In sociology, secularization (British English: secularisation) is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level."[1] There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatically antithetical to religion.[2] Secularization has different connotations such as implying differentiation of secular from religious domains, the marginalization of religion in those domains, or it may also entail the transformation of religion as a result of its recharacterization (e.g. as a private concern, or as a non-political matter or issue).[3][4]
The secularization thesis expresses the idea that through the lens of the European enlightenmentmodernization, rationalization, combined with the ascent of science and technology, religious authority diminishes in all aspects of social life and governance.[5][6] According to Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, global demographics are complex since "virtually all advanced industrial societies" have become more secular in recent decades while also stating that people with religious beliefs represent a growing share of the world population due to fertility rates.[7]
In recent years, the secularization thesis has been challenged due to some global studies indicating that the irreligious population of the world may be in decline as a percentage of the world population due to irreligious countries having subreplacement fertility rates and religious countries having higher birth rates in general.[7][8][9][10][11] Christian sociologist Peter L. Berger coined the term desecularization to describe this phenomenon.[12] In addition, secularization rates are stalling or reversing in some countries/regions such as the countries in the former Soviet Union or large cities in the Western world with significant amounts of religious immigrants.[13][14] There is no particular monolithic direction or trend for secularization since, even in Europe, the trends in religious history and demographical religious measures (e.g. belief, belonging, etc) are mixed and make the region an exception compared to other parts of the world.[15] Global studies show that many people who do not identify with a religion still hold religious beliefs and participate in religious practices.[16][17] The secular vs religion dichotomy is false and neither concept is mutually exclusive.[2]
^Latré, Stijn; Vanheeswijck, Guido (1 January 2015). "Secularization: History of the Concept". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition): 388–394. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.03113-5. ISBN9780080970875.
^ abCite error: The named reference Eller was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Bullivant, Stephen; Lee, Lois (2016). A Dictionary of Atheism. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780191816819.
^ abNorris, Pippa; Inglehart, Ronald (2011). Sacred and secular : religion and politics worldwide (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. Chapter 1. ISBN9781139128674. OCLC767732041.
^Zuckerman, Phil (2006). "3 - Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns". In Martin, Michael (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. pp. 47–66. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521842700.004. ISBN9781139001182.
^Davie, Grace (2022). "15. Religion, Secularity, and Secularization in Europe". The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Europe. Oxford University Press. pp. 270, 273, 278, 282. ISBN978-0198834267.