different definitions of spirituality that are used in the field. Some scholars argue that given this heterogeneity, spirituality is not an analytic concept. Scholars use the concept to denote forms of belief that are not part of conventional religiosity. Therefore, spirituality refers to transformations of religion in modern societies. This paper shows that spirituality is generally defined in relation to religion or religiosity. Thus, different concepts of spirituality can be distinguished according to the way they draw the boundaries between religiosity and spirituality. This approach reveals the most important communalities and differences of different perspectives on spirituality as a scientific concept which allows a better assessment of empirical results from research on spirituality.

De erfenis van Wickham - Naar een nieuwe fase in het secularisatieonderzoek

How has historical research on secularization evolved over the past half century? Focusing on British contributions, this article distinguishes three phases: (1) approval of ‘secularization’ as a useful analytical concept, (2) criticism of the secularization paradigm on empirical and methodological grounds, and (3) historicization of secularization as a mid-twentieth-century master narrative. Because all three phases focus on the production of secularization narratives, this article advocates a fourth research phase, focused on the consumption or circulation of secularization narratives, especially outside the academic realm. With reference to the Sheffield Industrial Mission in the 1950s and 1960s, the article argues that secularization narratives not only have a referential dimension, but also a performative aspect. They not only explain the changing roles and functions of religion in modern societies, but also contribute to such changes, if only by providing frameworks through which people interpret their world. Accordingly, if historians want to explain why in the 1950s the Sheffield Industrial Mission called for radical transformation of ecclesiastical structures, or why in the 1960s staff members of the Mission disagreed on the course of action appropriate for communicating the gospel in a ‘secular’ environment, it is the use and impact of secularization narratives that has to be taken into account.

English

This paper discusses the role of religion in modern society. Religion no doubt in the perception of faithful is truly the opium of the masses, it cushions the effects of living in a problem-stricken world characterized by faithlessness and hopelessness.  It is the task of religion, once the other-world of truth has vanished, to establish the truth of the world. It is the immediate task of philosophy, which is in the service of religion to unmask self-estrangement in its unholy forms once the holy form of human self-estrangement has been unmasked; religion provides a vent and creates a disconnect between man and hopelessness while reminding us of a life in the hereafter, it absorbs the heart of the pounds of suffering, and puts on man a garb of hope which will get to be shown off on the spiritual and mundane runway. The data used in the study are derived from three sources: a structured questionnaire, documentary sources, and direct observation. The findings revealed that religion as a tool for integration has played more divisive roles than integrating roles and that either in terms of its facilities, personnel, or programs, religion is not predisposed to performing the original function it set out to accomplish. After making short and long term recommendations, it was concluded that, in order for religion to effectively discharge its responsibilities, fundamental steps must be taken to control the socio-psychological basis of religion.   Key words: Religion; Society: Masses: Opium; Development. &nbsp

An Afterword to the German Edition of The Invisible Religion

In the afterword to the third edition published more than twenty years after the initial publication of The Invisible Religion, Thomas Luckmann seeks to summarize and to clarify his position as described in his book. He argues against the idea of the decreasing importance of religion in modern society, and proposes a renewed understanding of religion that would not be confined to the intuitions of the Western world. Luckmann’s definition of religion is based on the notion of “transcendences”, which he divides into “small”, “middle”, and “great” categories. It is the experience of the “great” transcendence which leads everyday life away to another reality that plays a key role in the emergence of what is meant by religion. There is a certain order of signs that corresponds to the order of transcendences, and makes it possible to transfer the content of subjective experience of transcendence into intersubjective reality. Symbols appear to be a way of “great” transcendence appresentation, and ritual is considered as its implementation in a social action. By way of a specific set of communicative actions and with the use of symbolic and linguistic resources, subjective experience of transcendence is converted into an objective social structure, so that transcendence experiences become intersubjective and can now serve as a subject of discussion, modification and interpretation. In conclusion, Luckmann turns to the modern situation of religion, and characterizes it as the “privatization” of religion.

“Our Dead are the Ultimate Teachers of Life”. The Corpse as an Inter-mediator of Transcendence

Today in Germany, religion and the churches forfeit their sovereignty of interpretation and ritual concerning death and dying. The funeral director is the first point of contact when death occurs. Therefore he or she is able to influence the relationship between the living and the dead. In the course of this development, the dead body, often referred to as dirty and dangerous, is being sanitized by funeral directors. Funeral directors credit the dead body with a certain quality; they claim that facing the dead may lead to religious or spiritual experiences, and therefore they encourage the public viewing of the dead – a practice which was, and still is not very common in Germany. The new connotation of the dead body is an example for the dislimitation of religion in modern society. The religious framing of death-related practises no longer exclusively belongs to traditional religious institutions and actors, but can take place in commercial business companies as well.

