ABSTRACT
It is the intention of this chapter to present, albeit only loosely, some recent developments that have a ected the status and functions of religious traditions and of religion in general. While some traditions survive where they have been and as they have been for a long time, others have undergone major transitions, some have become extinct and new ones have arisen. e recently changed conditions, with globalization, migration, increased literacy and electronic media, have profoundly in uenced many forms and expressions of religion. Under all circumstances, and in spite of what many (e.g. Marx and Freud, see above) may have wished for, religion has not gone away. In some places (more than others) it might seem that religion has more or less disappeared. On closer inspection, however, it appears that religion has changed (Davie 2013). In many parts of the world, religion is no longer the “sacred canopy” that was once suspended over the totality of human existence. Instead, bits and pieces of religious worldviews have dissipated into other domains of society, culture and the human mind (see Berger [1967] 1990, and below).
