The Secular Sacred Canopy: A Paradigm Revision in the Study of Secularization
Event details
This presentation revisits and revises the secularization paradigm in light of late-stage secularization. While secularization theory, influenced by Peter Berger, holds that structural differentiation, rationalization, pluralism, and individualization erode religious authority, we argue that these same processes have facilitated the emergence of a secular sacred canopy.
Drawing from Durkheimian cultural sociology and (neo)institutional theory, we demonstrate how an empiricist epistemology, a naturalist ontology, and a romantic liberal cultural imaginary function as secular equivalents to religious meaning systems.
By distinguishing early- from late-stage secularization, we explain why nonreligion has become a dominant cultural default in parts of the contemporary West and challenge the Weberian assumption that modernity leads to meaninglessness.
Our revised framework accounts for key developments such as (a) the rise and resilience of nonreligion, (b) the forms of "disenchantment" characteristic of secular(izing) societies, (c) the shift from "religion" to "spirituality," (d) the ascendence of right-wing "religious" populisms, and (e) the paradoxical nature of the heretical imperative in highly secular societies (and contexts).
About the speaker
Galen Watts
Galen Watts is an Assistant Professor in the department of sociology and legal studies at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on cultural and institutional change in liberal democracies since the 1960s - with a focus on the spheres of religion, morality, work, and politics. His first book, The Spiritual Turn: The Religion of the Heart and the Making of Romantic Liberal Modernity, published in 2022 by Oxford University Press, won the 2023 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion's Distinguished Book Award. You can find out more about him and his work at his website.
Contact
Ruth Vassilas