Managing religions, citizenship and the liberal paradox

When we refer to the ‘management of religions’, we are primarily referring to the ways in which modern liberal states have responded to ‘public religions’ and in particular to the revival of Islam. The specific issues surrounding Muslim minorities in non-Muslim secular states can be seen as simply one instance of the more general problem of state and religion in modern societies. In this context, there is an increasing awareness of the limitations of the Westphalian constitutional solution, the Hobbesian social contract and Lockean liberalism as political strategies to manage conflicting religious traditions (Spinner-Halevy 2005). Unfortunately, Richard Hooker's ecclesiastical polity (1594–1597) and his plea that we should concentrate on those doctrines that unite rather than divide us has little relevance in societies that are deeply divided by cultural difference. This situation typically confronts the state because religion is often inseparable from ethnic identity, so that debates about secularization and liberalism cannot be separated from the question of citizenship in multicultural societies. These debates are significant because in societies that are divided along ethno-cultural lines, citizenship and religion are the main contenders to provide the social solidarity necessary to offset those divisions.

프랑스 사례를 중심으로 고찰한 종교와 세속성 = A Study of Religion and Laicism, Focusing on the French Case

In French, “laïcité” (laicism in English) is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of Church and State. During the twentieth century, it evolved to mean the equal treatment of all religions, although a more restrictive interpretation of the term has developed since 2004. The purpose of this study is to inquire into the issue of religion and secularism, which are the most important concepts in understanding contemporary French society, by associating them with the history of France. The concept of laicism has been gradually established in French society over the period of about four hundred years after the Renaissance, though it was decisively contributed to by the Dreyfus Affair in the late nineteenth century and the ensuing Separation of Church and State in 1905. Therefore, this study reveals the meaning of a confrontation between religion and laicism and that of the Dreyfus Affair in France and, furthermore, shows the way these meanings can be stretched by observing cases of Germany. Intellectuals, including André Malraux, made an early prediction that the twenty-first century would be an era of spirituality. And it is true that the religious issue is now at the heart of the most furious debate ever in the process of unifying Europe. Thus, the study also suggests the limits and possibilities of religion in modern society so as to develop new criteria to have a better understanding of contemporary European societies.

Secularization, Deprivatization, and the Reappearance of ‘Public Religion’ in Japanese Society

Abstract Sociological theories about the fate of religion in modern societies originated in Europe and were initially based on the history of Western Christianity. Whether or not these theoretical perspectives are useful for the analysis of other religious traditions in non-Western regions of the world has been the focus of considerable debate for decades. This article engages some of the familiar theories of secularization in light of major developments in Japanese religion and society over the past two centuries. While it has been widely assumed that modernization inevitably brings with it a decline in religion, the first phase of this process in Japan was accompanied by the creation of a powerful new form of religion—State Shintō—that served to unite the nation around a common set of symbols and institutions for half a century. This was followed by the rapid and forced secularization of Shintō during the Allied Occupation (1945-1952), which essentially privatized or removed it from public institutions. Since the end of the Occupation, however, there has been an ongoing movement to restore the special status of Shintō and its role in the public sphere. Even though recent case studies and survey research indicate that individual religiosity and organized religions are facing serious decline today, the reappearance of religion in public life and institutions represented by this restoration movement also needs to be taken into account in our assessment of secularization in contemporary Japan.

European integration and Russian Orthodoxy: Two multiple modernities perspectives

This article introduces a distinction in the paradigm of multiple modernities between a comparative-civilizational and a post-secular perspective. It argues that the former perspective helps us to understand modernization processes in large cultural-civilizational units, whereas the latter viewpoint focuses on actors and cultural domains within civilizational units and on inter-civilizational crossovers. The two perspectives are complementary. What we gain from this distinction is greater precision in the use of multiple modernities to explain the place of religion in modern societies. The example of Russian Orthodoxy is used to clarify the difference between these two perspectives: whereas from a comparative-civilizational viewpoint, Russian Orthodoxy may appear as Europe’s ‘other’; from a post-secular viewpoint, Orthodox religion is part of Europe’s religious pluralist landscape and partakes in an ongoing process of defining the meaning of European political and cultural integration.

Mediatisation of religion: A critical appraisal

Media as a context for shaping religion in modern society has generally been overlooked in the mainstream sociology of religion. This article discusses the relevance of the thesis of a mediatisation of religion presented by Stig Hjarvard for studying religious transformation in a modern, Western society. Though the theory contributes to sociology of religion through its focus on how the characteristics of modern mass media relate to the processes of secularisation, the narrow approach to religion and to the interplay between modernisation and religion in the thesis so far limits its validity. This article suggests two starting points for the development of a theory to better grasp the implications of mediatisation of religion in the contemporary world; first, an understanding of religion that better acknowledges the complexities of modern religion and second, an understanding of mediatisation that also acknowledges the agency of religious actors to take part in the shaping of media as well as modern society.

The Edge of Reason: Science and Religion in Modern Society – Edited by Alex Bentley

The Edge of Reason: Science and Religion in Modern Society – Edited by Alex Bentley