Secularisation theory and religion in the U.S.
This essay will critically evaluate secularisation theory as a means of understanding the current state of religion within the United States.
The end of religion has for centuries been predicted with passionate conviction by a large portion of western academics and sociological commentators. Since the period of the Enlightenment and the rise of reason and science in the Western world, a great number of seminal thinkers have linked this supposed decline of religion and its waning influence in the public arena with the ongoing process of modernisation, a paradigm which has come to be known as secularisation theory. During the 20th century, writing on the sociological study of religion came to be dominated by this framework with many regarding it as “the master model of social inquiry” (Norris and Inglehart 2006). In the last few decades, however, critics of the theory have gained significant traction and some leading proponents have retracted their former support, culminating in Rodney Stark’s 1999 article Secularisation R.I.P. (Stark 1999). Criticism of secularisation theory can generally be traced back to the fundamental issue that has plagued sociologists since its inception; that of clearly defining what is meant by the term ‘secularisation’ as well as its antithesis in ‘religion’ and religiosity. Further, the United States - widely considered the most powerful nation in the modern world yet with a markedly religious citizenry – persists as a striking exception to the rule that modernity equals secularity. This essay will seek to evaluate the extent to which secularisation theory can be applied to the United States, offering an analysis of the most common approaches which have been used to define and measure secularisation and religious belief before examining a variety of explanations offered by social theorists for the state of religion in contemporary America. In doing so, this essay will evaluate the main criticisms against secularisation theory and
The end of religion has for centuries been predicted with passionate conviction by a large portion of western academics and sociological commentators. Since the period of the Enlightenment and the rise of reason and science in the Western world, a great number of seminal thinkers have linked this supposed decline of religion and its waning influence in the public arena with the ongoing process of modernisation, a paradigm which has come to be known as secularisation theory. During the 20th century, writing on the sociological study of religion came to be dominated by this framework with many regarding it as “the master model of social inquiry” (Norris and Inglehart 2006). In the last few decades, however, critics of the theory have gained significant traction and some leading proponents have retracted their former support, culminating in Rodney Stark’s 1999 article Secularisation R.I.P. (Stark 1999). Criticism of secularisation theory can generally be traced back to the fundamental issue that has plagued sociologists since its inception; that of clearly defining what is meant by the term ‘secularisation’ as well as its antithesis in ‘religion’ and religiosity. Further, the United States - widely considered the most powerful nation in the modern world yet with a markedly religious citizenry – persists as a striking exception to the rule that modernity equals secularity. This essay will seek to evaluate the extent to which secularisation theory can be applied to the United States, offering an analysis of the most common approaches which have been used to define and measure secularisation and religious belief before examining a variety of explanations offered by social theorists for the state of religion in contemporary America. In doing so, this essay will evaluate the main criticisms against secularisation theory and