Die Religioese Lage in Europa

José Casanova

March 14, 2007

A German-language analysis of "the religious situation in Europe" in the early 21st century, this article lays out a broad description of the state of (primarily western) European religion. Casnova then argues that the dominant tropes of the secular and secularization are inadequate, and he proposes that we take a more nuanced look at the internal dynamics of the processes of "secularization" writ large. Specifically, a perspective better informed by and tied to historical analysis and a global perspective are needed to more fully grasp the changing relationship of religion to the European gesellschaft. Finally, Casanova examines the apparent dichotomy between religion being simultaneously more privatized and increasingly important and visible as a topic of discussion. This chapter was published in the volume Säkularisierung und die Weltreligionen [Secularization and the World Religions] (2007, eds. Hans Joas and Klaus Wiegandt).

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