Faith and Modernity |
To 19th-century thinkers such as Marx, Freud, and
Weber, the course of history seemed clear: as a nation became more prosperous,
it would become more secular. In the early stages of a society's development,
religion was necessary to provide hope for the poor, to create rituals that
bound the community together, and to impose a respect for authority.
But as a primitive society grew into a democracy with a flourishing middle class, religion would no longer be needed to pacify the masses. The majority of people would turn their focus from eternity to their earthly fortunes, and the culture as a whole would replace superstition with science.
In many countries in western Europe, the declining levels of religious belief and church attendance seemed to support this proposition, which became known as the "secularization thesis."
But during the late 20th century, it became clear that not every country was going to follow the trajectory of western Europe. The United States had long been a perplexing exception: although it had one of the highest standards of living in the world, it also maintained high levels of religious belief and practice. In many other countries, too, as material prosperity increased, religiosity seemed to strengthen rather than weaken.
This case study focuses on selected trends in four countries, each of which has followed a different pattern of religious development over the last 50 years. First, Sweden is a country that has seen a decline in Christian belief and practice as it has grown more prosperous. On the other hand, the United States has experienced growth in its evangelical movement while at the same time it has become a more wealthy country. Brazil has shifted from a wholly Roman Catholic country to a country with a large Pentecostal movement. Finally, Turkey is a country that made secularism official but is now experiencing a resurgence of Muslim belief. The recent headscarf controversy symbolizes the ambivalent relationship between religion and politics in Turkey.
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