Individual Secularization

- Individual participation in social structures but ignored the relationships between social
structures
- Religious decline in terms of individual involvement
- Secularization is equated to the decline in denominational or church participation
- “dechristianization” – focused on working class
o Meant to refer the drop-in church practice and beliefs
- Marx:
o “Man made Religion”; Religion is “the opium of the people”
o People need to abolish religion as “an illusory happiness of the people”
o Situations that need illusions should be changed
o Religion is a symbol of oppression
 The proletariat use religion as a basis for their morals

Societal Secularization

- Latent process resulted from a deliberate policy

o Unintended consequence of actions that promote functional differentiation
- The policy does not directly aimed to attack the faith in religion but its effect attacks the faith in
religion

Organizational Secularization