Secularization Thesis versus Resurgence of Religiosity - Essay Example

Secularization versus Religion Introduction Human beings co-existed with religion since the beginning of time. It provided Christian teachings that governed the human society for thousands of years. Classical social thinkers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century postulated that after some time, religion would actually disappear and give rise to the secularization thesis. The evidence is clear that religion started fading slowly due to various factors such as industrialization and modernity. However one major question, this study seeks to explore is whether there a long-term growth in secularization or is this thesis refuted by the apparent revival of religiosity? Secularization Theory This theory clarifies the fact that modernization of the contemporary societies enhances secularism and diminishes religion as well. According to research studies, it is proved that religion has been in existence since the world began. The church, through its biblical teachings, governed the society for over a thousand years. The pope was considered as the most powerful person in the world. However, this did not last, considering the current state of the world, whereby the government and the church are separate entities. The reason behind the split was the fact that people were disillusioned that the church lacked the ability to maintain a peaceful society. This was also the period that saw social scientists develop ideas and concepts that were contrary to the church teachings. The ideas focused on learning and exploration, science and knowledge. This focus meant a shift from the church’s biblical teachings to the world views. It meant a fall of religion. Certain ideas were developed regarding the society and its view of humanity and religious law was replaced by natural law. For instance, the previous belief that God was responsible for the sun rise was replaced by the view that the rotation of the earth was the reason behind sun rise. Darwin’s theory of evolution was now considered as the concept behind human development. This shift gave birth to secularism. This concept denotes something that is non-religious. The institutions built during the birth of a new and modern society were basically secular. Secularism became a belief, and religion was no longer the stirring force in public life. The secularization thesis was now developing, and took the concept of secularism and hypothesized that it was actually happening. Experts in early 1960s, were trying to create some sense of religious developments, and said that religion was actually declining in the western world due to science and industrialization. They speculated that the rest of the world would also suffer a similar fate as they embrace industrial developments. Each generation has always been confident that within no time, or possibly after some long time, religion will be completely wiped out and that human beings will outgrow their faith in the supernatural (Durant and Durant 1965). Case studies reveal that Thomas Woolston was pioneer in setting the date in which modernity would have gained victory over religion. He wrote that religion will have disappeared by 1900 (Woolston, 1733). About half a century later, criticism arose from Fredrick the Great, and in his letter to his friend Voltaire, Fredrick wrote that Woolston had not calculated what had recently happened since religion was collapsing and its fall was more quick (Redman, 1926). As a response, (Woolston 1733) Voltaire postulated that religion would end within the coming fifty years. There was an era when it actually seemed that secularization thesis was moving towards reality. Most countries in the West had lost their religious standing and most of the committed religious believers had turned to secularized lifestyles and evidence proved that they were actually falling away. De-secularization Theory Many people, around the world believed that since modernization was growing at an accelerated pace, secularization was also spreading hence pinning down religion. However, critical studies declared that it was not the concept of secularization thesis that transcended time, since modernity was most popular in the Western world and therefore other regions had enough room to develop religiously, while still evidence showed that religion was diminishing in almost all countries of the world. Another factor that supports this claim is the fact that the last decade has witnessed a major religious resurgence in most parts of the world despite the current modernity. In fact, in North America, one of the world’s modernized states, there has been a religious boom among its people in the recent past. Sociological studies also reveal that the conflict between science and religion is fictional, disapproving the secularization thesis. In fact sociologists are now claiming that both the certainty and extent of secularization have been largely exaggerated. Pessimists claim that social scientists have been celebrating the secularization thesis from the beginning, despite the fact that it has never been consistent with the reality. As a matter of fact, secularization did not last while religion on the other hand pulled through. In his publication, secularization R.I.P, Rodney Stark gives a list of numerous religious groups that have considerably grown in numbers in a short period of time. Faiths such evangelical Christianity and Islam have largely expanded. The first contemporary sociologist to disapprove the secularization thesis was David Martin (1965). He proposed that this concept should be eliminated from the social scientific discussion on the basis that it had only served polemical and ideological functions rather than theoretical functions. This is because this concept has no evidence to support its claim that there was a shift in the human affairs from religion to secularism (Martin 1991). In fact, according to Martin, there is no any time; the secularization thesis has been in consistent with plain facts. For instance, in Europe, certain populations unbelief is as a result of debasement and ignorance, and not due to modernity as the secularization theory asserts. When the secularization theory was coming into practice over one hundred and fifty years ago, it was noted that not only had American religiousness expanded, but the rate of membership had also