ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a new theory of religious-secular competition, one attempting to explain the observable changes that religion has undergone in society. It is clear that a theory of religious-secular competition only makes sense if people can separate religious from secular phenomena. The regime of religious-secular competition can regulate both supply and demand. Examples of the regulation of supply are the hindrance of religious suppliers in the former East Germany, and the recognition under public law of some religious communities in Switzerland. The regime of religious-secular competition is therefore to a certain extent the sum of the rules of the game which are valid in a society for a certain period of time. The most important relationship of competition in the competition regime of the me-society is certainly religious-secular competition for demand. In literally every area where they had previously enjoyed a monopoly, the churches and religious communities are now confronted by secular suppliers offering similar goods.
