The polytheism of values: Max Weber

No abstractReligious interests have a real impact on human life. The protestant inner-wordly asceticism imposed on the world a consequent secularization and a change of cultural relations. The sociology of religion comprehends the meaning of religious systems and explains the reasons underlying religious phenomena, recognizing the necessity of the existence of moral values. Value orientation and value conflicts constitute the condition of the sciences of culture. Secularization led to the interiorization of religious forces, to the emergence of alternative life patterns, and to the de-politicization of institutional religions. For Christian religion. Reason cannot however answer the ultimate questions of human existence. Affirmation or Negation of the world, withdrawal of or interest for it, active asceticism within or passive contemplation to it, constitute the dimensions for an analysis of religious systems. Passive negation of the world and redemptive religiosity can under certain historical circumstances become attractive for intellectuals and other social groups