Secularization

One of the reasons that religion continues to be important in modern society is because members of religious organizations frequently take a stand against some of the ills of society. However, in order to remain robust and attract new adherents, religious organizations need to demonstrate that they are relevant to each generation. A problem arises, however, when attempts at remaining relevant and changing to meet the societal expectations of a generation compromise the message of the religion. This is particularly easy to do in contemporary American culture, with its emphasis on skepticism, rationalism, and a postmodern rejection of certainty and absolute truth. When religions are unable to walk the line between relevance and secularization, they run the risk of being seen as irrelevant or of not being differentiated from other cultural institutions.

Keywords Adiaphora; Church; Empirical; Postmodernism; Secularization

Sociology of Religion > Secularization

Secularization

Overview

For purposes of brevity, this article will primarily use Christianity as an example in its discussion. This is not to say that secularization does not occur in other religious traditions (for instance, Buddhist shrines have become tourist attractions in China, and Islam is commonly married with secular politics in the Middle East.) The example of Christianity is used primarily due to the widespread familiarity that most Americans have with that religion regardless of their faith tradition. For a detailed description of the variety of world religions see Huston Smith's (1991) World Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions.

It can be argued that in order to continue to survive, a religion must adapt to the times in order to be relevant to each generation. For example, no matter how sincerely contemporary Christian churches believe that they are adhering to the practices and beliefs of the first-century church, few if any of them are doing so in all aspects. In most churches, for example, very few Christians literally give away all that they own to the poor as dictated by the New Testament. Indeed, nearly every church is interpreting which doctrines are essential, core values and which are adiaphora and, therefore, open to interpretation. However, just how this interpretation is done is open to much debate and has even caused (and still threatens to cause) schism within the church. The results of one church's or theologian's exegesis on these matters may lead to a different conclusion than that of another church or theologian. The line between making a religion relevant and allowing it to become secularized can be a fine one.

Arguably, secularization has been a problem since the time that a difference between religion and secular society could first be distinguished. In the Hebrew Bible, for example, the Hebrew people are told that they have been "set apart from the nations" (Leviticus 20:24). In the Christian New Testament, St. Paul warns first-century Christians not to be "conformed to the pattern of this world" (Romans 12:2). Religions have always struggled to keep their unique identity and be faithful to their beliefs. Syncretism — the fusing of two or more different religious or philosophic belief systems, particularly with the end result of heterogeneity and loss of unique identity of the original systems — has been a related problem as religions were tempted to accommodate other beliefs. The Hebrew Bible describes how King Solomon's marriage to multiple pagan wives set up the scenario for a slide into syncretism, and the first-century Christians were similarly plagued by questions of what was and was not acceptable behavior vis–à-vis the religious acts of other religions. However, the modern use of the term “secularization” did not come into its own until the Age of Enlightenment.

The Enlightenment: Growing Skepticism

One of the roots of modern thought can be traced back to the attitude of skepticism that arose in Europe during the Enlightenment. This method of reasoning and approaching problems paved the way for today's scientific method. The popularization of skepticism, however, led to a questioning of tradition and the substitution of rational thought for faith. In Europe, rationalism (as exemplified by Rene Descartes) emphasized the application of the mind and mathematical ability as the surest source of knowledge. In Britain, empiricism (as exemplified by Francis Bacon and John Locke) emphasized the actual observation of the world as a primary basis for knowledge. This combination of skepticism, rationalism, and empiricism led to serious doubt about traditional religious belief in many quarters in the modern West. Secularism grew out of this worldview.

In general, secularization is the process of transforming a religion to a philosophy and worldview based primarily on reason and science rather than on faith and supernatural concepts. Through the process of secularization, religious groups and activities lose their religious significance. Although it would be easy to consider dismissing the Enlightenment and all outside influences in order to allow a religion to remain "pure," as mentioned above, it is important for religions to show their relevance to the problems of the current era. The majority of practitioners of most religions live in society and are a part of the contemporary culture for their age. Typically, it is the relatively few who can sequester themselves away from the influences of secular culture. Therefore, religions must make a reasoned response to the demands, mores, and standards of the secular world in order to demonstrate that they are still relevant to the needs of people. The line between relevance and secularization is often a fine one to walk.

