Modernity and Religion: Conflicts, Secularization, and Resolutions

This report examines the complex relationship between modernity and religion, focusing on conflicts arising from secularization, technology, and science. The author argues that these conflicts are resolvable, providing a detailed analysis of the subject. It utilizes sources such as Durkheim's "Subject of the Study: Religious Sociology and the Theory of Knowledge" to define religion and understand its core tenets. Additionally, it incorporates Woodhead's "Gendering secularization theory" to explore the impact of secularization on religious disaffiliation, and Killian's work to explore the role of religion in public life. The report analyzes the arguments of proponents of religion's role in public life to understand how religion provides a sense of identity and meaning. The author aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and potential resolutions in the ongoing debate between modernity and religious belief.

Surname 1
Name
Tutor
Course
Date
Argument
This paper aims at identifying and discussing the dilemma of religious belief in
modernity. It will show the unavoidable conflicts different individuals we have learned about
have witnessed to establish whether or not such conflicts between modernity and religion remain
resolvable. A justification is given as to whether we can solve the identified conflicts between
religion and modernity. The main thesis for this paper is that modernity and religion are
controversial in terms of secularization, technology, and science, but we hold that this
controversy remains resolvable.
Sources
The article, “Subject of the Study: Religious Sociology and the Theory of Knowledge"
will be used in the final paper to get the best religion definition as ““religion is a unified system
of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden-
beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those
who adhere to them” (p. 6). This source will, therefore, forms the basis of my understanding of
religion so that I can easily identify any deviation from the definition as a conflict.
The second article “Gender secularization theory” will also be used to understand the
contribution of current theories of secularization as given by this quote, “so existing theories of
secularization do good job of explaining men’s religious disaffiliation but a bad job of

Surname 2
explaining the situation of the other half of human race” (p.98). This will help me write my final
paper since it demonstrates the effects of secularization on religious disaffiliation amongst men.
The third source I will use is Killian (2007) to show the argument of proponents of
religion role in public life who argue that religion provides a range of valuable public goods and
provide people with a sense of identity and meaning as reflected in the quote, “I think that
religion is an element that helps me…helped me surmount difficult moments in my life (p. 41).

Surname 3
Works Cited
Durkheim, Emile. "Subject of the Study: Religious Sociology and the Theory of
Knowledge." Sociology of Religion. Routledge, 2015. 15-20.
Killian, Caitlin. "From a community of believers to an Islam of the heart: “Conspicuous”
symbols, Muslim practices, and the privatization of religion in France." Sociology of
religion 68.3 (2007): 305-320.
Woodhead, Linda. "Gendering secularization theory." Social compass 55.2 (2008): 187-193