Keywords
religion
secularity
religious institutions
religiosity
public sphere
eclectic paradigm
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Abstract
This article provides a comprehensive examination of the theoretical foundations of the concept of secularization, which explains changes in the place and public influence of religion in contemporary society. The study analyzes the etymological and historical development of the concept of secularization, its meaning within the social sciences, as well as transformations of religion at the societal, institutional, and individual levels. The main propositions of the classical, new, and eclectic paradigms of secularization theory are compared, with particular attention to their distinctive features and limitations in explaining religious processes in contemporary society. The classical paradigm explains the decline in the public influence and institutional authority of religion because of modernization, rationalization, and social differentiation. The new paradigm critically reassesses this proposition, emphasizing religious revival, the persistence of individual religiosity, and the re-emergence of religion in the public sphere. The threefold classification is used as a working analytical scheme informed by the literature rather than as a universally accepted typology. The term “eclectic approach” provisionally groups perspectives that distinguish changes in religious authority from individual religiosity and the public and cultural expressions of religion, without treating these perspectives as a unified school. The comparison identifies their analytical possibilities and limitations rather than establishing the universal superiority of one approach.
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