Definitions and Explanations: Religions of Secularization and Pluralism
Invisible Religion Invisible religion a term brought to us by Thomas Luckmann in 1967, the description of the term has a connection with secularization which is defined as a decline in tradition religion. In this theory, religion becomes a term for any human action or thought that is above the animal level (Christiano, 71), for example something as simple as cooking your food in the kitchen demonstrates us as engaging in religious behavior. Invisible religion makes way for individualistic and privatized forms of religion where unlike traditional Christianity people are able to display self-expression, self-actualization, and individual practices while the concept of religion is present. Religion can be considered invisible because, no human being has the ability to look into the heart of another human being and see if they truly have a relationship with Christ. Visible typically means to see with your eyes, therefore religion can practiced as invisible because no human in recent history has seen Christ with their eyes.
Civil Religion Civil Religion according to Bellah is that most people in the United States share common religious characteristics expressed through beliefs, symbols, and rituals that provide a religious dimension for the entire American community (Christiano, 65), promoting national unity. For example holidays like the Fourth of July are religious but also have an aspect of American pride. How so? During the Fourth of July festivities the people in America are celebrating the Declaration of Independence, remembering America as a nation under God. Civil religion is often widely displayed during presidential elections, when candidates are running for presidency in America they often use civil religion to appeal to voters using nationalism and religion to establish creditability and gain the trust of voters.
Pluralism
Pluralism is a term that expresses the idea that the various religious groups are in competition with each other (Christiano, 78).Religious pluralism is tolerable, because it doesn’t change what it means to be a follower of Christ. This competition does then create a religious marketplace in which the various denominations are using marketing skills to draw in members. Just as caffeine is addicting people tend to get addicted to the religious goods and services offered by a church, therefore often times churches will provide a variety of goods for example, tee shirts, pens, coffee cups and other purchasable items for their members and services marriage counseling programs, food drives, debt relief services that make the members of the church want to remain a member.
Works Cited
Christiano, K. J., W. H. Swatos, and P. Kivisto. Sociology of religion, contemporary developments. Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc, 2010.
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