Secularization - Still Going Strong?: What Remains When Cross-sectional Differences Are Eliminated from a Longitudinal Analysis

The tendency of decreasing religiosity is explained by the theory of secularization through differentiation and pluralization. Using the ess 2002-2016, the impacts of both on church attendance and self-ascribed religiosity are tested, controlling for determinants of religiosity—that is, for belongin...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Meulemann, Heiner 1944- (Author) ; Schmidt, Alexander 1983- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill [2020]
In: Journal of religion in Europe
Year: 2019, Volume: 12, Issue: 3, Pages: 231-259
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Secularism / Irreligiousness / Longitudinalstudy
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
Further subjects:B Cohort analysis
B longitudinal multi-level analysis
B self-attributed religiosity
B Pluralization
B Church Attendance
B Differentiation
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:The tendency of decreasing religiosity is explained by the theory of secularization through differentiation and pluralization. Using the ess 2002-2016, the impacts of both on church attendance and self-ascribed religiosity are tested, controlling for determinants of religiosity—that is, for belonging (cohort and denomination) and choice (education, urban residence, marriage, parenthood, and employment)—with multi-level models separating between- from within-country effects. Without controls, time negatively affects religiosity: there is a secularization tendency. But controlling for cohort and denomination annihilates this effect and strongly reduces individual-level as well as country-level error variances. Effects of belonging are stronger than those of choice, cohort succession has a negative effect, and religiosity differs between denominations. Differentiation and pluralization have only a few effects between countries and only one within countries such that secularization theory is not confirmed.
ISSN:1874-8929
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religion in Europe
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/18748929-01203001