The Role of Religion in the Contemporary Society

Uloga religije u suvremenom društvu jedno je od najotvorenijih globalnih pitanja današnjice. Iako se pretpostavljalo da će procesom sekularizacije i modernizacije u demokratskom i pluralnom društvu doći čak i do potpunog nestanka religije i njezinog značaja i utjecaja u društvu, krajem 20. i početkom 21. stoljeća dolazi do rehabilitacije religije i nastanka novih religijskih pokreta. Religija i religijske organizacije sve više traže svoje mjesto u društvu i državi bilo to preko djelovanja na razini civilnog drušva, pružanja socijalnih usluga, uključenosti u politiku, očuvanja nacionalnog identiteta i kulturne tradicije ili preko prisutnosti religijskih organizacija i zajednica u virtualnom prostoru gdje novi mediji otvaraju vrata religiji da se približi suvremenom čovjeku koji sve više svoju stvarnost prebacuje upravo u taj prostor.The role of religion in contemporary society is one of the most undiscussed global issues of today. Although it was assumed that the process of secularization and modernization in a democratic and plural society would even lead to the complete disappearance of religion and its importance and influence in society, at the end of 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, rehabilitation of religion and the emergence of new religious movements came about. Religion and religious organizations are increasingly seeking their place in society and state either through acting on civil society, social services, politics, preservation of national identity and cultural traditions or through the presence of religious organizations and communities in virtual space where the new media open the door for religion to get closer to a contemporary man who is more and more transposing his reality right in that domain