Desecularization and the Return of Religion: GVPT 210 Lecture Notes 9/17/25 and Study Notes for quiz coming up.
Secularization and the Return of Religion
Key terms
Secularization: the world becoming less religious; decline in religiosity over time in many wealthy regions.
Desecularization (return of religion): the resurgence or persistence of religion in a world that is otherwise modernizing; religious revival in some areas even as others secularize.
Revisionist idea: secularization is not uniform globally; differences across regions lead to a world that is both secularizing in some places and desecularizing in others.
Existential insecurity: a state of persistent threats to existence (droughts, disease, violence, instability) that makes religion more salient as a source of protection and meaning.
Backlash: pushback movements against secularization (fundamentalist currents, moral panic, counter-secular movements).
Plurality: Berger’s argument that modernization creates multiple competing belief systems, not a straightforward decline of religion.
Big picture framing (from the lectures)
The class revisits the claim that the world is becoming less religious, but adds nuance by examining evidence for desecularization and the conditions under which religiosity persists or grows.
The United States is highlighted as an outlier in religiosity given its wealth; other patterns show both secularization and revival in different regions.
The discussion links micro-level religiosity (individual beliefs) with macro-level factors (wealth, development, demographics, and geopolitics).
Evidence preview (Monday’s material vs today’s continuation)
Monday: broad secularizing trend, including evidence from interviews in Ireland showing a decline from high church attendance to less than 1 in 5.
Today: introduces evidence suggesting that desecularization can occur, and that religiosity remains strong or even grows in many parts of the world.
Key empirical questions raised
If secularization is real, why does religion appear to persist or surge in regions facing insecurity and in large-population contexts?
Can both secularization and desecularization be true simultaneously, across different places and times?
How do development, wealth, and modernization interact with existential threats to shape religiosity globally?
Guiding takeaway from the session
A comprehensive understanding of religion in the modern world requires integrating trends toward secularization with regional and demographic variation that produces desecularization in some places.
Global Trends in Religiosity
Global religious landscape (1900–present)
1900: world composition by major religious identities (illustrative figures mentioned): Christian ~35%, Muslim ~13%.
1970: Christians dip slightly; Muslims rise; non-religious (secular) population grows notably.
2000: non-religious share declines slightly from its peak; Muslims continue to rise; Christians dip modestly.
Today: Muslims and Christians both sizable; non-religious share varies, but overall global religiosity remains high in many regions.
The pattern is not monotonic or uniform: secularization in some regions coexists with persistent or rising religiosity in others.
Western Europe vs the rest of the world
Western Europe: decline of traditional mainline Christianity (Catholicism, mainline Protestantism).
Non-Western regions: evangelical and Pentecostal Christianities rise in Asia, Africa, Latin America; the global Christian share grows in non-Western contexts.
The implication: global religiosity cannot be captured by looking only at Western Europe.
Demographic forces and religiosity
The age structure and birth rates matter: higher birth rates in religious regions contribute to growth in the number of religious adherents even as wealthier regions secularize.
Projection to 2050: there may be as many Muslims as Christians in the world due to differential birth rates and demographic growth, not due to doctrinal differences alone.
The mechanism: population growth in high-religiosity regions can offset secularization trends seen in wealthier, more educated countries.
Wealth, development, and religiosity
General pattern: wealthier countries tend to be less religious, due in part to the dissemination of science, education, and technology.
However, the pattern is not universal; large parts of the world remain deeply religious despite globalization and modernization.
Globalization has both spread secular ideas and enabled rapid religious diffusion and revival through modern communications.
Anecdotal and experiential evidence of revival
Hajj (Mecca): attendance has grown over time, illustrating sustained religious importance among Muslims.
Kumbh Mela (India): a massive Hindu pilgrimage drawing approximately 40 million participants every three years, illustrating religious vitality in large-scale collective rituals.
