secularization

Toward the Sociology of Esoteric Culture

The point of departure of this paper is an examination of the sociological literature on the recent occult revival in modern societies. This phenomenon, which clashes with the image of secularization, is particularly notable among the youth of the counterculture. To further sociological analysis, a conceptualization of esoteric culture is proposed. It is further argued that esoteric culture has played a significant role in Western cultural change, in such areas as artistic

The Scholar’s Personality in Russian Sociology of Religion. In Memory of Yulia Sinelina

The article is devoted to the main components of scientific activity of Russian sociologist Yulia Yurievna Sinelina (1972–2013). She was a well-known researcher of secularization in Russia, particularly the problems of interaction between modern society and religion. Her special attention was devoted to the application of theoretical and methodological investigations in sociology of religion to the religious situation in Russia.

Lived Religion: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Death Rituals in Soviet Ukrainian Borderlands

This article argues that scholars interested in studying religious practice in the Soviet Union should focus on “lived religion” as a valid form of religiosity. This concept allows for the consideration of the improvised nature of religious practices that were often conducted outside of churches and involved appeals to spirits in addition to an anthropomorphic God.

Ordinary Death in the Soviet Union: the Material and Spiritual in Atheist Cosmology

The paper deals with the problem of death as approached by the Soviet atheist ideologists. In particular, it explores the attempts by Party ideologists to substitute religious death rituals by new “socialist rituals.” The author draws upon the work of a special Commission on the study and introduction of “socialist rituals” created in 1969 under the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Some Aspects of Desecularization in Post-Soviet Russia

The article deals with desecularization in post-Soviet Russia as a backlash of massive secularization in the Soviet Union. Author presents analysis of different aspects of secularization typical to communist countries such as «hyper-privatization of religion» and what he calls «distillation of the religious consciousness.» He then explores special features of religion’s revival in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet system.

The Conceptual Foundations of the Desecularization Theory

The paper attempts at achieving the conceptual understanding of the desecularization, the idea first proposed by Peter L. Berger in late 1990s. The idea still lacks theoretical elaboration as the sociology of religion is usually late in such theoretical enterprise; this paper tries to fill the gap. In doing so, the author starts with using categorical language of the secularization theory, which was developed in the course of the twentieth century. Yet he adds other theoretical frames and takes a new approach concentrating upon actors, patterns, regimes, and levels of desecularization.

Understanding the Secular

The article explores the notion of «secular» and other terms that include this Latin root – secularization, secularism, de-secularization, and post-secular. All these terms are used in various ways by different researchers and in normatively biased ways both within and beyond academia, yielding much confusion. The author attempts to unpack the meanings behind these terms and organize a certain logical matrix for their use.

Secularization Falsified

The article gives a panorama of religious revival which is being witnessed all over the world. Special attention is devoted to Islam and Evangelicalism. This religious revival forces researchers to rethink their conclusions concerning the inevitability of secularization. Instead of expecting the disappearance of religion and its removal out of the public sphere, one should strive for moderation in religious questions, which could be the best defense against aggressive fundamentalists.

From Secular Modernity to ‘Multiple Modernities’: Social Theory on the Relations Between Religion and Modernity

The author analyzes different views on the relations between religion and modernity, which appear in the social theory of the 20th–21st centuries. The paper provides critical analysis and assessment of secularization theories which claimed incompatibility between religion and modernity. Finally, the article deals with a relatively new contribution made by the concept of ‘multiple modernities’ elab- orated by Shmuel Eisenstadt. This concept both softens and shades the findings of the secularization theorists.

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