The Stages of Religious Transformation: A Study of 200 Nations
Secularization theorists tend to assume that secularization is linear, inevitable, caused by modernization, and found primarily in Western societies. In contrast, we develop a cyclical model of religious transformation which incorporates the process of secularization as well as other aspects of reli...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer
1989
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 1989, Volume: 30, Issue: 3, Pages: 209-224 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Secularization theorists tend to assume that secularization is linear, inevitable, caused by modernization, and found primarily in Western societies. In contrast, we develop a cyclical model of religious transformation which incorporates the process of secularization as well as other aspects of religious change, such as reform and revitalization, the creation of new religious movements, and the decline of traditional religions both historically and in contemporary non-Western societies. Data from Barrett's World Christian Encyclopedia (1982) are used to study religious changes between 1900 and 1980 in 200 nations and colonies, with 192 nations fitting into one of the stages of our model and 8 nations exhibiting reform tendencies. Decline of the majority religion is most characteristic of Tribal and Christian (especially Protestant) religions. Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu faiths are most resistant to decline. Atheism and non-religion have grown in most areas of the world, especially in Marxist and Western nations. Secularization theory does not provide a convincing explanation for the growth of irreligion. Religious changes are closely tied to political conditions in a nation. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511506 |