ABSTRACT
In the West, the relation between culture, politics and religion has tradition ally revolved around the theory and practice of secularism, sometimes in conflict, sometimes in an uncertain balance, but never completely resolved. In any case, the Western secular movement in all its variations was always supported by a concept of religious change, secularization, which counted with the robust support of sociological theory, until it was virtually accepted as a fact. This fact alone is worth examining. Sociology is rife with debates between polarized positions, whether on inequality, the condition of mod ern society, methodology or even on the very nature of the discipline itself. This has often led it to be characterized as a multiparadigmatic discipline, in contrast to other natural and social sciences, which tend more towards a methodological consensus. The 1970s was one of the most divisive periods for sociology, marked by a bitter confrontation between a defiant Marxist approach and a more compliant functionalist stance. It should be noticed though that a peculiar convergence took place within the sociology of reli gion around this same period. This convergence, which did not eliminate significant nuances here and there, was referred to as the theory of secularization. This theory had a clear central message: as societies modernize, they become more secular. In other words, there is a direct, visible and predict able relation between modernization and secularization.
