ABSTRACT
Sociology is not merely engaged in attempts to explain group dynamics, social structures, and social change. This chapter highlights different views on the relative strength of individual agency and social pressure in the field of individual religion and nonreligion. It presents some attempts to categorize individuals' religion and nonreligion and shows how the border between being religious and nonreligious is often blurred. The chapter focuses on the relationship between organized religion and individual religiosity. It discusses the role of media as one of several factors in religious individualization, and presents different views on the connection between religious individualization and secularization. Deprivation theory maintains that religious commitment is a result of the compensation that religion provides in situations where individuals meet obstacles in life and search for alternative goals.
