In contemporary scholarship, what are the two broad streams of ideas concerning secularization
Question
In contemporary scholarship, what are the two broad streams of ideas concerning secularization
Solution
In contemporary scholarship, the two broad streams of ideas concerning secularization are the Secularization Thesis and the Religious Economies Theory.
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Secularization Thesis: This is the traditional view of secularization, which suggests that as societies become more modern, they also become less religious. This theory is based on the idea that science and rational thought replace religion as the primary source of meaning and understanding. The secularization thesis argues that secularization is an inevitable and irreversible trend.
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Religious Economies Theory: This theory challenges the secularization thesis. It suggests that religion does not necessarily decline in modern societies, but rather changes form. According to this theory, when there is a "market" of many different religions, people are more likely to be religious. This is because they can find a religion that suits their personal beliefs and needs. The religious economies theory argues that competition between religions can actually increase religiosity in a society.
These two theories represent different ways of understanding the relationship between modernity and religion. While the secularization thesis sees modernity as leading to a decline in religion, the religious economies theory sees modernity as leading to a transformation of religion.
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The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.In many cases, secularism becomes conflated with secularization, a waning in religiosity that is a result of modernization. Such secularisms then become viewed as derivative of a Western genealogy that locates secularism’s origins in the Catholic/ Protestant split (thereby neglecting Orthodox Christianity) and “closely connected with the rise of a system of capitalist nation-states” as well as modernity. This tendency in secularism studies explains, in part, the scholarly neglect of the particular histories and experiences of secularism in socialist states, including those of Southeastern Europe.1) Secularism is often mistaken for the waning of secularization and is thus viewed through a Western lens, neglecting the unique secular histories of socialist states, especially in Southeastern Europe.2) The merging of secularism with the decrease in religiosity leads to its association with Western history and modernization, overlooking the experiences of secularism in socialist countries.3) The study of secularism dominates socialist states, as it is typically viewed as a Western concept rooted in the Catholic/Protestant split and linked to capitalism and modernity.4) Secularism, commonly confused with secularisation, is often interpreted through a Western framework, thus ignoring the unique histories of Southeastern European states.
class 8 Understanding Secularism
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