Understanding the New Visibility of Religion

Religion as Problem and Utility

in Journal of Religion in Europe
Author: Titus Hjelm 1
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  • 1 University College London
Online Publication Date:
04 Dec 2014
Volume/Issue:
Volume 7: Issue 3-4
Article Type:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-00704002
Keywords:
desecularization; expediency; post-secularity; public religion; new visibility of religion; secularization; welfare
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This article examines recent debates about the ‘return of religion’ to the European public sphere. It argues that there is widespread confusion between religion being more visible and religion having more impact on contemporary societies. The article asks what the 'new visibility of religion' means, how religion is contested and renegotiated in the public arena—or rather, in different publics—and what the effects of these struggles are on society, state and religion itself. It does so by providing an analytical overview five distinct approaches to the new visibility of religion: desecularization, de-privatization and post-secularity; the effects of ‘welfare utopianism’ on public religion; religion as a social problem; religion as expedient; and the mediatization or publicization of religion. The article concludes that what we are witnessing is a ‘secular return’ of religion, where religion is relevant for public discourse only by virtue of being either problematic or useful.

Understanding the New Visibility of Religion

Religion as Problem and Utility

in Journal of Religion in Europe
E-ISSN:
1874-8929
Print ISSN:
1874-8910
Publisher:
Brill
Cover Journal of Religion in Europe

Sections

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  • 5

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  • 7

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  • 8

     James V. Spickard“What is Happening to Religion? Six Sociological Narratives,” Nordic Journal of Religion and Society19/1 (2006) 13–29.

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     José CasanovaPublic Religions in the Modern World (Chicago: University of Chicago Press1994) 212.

  • 15

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  • 17

     Herbert“Theorizing Religion and Media” 631.

  • 18

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  • 22

     Lori Beaman“The Will to Religion: Obligatory Religious Citizenship,” Critical Research on Religion ½ (2013) 141–157 at 146; cf. Gregor McLennan “Towards Postsecular Sociology?” Sociology 41/5 (2007) 857–870.

  • 25

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  • 27

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  • 28

     Dinham and Jackson“Religion Welfare and Education” 272.

  • 29

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  • 31

     Woodhead“Introduction” 11.

  • 32

     Alex CallinicosSocial Theory: A Historical Introduction (Cambridge: Polity Press2007).

  • 34

     Grace DavieReligion in Britain since 1945 (Oxford: Blackwell1994); Karen M. Anderson “The Church as Nation? The Role of Religion in the Development of the Swedish Welfare State” in Philip Manow and Kees van Kersbergen (eds.) Religion Class Coalitions and Welfare States (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2009) 210–325.

  • 36

     Dinham and Jackson“Religion Welfare and Education” 272.

  • 38

     Dinham and Jackson“Religion Welfare and Education” 276.

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  • 46

     BruceSecularization219.

  • 48

     Titus Hjelm“Introduction: Islam and Muslims in European News Media,” Journal of Religion in Europe5/2 (2012) 137–139.

  • 49

     Beckford“Religious Diversity and Social Problems” 59.

  • 50

     Beckford“Religious Diversity and Social Problems” 59.

  • 51

     Dinham and Jackson“Religion Welfare and Education” 272.

  • 54

     Titus Hjelm“Paradoxes of Religious Legitimacy and Authenticity in an Age of Expediency.” A paper presented at the annual conference of the British Sociological Association, 24 April 2014; Titus Hjelm, “Religion, Discourse and Power: Outline of a Critical Agenda for the Sociology of Religion,” Critical Sociology40/6 (2014a) 855–871.

  • 58

     David Herbert“Theorizing Religion and Media” 633.

  • 59

     e.g. Lynn Schofield ClarkFrom Angels to Aliens: Teenagers the Media and the Supernatural (Oxford: Oxford University Press2005).

  • 61

     David Herbert“Theorizing Religion and Media” 627.

  • 63

     Jeffrey Hadden“Toward Desacralizing Secularization Theory,” Social Forces65/3 (1987) 587–611.

  • 64

     Dinham and Jackson“Religion Welfare and Education” 289.

Information

Page Count:
203–222
Subjects:
History of Religion, Religious Studies, Religion & Society, Social Sciences
Copyright:
© 2014 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands 2014

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