Secularization — the Return of Religions - Post-secularism

Abstract

In his contribution, Hartmut Zinser views the processes of secularization within European or so-called Western societies, which have mainly taken place since the Enlightenment, through the lens of the sociology of religion. Starting from a definition of the profane and the sacred, he considers the historical "transition of sacralized objects into a secular use" and then explains why the so-called "secularization thesis", which assumes "an increasing replacement of the meaning of religion as a universal historical process," today cannot be considered valid anymore and is finished. But what consequences does this have for a modern, post-secular society as religions leave the "private" sphere, regain the public space and aspire again to social participation? Zinser approaches this question in the last chapter of his essay, where he also deals with the position of Jürgen Habermas in this regard.