Christianity: Seeking Relevance, Avoiding Secularism

An example of a religion in the throes of attempting to maintain relevance without becoming secular is Christianity in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Rapid advancement in technology has changed the way that many people today perform common activities. The fine art of letter writing is long dead in many sectors, having been replaced by the quickly typed e-mail message. Many academic lectures and professional briefings are now accompanied not only by charts and graphs but also by animation and computer presentation. People used to this type of culture and this level of technology are often left cold when faced with the trappings of an "old time religion" that does not incorporate such things. In addition to technological expectations, culture in general has changed. The sedate hymns and music of bygone years and centuries seem remote and out of touch. Many people relate better to hip-hop than to Bach, so fail to be touched by the worship forms of previous generations. Even the dress standards of the twenty-first century differ from those of the mid-twentieth century: White gloves and tuxedos are things of the past and have been replaced by polo shirts and blue jeans. It is difficult to explain to people who dress informally for the office that more formal attire is required to be respectful in church. Perhaps most importantly, however, is the increasing view of religion as irrelevant to the times and trials of twenty-first-century postmodern culture. The view of a religious leader as the holder of ultimate truth is rejected by many who question or reject claims of absolute certainty and objective truth in other areas of their lives.

Religious Modernization

Because of these factors, many religious institutions and organizations today seek to become more relevant to the needs and expectations of their target audience. In some cases, this merely means relaxing dress codes and introducing more contemporary forms into worship. In other cases, it may require embracing today's technology to meet modern societal expectations. In many cases, these are only tools and forms that make it easier for twenty-first-century individuals to see the relevance of and identify with a religion today — mere adiaphora that do not impact the core beliefs and values of the religion. However, there is the frequent and persistent fear that such accommodations to the trappings of the world may bring with them an accommodation in the core values as well. Postmodern skepticism can bring with it a concomitant rejection of doctrines central to a religion such as a disbelief in miracles or the refusal to see an accepted canon of scripture as the sole source of truth. As these things happen, religion becomes more and more like the culture that surrounds it and can lose its identity and power as a social institution.

Evolution of Other Religions

It is not only Christianity that is undergoing such debates and changes. Contemporary Judaism comprises various levels of adherence to tradition through the Orthodox, Reformed, and Conservative approaches. Whereas many orthodox groups would not consider the ordination of women rabbis, for example, the conservative and reform traditions do ordain women. Similarly, contemporary Islam is fraught with debate over the role (and even the dress) of women in the twenty-first century, with women taking on more active, less traditional roles in some quarters while being oppressed (at least by secular standards) and confined to traditional roles in others.

Cultural Secularization

In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912), French sociologist Emile Durkheim separates the components of society into two types: sacred and profane. Sacred elements of society are those that are seen as extraordinary and holding great cultural meaning. These elements are often of a religious nature, but they are not necessarily religious. Lenin's tomb in the former Soviet Union and the Lincoln Memorial in the United States are both places with great sacred importance, from a sociological viewpoint, but they lack spiritual significance. The profane elements of society are those that are everyday and without great symbolic meaning. Profane elements are simply common, such as a sock or pencil, and hold no deeper meaning other than their practicality. Durkheim also recognized the ability of certain elements to move from sacred to profane and vice versa. As cultures change over time and space, the meaning of sacred or profane elements may change. Thus, crosses are now commonly worn as jewelry without religious significance. Conversely, the menorah, which is sacred to Judaism, originated as simply a type of candle holder.

