Effects Of Secularization On Religion

Secularization is a phenomena that has become almost synonymous with modernity. This essay will argue that secularization has had negative effects on religion, but positive effects on individuals. Using examples from both secular and non-secular societies, this essay will show the effect that secularization has had on both the individual and religion in general.

Although people are aware that secularization is a phenomena that has taken hold on many societies, there is no consensus on a definition of the word. According to José Casanova, there are three ways to define secularization: as a decline in religion, the privatization of religion, or as the separation of church and state. This essay will view secularization through the ‘privatization

Secularization has lead to a shift in religion from being objective to being subjective. Therefore, every individual has the right to make their own decisions about how they practice their religion. This leads to religion being less influential as well as a plurality of religions in society. This plurality leads religions to be almost in competition with each other as no one religion has the monopoly. Due to secularization, Berger states that religions have become almost institutionalized, and marketed as a business would market a product. Religions become more flexible, and less attached to their roots, as they try to attract people. It is almost as if people were customers and the religion was the product being marketed to them. This way, religion loses its essence and it stops becoming about the religion and starts becoming simply about attracting people to it. The basic foundations of a religion might fade away as compromises are made in order to make it attractive to the

This idea can be taken too far, such as in the example of banning the hijab in some European countries. Religious institutions are not seen as being as important as they once were. This can lead to disadvantages to religious institution as well as to religious people. Religious freedom might be violated in favor of a total exclusion of religion.

Conclusion

Secularization has both positive and negative effects, but it can be seen that the positive effects outweigh the negative ones. The positive effects affect a larger strata of society than the negative ones do. The positive effects, such as the shift of knowledge from studying the divine word to research, help progress science and society. The increased freedom of religion is also a positive effect for both individuals and religion. However, if the exclusion of religion goes too far, it can end up infringing on the rights of religious