The Concept of Religion: Berger’s analysis on religion made him have a substantive definition of religion which states that religion is the human enterprise by which a sacred cosmos is established or in other words, religion is customization in a sacred mode’.
He said that the objects of human experience are sacred in nature. The objects like rocks, clothes, tools, times and spaces, etc. are all sacred in nature. Berger agreed with Durkheim on the concept of sacred and profane. Profane is the absence of sacred aspects and is defined negatively.
Profane is defined as ‘what is not sacred is profane’. The profane activities can become sacred if they come in contact with extraordinary powers and vice-versa i.e. if a scared object loses its power, it becomes commonplace. Berger formulates that the sacred emerge out of the chaos as initially the universe was full of chaos and then God controlled everything in the universe, created man and woman by giving them the sacred knowledge and blessing a happy life for them. On failing to do so, it would result in their end.
According to Berger, religion also possesses some dangerous powers which withdraw their support and power if not treated properly. If a connection with the sacred is lost, it would result in chaos. The terror runs away by having a faith in magician powers and vice-versa i.e., if a scared object loses its power, it becomes commonplace. Berger formulates that the sacred emerge out of the chaos as initially the universe was full of chaos and then God controlled everything in the universe, created man and woman by giving them the sacred knowledge and blessing a happy life for them.
On failing to do so, it would result in their end. According to Berger, religion also possesses some dangerous powers which withdraw their support and power if not treated properly.
If a connection with the sacred is lost, it would result in chaos. The terror runs away by having a faith in religion. Berger’s initial thesis that modernity reduces the effect of religion was later on doubted by Berger himself. Later, he worked to prove that religion is a strong and potent force that directly or indirectly affects people’s imagination and lifestyle.
This is irrespective of modern science and technology, capitalism, and rational thinking. Following are some of the reasons responsible for his belief in secularization:
•The conservative and evangelical churches are growing in America
• The liberal churches are declining
• Western societies are having a persistent faith in religion
• Religion plays a vital role in other parts of the world.
Berger criticized his own view and view of some other theorists that modernization is interlinked i.e., modernization leads to a decline of belief in religion in society. In most of the countries the culture of individualization of religion’ started existing. The ‘individualization of religion’ means religion for the individual. In different countries, varieties of religious beliefs and experiences can be seen.
Churches continue to play an important role both in the United States and Europe but Americans continue their traditional beliefs for churches and call themselves as born-again Christians’. Berger analyzed that full of massive religious explosions’ are occurring in modernized society but this does not mean the non-existence of secularization.
The structure and pattern of secularization vary in different parts of the world. According to Berger, in today’s world, it is pluralism that is causing a decline in traditional beliefs and practices. It is believed that in the future religion will continue to play an important role in society but its version will change. It will be more of a “religion with pluralism’ rather than a religion that is one, unified and monolithic in nature.
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