279
The Unification Church is one
of several new religious movements
that, according to Wilson, point to
fragmentation and secularization
in the modern world.See also: Auguste Comte 22–25 ■ Karl Marx 28–31; 254–59 ■ Émile Durkheim 34–37 ■ Max Weber 38–45; 220–23 ■
Jürgen Habermas 286–87 ■ Michel Maffesoli 291 ■ Michel Foucault 302–03
THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS
science and technology that come
with it—as contributing to this
decline in the importance of
religious thought in society.
Initially, he suggests, religion
was not defeated outright in the
modern world, but had to compete
with other claims to truth. But
eventually science became too
formidable an adversary. There has
been a consequent disengagement
of state and church into separate
domains, in contrast to their
closeness in the Middle Ages. And
the role of religion in schools is
negligible, as it is in the workplace,
where the principles of organization
have little room for religious myths.
God is dead?
Wilson, like Karl Marx, believes
that world religions such as
Christianity and Judaism play a
role in maintaining the status quo
by socializing new generations
into accepting social divisions. But
with modernity, religion has lost its
authority to instruct people in what
to believe and how to behave. He
states that churches are aware of
their marginalized position and
have to adapt to changing moral
values. As old orders crumble,
people seek new assurances.
Social fragmentation has
brought with it cultural pluralism:
alternative beliefs compete for
popularity, and religions have
become more private. In this sense,
for Wilson, secularization is linked
to a decline in community. Rather
than being indicative of the
longevity of religion, he sees new
religious movements (NRMs), such
as Scientology, as “anti-cultural”:
they symbolize a destructuring
of society and do not contribute to
the maintenance of social order and
control. They are unable to channel
their religious expression into a
form that might have significant
repercussions in modern society.
Many key thinkers of the 19th
century, such as Marx, Durkheim,
and Comte, believed that religion
would lose its significance with
the advent of industrialization.
But in recent years, despite having
several supporters, including
British sociologist Steve Bruce, theidea of secularization has received
stark criticism. British journalist
Michael Prowse, for example, says
the idea is out of date and that
there is evidence for the continuing
vitality of religion. The popularity
of church-going in the US and the
growth of non-Christian religions in
Britain, particularly Islam, certainly
endorse this view. ■Bryan Wilson
Bryan Ronald Wilson was born
in Leeds, England, in 1926. He
was awarded his PhD from the
London School of Economics and
went on to become a lecturer at
the University of Leeds, where
he taught for seven years. He
then moved to the University
of Oxford, and remained there
for 30 years, until his retirement
in 1993. Wilson was president
of the International Society
for the Sociology of Religion
from 1971 to 1975. Although
an agnostic, he had a lifelonginterest in new religious
movements and sects, and was
a staunch advocate of freedom
of religious thought. In addition
to his fascination with religion,
he wrote extensively on youth
culture and education. Wilson
suffered from Parkinson’s
disease for several years. He
died in 2004, aged 78.Key works1966 Religion in Secular Society
1973 Magic and the Millennium
1990 The Social Dimensions of
Sectarianism[The] content of the message
that the churches seek to
promote, and the attitudes
and values that it tries to
encourage, no longer inform
much of our national life.
Bryan Wilson