Contemporary religious leadership visits (e.g., Reinhard Bonnke in Lagos) show powerful religious mobilization and enthusiasm in some regions.
These examples suggest that religious life can be extraordinarily vibrant in ways not captured by a simple secularization narrative.
Evidence for Desecularization: What the Data Suggests
A key diagnostic: the late-1970s turning point
The same graph used to illustrate secularization shows a turning point around the late 1970s where the downward trend in reported religiosity stalls or reverses in some contexts.
This suggests the trend toward universal secularization is not a smooth, universal decline; instead, some regions experience renewed or persistent religiosity.
Global religiosity and development: a more nuanced picture
Wealth and development tend to correlate with lower religiosity, but the global picture is more complex due to regional variations and demographic dynamics.
Some low-income regions remain highly religious despite exposure to science and education due to existential insecurity and cultural factors.
The role of religious identity shifts within Christianity
Western Europe’s decline in mainline Christianity coexists with growth in evangelical and Pentecostal movements elsewhere.
Non-Western Christianity grows, contributing to a global shift in the religious landscape.
Population dynamics as a driver
Higher birth rates in religious regions contribute to the global persistence or growth of religiosity even as secularization proceeds in wealthier regions.
If you plot religiosity against birth rates, regions with higher religiosity often have faster population growth, reinforcing religiosity’s global prevalence.
The evidence from non-Christian faiths
Islam appears to grow in global population share largely due to demographic factors rather than doctrinal superiority.
In many regions, new religious movements and proliferating religious institutions compensate for secularizing trends in other areas.
Explanations for the Return of Religion (Desecularization)
Peter Berger and pluralism
Berger’s shift from a secularization thesis to a pluralist world: modernity creates multiple religious and non-religious options, so religion is not simply eroded but competes in a plural moral marketplace.
The decline of mainline Western Christianity does not imply a universal decline of religion; other belief systems fill the “void.”
The main explanatory frameworks discussed
Backlash against secularization: cyclical decreases in religiosity followed by renewed religious movements and counter-secular currents.
Emergence or re-emergence of democracy: greater religious freedom and institutional space for religious actors can facilitate religious organization and mobilization.
End of the Cold War and ideological vacuums: the collapse of communist ideology opened space for religious ideologies to fill ideological voids.
Globalization and technology: modern communications and media enable rapid dissemination of religious ideas, amplifying religious revival and organizing capacity.
The revised secularization argument (Norris & Inglehart)
Step 1: Wealthier societies tend to become less religious as science, technology, and education expand.
Step 2: Existential insecurity in certain regions (e.g., drought, violence, disease) sustains or strengthens religious commitments.
Step 3: In existentially insecure regions, people rely on religion for protection and hope when state institutions are weaker.
Step 4: Population dynamics amplify religiosity where existential insecurity is highest, because higher birth rates in religious regions add more adherents to religious pools.
Core insight: Secularization can be true globally, but the world can become more religious overall if births and religiosity are concentrated in insecure regions.
Evidence invoked for revised secularization
Population data showing much faster birth rates in higher-religion regions.
The concentration of religiosity in Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, and parts of Latin America, where existential insecurities are more pronounced.
Comparative data on birth rates across countries with different levels of religious belief.
Additional nuances
Conversion and “religious churn”: individuals switch affiliations or move between religious and secular identities, but identities are often socially pressured and relatively sticky over time.
The idea that secularization is not a uniform linear process; local contexts, institutions, and norms shape the trajectory of religiosity.
The U.S. Exceptionalism: Why the United States Stands Out
The central puzzle
Despite global secularization in many wealthy countries, the United States remains highly religious given its wealth and development level.
Four to five explanations commonly discussed in the literature (as presented in the lecture)
Founding principles of religious freedom
The First Amendment and the historical commitment to religious liberty create a social and political environment that protects religious practice and fosters pluralism.
Selection effects: those who sought religious freedom may have carried a strong religious impulse across generations.
