The Invisible Religion

The Problem of Religion in Modern Society

Thomas Luckmann, Tom Kaden, Bernt Schnettler, Tom Kaden, Bernt Schnettler

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781032154039
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000790184
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Theory
• Index: Social Sciences

The Invisible Religion is a modern classic of social science. Its influence goes well beyond sociology as it continues to inspire research in such diverse fields as sociology of knowledge, ethnology, theology, sociology of religion, and religious studies. In this volume, the author endeavours to answer one of the most important questions regarding religion in modern times: Are Western societies indeed becoming more secular as they modernize? His surprising answer is still part of the ongoing debates about secularization as he argues that rather than a decline of religion, we are witnessing a shift from an older Church-centered form, to another invisible and still largely unexplored form of religion. Explaining why focusing only on Church when discussing religion is inadequate, this book presents a thorough case for reframing the question of the status of religion in modern life in a way that makes visible forms of religion hitherto unseen, and sketches some aspects of this new form. As such, it will appeal to sociologists with interests in social theory, religion, and the secularization thesis.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Editors’ Introduction
• Foreword
• Introduction
• I Religion, Church, and Sociology
• II Church-Oriented Religion on the Periphery of Modern Society
• III The Anthropological Condition of Religion
• IV The Social Forms of Religion
• V Individual Religiosity
• VI Religion and Personal Identity in Modern Society
• VII Modern Religious Themes
• Postscript
• References
• Supplement to the 1991 German Edition
• Name Index
• Subject Index