ABSTRACT
Secularization is the dominant theme in modern assessments of the future of religion. According to Webster, the term secular means "of or belonging to the world and worldly things as distinguished from the church and religious affairs". This chapter refers secularization as the primary dynamic of religious economies, a self-limiting process that engenders revival and innovation. It examines cult formation as a religious reaction to secularization and suggests that simply because some faiths retain little religious content is no reason to suppose that all faiths have been emptied of the power to satisfy fundamental human needs. The trouble with revival is that it is heir to a whole cultural history, and this history is replete with defeats of doctrine by science. Revival seems to be chronically vulnerable to secularization and to lack long-term staying power, especially if there is an alternative. Such alternatives are created by the rise of new religious traditions.
