the Netherlands being a good example, are ambiguous on the issue, having
clearly identified parties with close religious connections (often in govern-
ment), but a general acceptance of the need to ensure religious freedom
Germany demonstrates how complex the idea of secularism can be. Like the
USA the German constitution actually contains a clause saying, in so many
words, that no church can be established. The constitution also, however,
protects religious freedom in a way that allows considerable influence over, for
example education, if one of the provincial governments wishes to do so.
Furthermore the German government collects funds for churches by the
application of a church tax which, though voluntary, is paid by the majority
of the population. Away fromChristianity, Iran is an important example of a
non-secular state; its government is suffused by clerics and the prevailing
ideology of the state itself is the religious ethic ofIslam(seetheocracy). In
this context Israel is another ambiguous case because of the special position
given in some ways to Rabbinic law; there is no direct involvement, however,
of the government in religious matters, and non-religious Jews are not
deprived of any civil rights. (See alsosecularization.)
Secularization
Although it is common to spell this concept out fully as ‘religious seculariza-
tion’, the extra word is redundant. Secularization means becoming secular, that
is non-spiritual, non-religious, with the contrast being the sacred. Seculariza-
tion usually refers, as a shorthand, to the long historical process by which all
manifestations of religion have become less and less important in Western
societies. There are many strands to secularization, just as there are many rival
explanations for it. There are also those who still resolutely deny that
secularization has really taken place, and certainly deny any inevitability to
the process. Those who do deny, or wish to minimize, the extent of secular-
ization have two recourses. They can either deny that past societies were
influenced as much by religion as many like to think, or deny that the data that
seem to show an inexorable process of secularization really implies that at all.
The core sociological finding that supports the idea of secularization is that
formal religious observance, either in attendance at organized worship or in
any other measure of membership of churches, has declined steadily through-
out the last century, and particularly rapidly in the second half of the 20th
century, in nearly all Western societies. Other measurements support this
apparent trend—thus civil rather than religious marriage has become more
popular, smaller percentages of children are baptized and vocations to the
priesthood and ministry have sharply declined. It will be noted that most of the
references above are to Christianity. There is far less evidence of secularization
among most non-Christian faiths, although Jewish communities in most
Secularization