Titlebook: Religion in Western Society; Stephen J. Hunt Textbook 2002Latest edition The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2002 Christianity

avulsion

,Secularization and the ‘Decline’ of Religion,turn, this debate is hedged in by the problems of definition. The popular assumption is that it simply denotes the decline of religion. However, this is to oversimplify a complex area which needs to be addressed in more detail. This chapter and Chapter 3 consider the theme of secularization, overvie

Coronary-Spasm

Western Religion in the Global Context,his is understandable given the profound changes which have taken place internationally and their significance by way of economics, culture and, as far as we are concerned here, the sphere of religion. However, as a key concept in sociological thinking, there remains some debate about how globalizat

模范

,Religion — Change and Stability in Western Societies, social stability or, alternatively, is distinguished more by its disruptive and divisive effects. An associated debate focuses on the relationship of religion to social transformation. Here, the key consideration is whether religion is a conservative force or, alternatively, capable of instigating

Haphazard

革新

Challenges to Western Christianity,ty. Historically, Western societies have been dominated by the Christian faith in terms of belief and practice. In previous centuries, Christianity had important political, educational and social functions to play and claimed, at least nominally, the allegiance of the great mass of people through on

鋼盔

黃瓜

Cults and the New Religiosity,owth of the mainstream churches, sects and fundamentalist movements, their organizational frameworks and the challenges that they have faced, have all been considered. Non-Christian forms of religiosity have so far been rather marginal to our analysis. The chapters to come will consider some of thes

acrophobia

弓箭

The Religions of Ethnic Minorities in the West,ew would not have warranted a separate chapter of a book on contemporary religion. Today, the extraordinary ethnic diversity which has developed in the West now makes this imperative. The significance of these faiths is that their proliferation influences a number of the principal debates already ad

Inflated

Popular Forms of Religiosity,rstition, mysticism and the occult to the so-called quasi-religions that, in recent years, have increasingly attracted sociological interest. In this final chapter then, we recognize that many forms of popular religion today are not displayed via institutionalized or ‘official’ channels. Nor are the