Secularization: History, Religion, and Ideology

Harvard HDS

What is the meaning of secularization? Do greater modernization, education, and existential security lead to the decline of religious belief? Or is such a conclusion an ideological construct? In this class, we will address these and many related questions taking an interdisciplinary and global approach. Our goal is to gain conceptual clarity regarding the meaning of secularization, distinguishing between the social process of institutional differentiation (church/state, faith/science, etc.)…