ABSTRACT

Little attention in the sociology of religion has been devoted to how some Western religious practitioners are embracing secularisation as an opportunity to break free from what they have experienced as oppressive religious institutions. While some people discard religious institutions and embrace the label of ‘no religion,’ others create new variants of ‘de-institutionalised’ religion that are marked by strong levels of commitment – to personal development (spiritual growth), community relationships and the wider world (social justice). This chapter compares two expressions of de-institutionalised religion in the West: (1) the Emerging Church Movement, as conceptualised by the Northern Irish radical theologian and activist Peter Rollins and the Belfast-based Ikon collective; and (2) ‘extra-institutional’ religion, as practiced by young Catholics in the Republic of Ireland who were involved with Slí Éile, a Jesuit ministry. The chapter argues that while the focus on individual agency – and the ‘spiritual but not religious’ seeker – has been an important corrective to secularisation theories, future directions of research should focus on understanding the de-institutionalised religious communities that are preserving the vitality of religion in liberal democratic societies.