Immigration and existential insecurity
The U.S. absorbed large waves of immigrants from regions with higher existential insecurity, who brought strong religious commitments and maintained them across generations.
Historical examples include Catholics from Ireland, Italians, Mexican communities, Sikhs from India, Jews from Europe, etc., who carried religious identities that persisted.
Religion linked with nationalism
Religion has been integrated into national identity and political rhetoric (references to God in allegiance, religious framing of national events, etc.), reinforcing religiosity as part of national culture.
Socioeconomic and inequality considerations (relative deprivation)
King, Norris, and others argue that existential insecurity in the United States can be framed in terms of class and income inequality rather than purely material poverty.
A multinational comparison shows that neighborhood context and relative deprivation can shape adolescent health and broader religiosity patterns, offering a template for understanding US religiosity as linked to domestic inequality rather than global wealth alone.
Concrete example cited in class material
A study comparing adolescent health across contexts found that poor teens in Baltimore experience worse conditions on multiple dimensions than teens in Nigeria, illustrating how relative deprivation can co-exist with high religiosity and shape social identities, including religious ones.
Additional notes
The United States also intertwines religion with nationalism in distinctive ways that differ from Europe, possibly reinforcing religious allegiance through ceremonial, political, and cultural practices.
Immigration and demographic trends (e.g., higher fertility in immigrant communities) contribute to the persistence and growth of religiosity in the U.S. context.
Connecting Ireland, Lagos, and a Global Framework
How to reconcile Ireland’s secularization with Lagos’ religious vitality
Ireland shows significant secularization in a historically Catholic, wealthy, Western context.
Lagos (Nigeria) demonstrates robust religious engagement with large-scale religious events and leadership-driven mobilization.
Norris & Inglehart’s revised secularization framework helps explain how both phenomena can occur in different places: wealth leads to secularization; existential insecurity sustains religiosity.
Demographic dynamics (birth rates) amplify religiosity in insecure regions, offsetting secularizing trends seen elsewhere.
Practical implications of the revised framework
Global religiosity trends cannot be understood through a single axis (wealth or modernization) alone; regional lived experiences (insecurity, governance, inequality) shape religious behavior.
Policy and diplomacy should consider religious dynamics as a factor in social cohesion, development, and political life, especially in regions facing existential threats.
Implications, Connections, and Critical Reflections
Ethical and political implications
Religious freedom and pluralism become essential for stable governance in a diverse world.
Democracy and secular governance can coexist with vibrant religious life; the two are not necessarily in opposition.
The role of religion in nationalism and state narratives warrants careful scrutiny to avoid coercive or exclusionary practices.
Philosophical tensions
The coexistence of secularization and desecularization raises questions about the nature of belief, truth claims, and the social functions of religion in modernity.
The idea that religion can provide existential security in some contexts while science and education advance in others reflects a pluralistic understanding of modernity.
Practical and real-world relevance
Global religious demographics affect geopolitics, conflict potential, and development priorities.
Understanding religiosity’s resilience in insecure regions helps explain political movements, humanitarian concerns, and policy responses.
Key quantitative touchpoints to remember (LaTeX-ready)
Global religiosity trend diagnostic: religiosity declined from about 85 ext{%} to 67 ext{%} over the pre-globalization period; the late-1970s turning point challenges the simple downward trajectory.
Global religious shares (historical snapshot):
Projection: by 2050, there may be as many Muslims as Christians globally:
Demographic driver: in high-religion regions, birth rates are about three times higher than in low-religion regions:
US religiosity and demographic dynamics: qualitative explanations include founding principles of religious freedom, immigrant experiences tied to existential insecurity, and nationalism-religion fusion; a study comparing neighborhood contexts suggests that relative deprivation can influence religious behavior.
Recap: a nuanced educational frame
The world is not simply secularizing or desecularizing; it exhibits a complex mosaic where development, insecurity, demographics, immigration, and global communication interact to shape religiosity. The revised secularization framework helps harmonize seemingly contradictory patterns by recognizing regional variation and population growth dynamics.