trebled (Finke and Stark, 1992). Greeley holds to the fact that as far as religion is concerned, its existence in the world will never die as long as human beings continue to live. This claim seems to have been backed up by the recent global religious resurgence. The major point of concern here is that no one can ever give conclusive evidence that religion will not diminish one day and even if evidence is achieved, the diminishing of religion will not be attributed to modernization. Secularization thesis verses resurgence of religiosity The fact that human beings have co-existed with religion since the beginning of the world cannot be disputed. It is also necessary to note that the secularization thesis developed at some point, whereby various classical thinkers came up with claims that religion would actually come to an end at some point in life. One of the main factors behind the diminishing of religion is modernity, according to the secularization theory. However, this fact has been largely debated on. From the augments it is clear that secularization thesis is null and void and such a period has never existed. In fact at the time of modernity, some churches were expanding in Europe. The evidence is clear and pervasive that religion has never disappeared, but has only changed. Religion remains vibrant and socially salient. In the United States, scholars document that huge numbers of Americans continue to hold on to supernatural forces, recognize themselves with religious terms and continue to hunger for a spiritually improved life. Some pervasive evidence also indicates that the contemporary changes in religion illustrate some form of religious decline. Some churches have actually incorporated some aspects of the secular world into church practice. Secularization in the contemporary world has been pinned down by the resurgence of churches of various faiths such as evangelical Christians, Islamic faith and the Protestants. If secularization is to show up anywhere today, then it has to occur among the scientists. A more surprising fact is that among the American academicians today, the proportion of religious scientists is more than those who stick to their theories (Stark et al. 1996, 1998). In the Soviet Republic, the collapse of the Soviet Communism had a remarkable outcome especially concerning religion. It actually led to the failure of several efforts that were dedicated to indoctrinate atheism in the former Soviet Union (Greeley, 1994). Atheistic communism considered itself to have pushed forward the predictable process of secularization, which would make religion to disappear from the earth’s surface (Greeley 1994). But as a matter of concern, major religious revivals have sprouted throughout the entire Soviet bloc. Mary D. (1982) points out that no individual speculated the recent religious revivals. She proceeds to say that according to various documented reports, religious change today happens in two forms only. The first form is the filling off of ancient Christian churches while the second form is the appearance of new cults, which are not expected to last. This has led to resurgence of various churches, having different faiths, a fact that has led to the decline of secularization thesis. However, we can not dispute the fact that secularism has also been in existent for quite some time. According to various case studies, it is believed that secularization thesis started to develop during the period in which early scientists and explorers began generating theories and ideas that stood contrary to the biblical teachings. Human beings started having faith in ungodly materials and disregarded the biblical doctrines. Today this faith still exists and there lots of people who still disregard the biblical teachings. However, the resurgence of religiosity and the consequent changes in the religious doctrines today, has led to decline of secularization thesis. Conclusion Religion in the world is not in any state of decline; rather, the structures and forms that were identified with the ancient populations are being reshaped, criticized and even face threat from the processes of modernity. Various practices have been introduced to the church worship that did not exist in the ancient times for instance, bureaucracies. The essay illustrates a brief trend towards secularization, but also describes efforts towards de-secularization and the resurgence of religiousity outweighing the secularization thesis claims. As the essay above articulates, the secularization thesis was just an idea that was aimed at generating more discussion, than a reality. However, it is becoming difficult to account for religious resurgence since the modern world is becoming more secularized. But this fact still holds, religion will continue to exist as long as man exists, no matter how many changes are introduced to it. References Douglas, M. 1982. The effects of modernization on religious change. In Religion and America: Spirituality in a secular age, edited by M. Douglas and S. M. Tipton, 25-43. Boston: Beacon Press. Durant, W., and A. Durant. 1965. The age of Voltaire. New York: Simon and Schuster. Finke, R. 1992. An unsecular America. In Religion and modernization, edited by S. Bruce, 145-169. Oxford: Clarendon. Finke, R., and R. Stark. 1988. Religious economies and sacred canopies: Religious mobilization in American cities, 1906. American Sociological Review 53: 41-9. Greeley, A. M. 1989. Religious change in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Martin, D. 1965. Towards eliminating the concept of secularization. In Penguin survey of the social sciences, edited by J. Gould. Harmondsworth (UK): Pengiun Books. Redman, B. R. 1949. The portable Voltaire. New York: Penguin. Stark, R., and L. R. Iannaccone. 1993. Rational propositions about religious groups and movements. In Handbook of cults and sects in America, edited by D. G. Bromley and J. K. Hadden, 241-61. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Stark, R., L. R. Iannaccone, and R. Finke. 1996. Religion, science, and rationality. Papers and proceedings of American Economic Review 433-437 The Theory of Secularization vs. Desecularization – Are We Losing Faith? Source> http://nathanbrandes.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/the-theory-of-secularization-vs-desecularization-are-we-losing-faith/ Woolston, T. 1733. Works of Thomas Woolston. London: J. Roberts. Read More