Another way in which sociologists and other observers of society and culture use the term “secularization” is to refer to the secularization of a culture itself. This phenomenon occurs when cultures that were founded on religious principles or values find themselves becoming further divorced from these principles. For example, for years, the United States was considered to be a "Christian nation," not only because Christianity was the major religion in the country but also because the values and principles of Christianity had been built into many of the laws and institutions of the land. However, over time, some of these laws and practices have been changed to better reflect general, nonreligious values and to be more inclusive to people of all beliefs, with a concomitant emphasis on human rights. With a growing number of adherents to other religions as well as an increasing demand for tolerance of diversity and inclusiveness, the United States has lost its specifically Christian identity. The secularization of American culture is expressed in many different ways, including the ban on prayer in schools and lawsuits brought to remove the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance" and representations of the Ten Commandments from courtrooms. Similar secularizing influences can be seen today in historically Islamic nations, as they face pressure from international human rights groups over the treatment of women and other aspects of their culture based on religious principles or laws.

Defining & Measuring Secularization

Like many concepts in sociology, the concept of secularization is complex, and the term can be used to refer to a range of phenomena. This makes the development of valid, meaningful operational definitions of secularization a top priority to allow research to be meaningfully applied and appropriately generalized to real-world phenomena. Secularization is sometimes measured by determining the percentage of apostates from generally accepted religions. Although to some extent this makes sense and is a relatively easy datum to capture, it tells little about whether or not the church, religion, or culture is becoming more secular in nature. Secularization of a religious organization can be viewed as a change in outward forms in order to better reflect the trappings or values of the external culture or as a more basic change in the principles and tenets of the religion so that its message is watered down. Secularization of a culture involves not only a change in outward religiosity, but a change in inward values and guiding principles as well.

Secularization is a complex process involving issues of diversity, tolerance, and shifting moral values. On one level, a culture could become more secularized by modernizing or otherwise changing its outward forms (e.g., whether or not women are allowed to go to school). However, relinquishing outward forms is often a matter of adiaphora rather than of core values. These latter concepts are more difficult to measure. A culture that allows outward changes in order to be more inclusive does not necessarily give up the core religious values on which it was founded. Researchers and theorists need to develop comprehensive theories and concomitant operational definitions of secularization in order to be able to acquire generalizable, replicable results that can help scholars and practitioners better understand the mechanisms and implications of secularization.

Applications

The Process of Secularization: A German Case Study

The current literature on the sociology of religion includes much debate concerning the process of secularization. Froese and Pfaff (2005) examined the secularization of religion in eastern Germany. Eastern Germany was chosen for this analysis because of the forty-six countries that were analyzed in the World Values Survey taken between 1995 and 1997, it was found that eastern Germany leads the world in the percentage of atheists — a sign of secularization. Atheism is much more than being unchurched or uncertain about religious explanations for various questions: Atheists actively deny the existence of a God or multiple gods.

Specifically, eastern Germany was found to have 25.4 percent atheists as opposed to the next most atheistic country, Japan, which had only 12.2 percent. (The United States had 1.1 percent atheists that were reported in the survey.) The fact that eastern Germany's percentage of atheists is more than double that of the next-most atheistic country makes it a prime candidate for research into the process of secularization. This high percentage of atheism cannot be explained simply on the grounds that eastern Germany was formerly a communist country: The percentage of atheists in eastern Germany is nearly seven times larger than the percentage of atheists in formerly communist Russia (3.7 percent).

Secularization is the predominant explanation proffered in discussions of religious change. Within the field of sociology, the concept of secularization typically includes not only the degree of separation of religious and secular institutions but also the differentiation of religious and secular activities, privatization of religious sentiment, and the progressive shrinkage and decline of religion within the society. This latter factor in secularization — the "progressive shrinking and decline" of religion — is the primary criterion by which secularization is measured in sociology. Operationally defining secularization in terms of atheism is consistent with this approach (Froese & Pfaff, 2005).

