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Document Details :

Title: The Background and Nature of the Deep Changes in the Religious Realities in Modern Europe
Author(s): DROOGERS, André
Journal: Studies in Interreligious Dialogue
Volume: 17    Issue: 2   Date: 2007   
Pages: 171-184
DOI: 10.2143/SID.17.2.2024005

Abstract :
Beginning with Western Europe, the world has changed in the last two centuries in a way unprecedented in human history. We must view not only the secularization process but also religious resurgence and pluralism against this background. Modernization is the basic cause of a dramatic transformation in many areas of life, including religion. It encompasses and nourishes other processes such as urbanization, migration, individualization and the media revolution, all of which have consequences for the religious situation. In this article, the map and geology of the current religious landscape in modern Europe are explored. The perspective is that of social science or, more specifically, the cultural anthropology of religion. It is suggested that current believers have to find their way through a series of repertoires that provide models or schemas for their meaningful place in modern culture and society. The range of places and options is sketched briefly. The unique and ambiguous nature of our era is reflected in present signification processes and their outcome.

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