Peter Berger and the Rise and Fall of the Theory of Secularization

In the 1960\u27s most sociologists, Peter Berger included, believed that secularization, or the end of power of religious institutions and symbols, was an inevitable byproduct of modernization. However, in subsequent decades Berger has realized that this prediction was incorrect and that religion was maintaining if not growing its power in many areas, with the possible exception of Western Europe and the Western intelligentsia. The resurgence of religion that Berger has witnessed over the past fifty years is not an isolated phenomenon. Berger believes that it will shape four areas: 1) international politics; 2) war and peace; 3) religion and economics; 4) human rights and social justice. Reaves posits that a continued study of the interaction between secularization and these four areas is particularly important to help humanity understand its world. He concludes with the argument that while the study of secularization and religious resurgence could be done in a removed fashion, strictly for intellectual development, instead it should be considered in light of its potential in aiding social clarity and chang