Berkley Center

In "Religion Challenging the Myth of Secular Democracy," a chapter of Religion in the 21st Century: Challenges and Transformations, José Casanova lays out three challenges that religion poses towards secularity. He explains these challenges in terms of processes: the problem of de-privatization; the challenge of confessional de-territorialization; and the challenge of global denominationalism. Casanova contends that it is not necessarily religion that is the catalyst of change, or the chief opponent of secularism. Instead, Casanova points to the changes in politics, economics, and society emerging from the broad category of globalization as the culprit.