The rule of the Nazis severely weakened the Christian Church in Germany not only during World War II but also afterwards. However, by 1950, over 92 percent of eastern Germans surveyed in the census reported being members of a church or religious organization. This all changed during the subsequent decades under socialist rule. In the subsequent years, numerous antireligious regulations were instituted and the state-sponsored promotion of socialist-inspired atheism took a toll on religion. In the early 1950s, the government adopted an explicitly Stalinist policy marginalizing religion and "de-churching" society. This trend was coupled with the concomitant rise of scientific atheism as a competitor to religion. In fact, by the late 1950s, the socialist regime announced that scientific atheism had become the official policy of the state, and compelled the party members to renounce religion (Froese & Pfaff, 2005). By 1964, only 55 percent of eastern Germans reported belonging to religious organizations (it should be noted, however, that respondents' answers to these surveys may have been influenced by their fear of giving a "wrong answer" for fear that authorities would find out). The percentage of eastern Germans identifying with religious organizations continued to fall and was less than 39 percent by 1986. These trends applied both to church affiliation and to church attendance. Of course, eastern Germany was not the only socialist state of that era. What distinguished it from other socialist states was not "repression but the introduction of mandatory substitutes for" religious ritual. In the end, the state made atheism a successful competitor and substitute for religion (Froese & Pfaff, 2005).

Another factor contributing to the rapid decline of religion in eastern Germany was the use of accommodation as a survival strategy in many religious organizations. This intentional secularization of the Church from the inside more than likely made them less appealing to the people they were attempting to reach and contributed to the overall secularization of the state. This, perhaps, is one of the contributing factors to the fact that the fall of communism did not result in a concomitant resurgence of religion in eastern Germany. This condition in eastern Germany is unlike that in other post-communist countries in which the fall of communism resulted in a resurgence of religion. It is hypothesized that the already weakened condition of the Church in Germany under the Nazi regime was dealt a further serious blow in eastern Germany under socialism.

After the fall of communism, religious groups and eastern Germany experienced re-regulation, and religious life was not set free but came under new forms of state control along the lines of some pre-1933 patterns. This re-regulation appears to have significantly impacted the robustness of the Church in eastern Germany in several important ways.

• First, the Lutheran Church in the East was dissolved and merged into the Lutheran Church in western Germany. This situation contributed to the feeling in eastern Germany that their own organizations, way of life, and unique identity was disappearing. This affected the clergy as they struggled to adapt to new and unfamiliar institutions and religious culture.
• Second, with the end of communism, the Church in eastern Germany lost the appeal of being an alternative to socialist ideals.
• Third, after reunification, eastern Germany became subject to the regulations of former West Germany regarding official registration of sects and religious communities as well as subsidies to support charitable activities.
• Fourth, and perhaps most damaging of all, is the fact that reunification brought with it the reinstitution of the church tax for registered members of religious organizations.

The results of this study have broader implications as churches continue to face the question of what constitutes relevance in a postmodern society and what constitutes secularization. Although the church today is not faced with the competing influence of National Socialism or communism, it is faced with questions of accommodation, acculturation, and change (Froese & Pfaff, 2005).

Conclusion

To some extent, religions must adapt to the times in order to be perceived as relevant to the current generation. A problem arises, however, when attempts at remaining relevant and changing to meet the societal expectations of a generation water down the message of the church or religion. When religions become secularized, they lose their power not only spiritually, but also culturally. Arguably, this has been a problem for as long as distinctions could be made between religious and secular cultures. However, the internalization of the skepticism and rationalism of the Enlightenment, combined with the rejection of the concepts of absolute certainty and objective truth of today's postmodern culture, makes it easy for religions and religious institutions to find themselves crossing the line from relevance to secularization. To maintain their unique identity as well as to attract adherents, therefore, it is important for religions institutions to find ways to demonstrate their relevance while still maintaining their separation from the secular culture.

Terms & Concepts

Adiaphora: In religion, adiaphora refers to things that are not core values or essential to the faith and, therefore, a matter of individual interpretation that can be allowed within the confines of orthodoxy.

