Religion, Private & Public
Religion, Private & Public
The search for contemporary forms of religion in the West is dominated by the idea of the turn to the self. Religiosity is supposed to become more and more a personal affair.
This privatisation thesis however, is too narrow and too one-sided to describe the development of religion in Western Europe in its totality. Its supporters' perception of the processes to which religion is subject are too one-sided. Privatisation is primarily a consequence of the process of differentiation. But the effects social differentiation has on society as a whole on the one hand and religion on the other differs. The process of de-institutionalisa¬tion for example, is another effect (see, for instance, Giddens, 1990; and Bauman, 2000).
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The search for contemporary forms of religion in the West is dominated by the idea of the turn to the self. Religiosity is supposed to become more and more a personal affair.
This privatisation thesis however, is too narrow and too one-sided to describe the development of religion in Western Europe in its totality. Its supporters' perception of the processes to which religion is subject are too one-sided. Privatisation is primarily a consequence of the process of differentiation. But the effects social differentiation has on society as a whole on the one hand and religion on the other differs. The process of de-institutionalisa¬tion for example, is another effect (see, for instance, Giddens, 1990; and Bauman, 2000).
Read more