References and Suggested Readings (aligned with lecture themes)
Peter Berger, Sacred Canopy (1967/1990s updates) on secularization and plurality.
Peter Berger, Desecularization of the World (editors, 1999) – on pluralism and the revival of religion.
Toft, Samuel; God is Back (discussion of religion’s revival in global politics).
Norris, P., & Inglehart, R. The Sacred and the Secular (revised secularization framework).
King, Gehart, & Norris – studies on neighborhood context and adolescent health as a proxy for broader social dynamics related to religiosity and insecurity.
Key terms to review for the exam
Secularization, desecularization, existential insecurity, backlash, plurality, globalization, religious revival, evangelicals, Pentecostals, mainline Christianity, non-religious/atheist/religious churning, demographic transition, and birth rate dynamics.
This set of notes is structured to mirror the lecture’s progression: establish the basic vocabulary, map global trends, examine desecularization evidence, survey explanatory theories (including Berger and Norris & Inglehart), apply the revised framework to contrasts like Ireland and Lagos, and finish with U.S. exceptionalism and its driving factors. The notes emphasize both the empirical data and the broader interpretive claims that link wealth, insecurity, population dynamics, and religious life in a global context.
Key Concepts: Secularization (decline in religiosity) and Desecularization (resurgence of religion). The world is both secularizing in some areas and desecularizing in others (revisionist idea). Existential insecurity (threats to existence) strengthens religion, while backlash refers to anti-secularization movements. Plurality describes modernization creating competing belief systems.
Big Picture: The world is not uniformly secularizing. The U.S. is an outlier in religiosity among wealthy nations. Micro-level religiosity is linked to macro-level factors like wealth, development, and geopolitics.
Global Trends in Religiosity: The global religious landscape has seen shifts since 1900. While Western Europe shows a decline in mainline Christianity, evangelical and Pentecostal Christianities are rising in non-Western regions. Demographic forces (higher birth rates in religious regions) contribute significantly to the global persistence of religion, with projections suggesting Muslims and Christians may be equal in number by 2050. Wealthier countries generally tend to be less religious, but this isn't universal due to globalization spreading both secular and religious ideas.
Evidence for Desecularization: A key diagnostic is a turning point around the late 1970s where the decline in reported religiosity stalled or reversed in some contexts. Population dynamics, particularly higher birth rates in religious regions, drive the global growth of religiosity.
Explanations for Desecularization: Peter Berger shifted to a pluralist view, where modernity creates a marketplace of beliefs. Other frameworks include backlash against secularization, the emergence of democracy, ideological vacuums post-Cold War, and globalization/technology facilitating religious diffusion. Norris & Inglehart's revised secularization argument posits that wealthy societies secularize, but existential insecurity sustains religion, amplified by higher birth rates in insecure, religious regions. This means the world can become more religious overall if births and religiosity are concentrated in insecure areas.
U.S. Exceptionalism: The United States remains highly religious despite its wealth due to:
Founding principles of religious freedom: The First Amendment protects religious practice.
Immigration and existential insecurity: Immigrants from insecure regions brought strong religious commitments that persisted.
Religion linked with nationalism: Religion is integrated into national identity.
Socioeconomic and inequality considerations: Relative deprivation within the U.S. can create conditions similar to existential insecurity.
Reconciling Contrasts (Ireland vs. Lagos): Ireland's secularization in a wealthy, historically Catholic context contrasts with Lagos's religious vitality in a developing region. The Norris & Inglehart framework explains this: wealth fosters secularization, while existential insecurity sustains religiosity, with demographics amplifying the latter.
Quantitative Touchpoints:
Global religiosity trend: declined from about to before the late-1970s turning point.
Global religious shares (1900): Christian , Muslim .
Projection: by 2050, .
Demographic driver: in high-religion regions, birth rates are about three times higher than in