Church: Although originally used to refer to the building in which people met for worship, the term church is now used in several different ways. When capitalized, the term can refer to (a) the Christian religion in general (i.e., the Christian Church or the Church), (b) a major subcategory of the Christian Church (e.g., the Eastern Church or the Western Church), or (c) a denomination (e.g., the Lutheran Church or the Baptist Church). (d) The capitalized term can also be used as part of the name of a particular congregation. When in lower case, the term is used to refer to (e) a building in which a particular congregation meets, more generally to (f) the congregation that meets in that building, or (g) to a public worship or other service held by a congregation. (h) The lower case term can also be used to differentiate between ecclesiastic power and secular power (i.e., church and state). So, for example, one could talk about the difficulties within the Anglican Church (denomination) in which St. Mark's Church (a particular congregation) has decided to break away and there is discussion concerning to whom the church building belongs. The term church is generally used only in the Christian religion and not Judaism or other religions.

Doctrine: A principle (or body of principles) accepted or believed by a religious group.

Empirical: Describing theories or evidence that are derived from or based on observation or experiment.

Exegesis: The critical interpretation of a text in which the interpreter tries to understand the meaning of the text, typically in greater context. (The term exegesis comes from the Greek, meaning to "lead out.")

Marginalization: The process of relegating a person or subgroup to the outer edge of the group (i.e., margin) by demonstrating through word or action that the person or subgroup is less important and less powerful than the rest of the group.

Postmodernism: A worldview beginning in the latter half of the twentieth century that questions or rejects claims of absolute certainty and objective truth.

Profane: Those elements of society that are normal, common, and without great symbolic (typically religious) meaning. Examples: a radio broadcast of a baseball game, a beer mug, socks.

Sacred: Those elements of society that are seen as extrodinary and hold great cultural (and typically religious) meaning. These elements are often seen as having mystical powers or some connection to the supernatural. Examples: reading the Torah aloud, communion wafers, Native American medicine bags.

Schism: In general, a schism is a formal and intentional separation or division into factions. In Christianity, it is a formal breach of union within a church or denomination. The Great Schism refers to the break between the Western (i.e., Roman) and Eastern (i.e., Orthodox) Churches, traditionally dated to 1054 A.D.

Secularization: The process of transforming a religion to a philosophy and worldview based primarily on reason and science rather than on faith and supernatural concepts. Through the process of secularization, religious groups and activities lose their religious significance.

Syncretism: The fusing of two or more different religious or philosophic belief systems, particularly with an end result of heterogeneity and a loss of unique identity of the original systems.

Unchurched: Formally, the term "unchurched" refers to individuals over the age of eighteen who have not attended a Christian church service within the past six months. More generally, the term refers to an individual or group that does not regularly attend or participate in church activities, particularly those related to worship or religious education.

Bibliography

Clark, R., & Grandchamp, D. (2011). Recent trends and anomalies in American secularization. International Review of Modern Sociology, 37, 91–110. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=60388471

Durkheim, E. (1912). The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: Oxford University Press.

Froese, P., & Pfaff, S. (2005). Explaining a religious anomaly: A historical analysis of secularization in Eastern Germany. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 44, 397–422. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=18822730&site=ehost-live

Kaufmann, E., Goujon, A., & Skirbekk, V. (2012). The end of secularization in Europe?: A socio-demographic perspective. Sociology of Religion, 73, 69–91. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=73910886

Vanderstraeten, R. (2013). Talcott Parsons and the enigma of secularization. European Journal of Social Theory, 16, 69–84. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=85017300

Suggested Reading

Bruce, S. (2012). Patronage and secularization: Social obligation and church support. British Journal of Sociology, 63, 533–552. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=79680745

Chambers, P. (2006). Secularisation, Wales, and Islam. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 21, 325–340. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=22455312&site=ehost-live

Demerath, N. J., III. (2007). Dear President Bush: Assessing religion and politics during your administration for "posteriority." Sociology of Religion, 68, 5–25. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=24467040&site=ehost-live

Habermas, J., & J. Ratzinger. (2006). The dialectics of secularization. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.

Schwadel, P. (2005). Education and churchgoing Protestants' views of highly politicized Christianity. Review of Religious Research, 47, 150–161. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=19330002&site=ehost-live

Smith, H. (1991). The world's religions. New York: HarperOne.

Smith, H. (1994). The illustrated world's religions. New York: Harper Collins.