Rigid Differentiation Theory and Flexible Sociology of Religion?
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Thomas Schwinn
Abstract
The relationship between differentiation theory and secularization theory, which has been established over decades, has been problematized in recent debates, in light of the historicization of developmental processes, the cultural-comparative variance of developmental patterns, and the diversity of current configurations in which religion can be found. While the phenomena being studied are increasingly varied, the theory of differentiation remains relatively rigid, not adjusting in response. The usual division of labor between general or theoretical sociology, on the one hand, and special sociology and the study of religion, on the other, has been abandoned. The assumed theoretical- conceptual poverty of differentiation theory implies that it is unable to grasp the richness and diversity of religious manifestations. It is shown here that one cannot, in fact, specify an ideal case of religion in the ensemble of the other orders in terms of differentiation theory. It is more appropriate to start from a typology of the formative relationship between religion and state. Nevertheless, this does not make the ideal of a differentiated order superfluous. The abstraction of differentiation theory enables scholars to make typological comparisons when considering diverse empirical cases.
Abstract
The relationship between differentiation theory and secularization theory, which has been established over decades, has been problematized in recent debates, in light of the historicization of developmental processes, the cultural-comparative variance of developmental patterns, and the diversity of current configurations in which religion can be found. While the phenomena being studied are increasingly varied, the theory of differentiation remains relatively rigid, not adjusting in response. The usual division of labor between general or theoretical sociology, on the one hand, and special sociology and the study of religion, on the other, has been abandoned. The assumed theoretical- conceptual poverty of differentiation theory implies that it is unable to grasp the richness and diversity of religious manifestations. It is shown here that one cannot, in fact, specify an ideal case of religion in the ensemble of the other orders in terms of differentiation theory. It is more appropriate to start from a typology of the formative relationship between religion and state. Nevertheless, this does not make the ideal of a differentiated order superfluous. The abstraction of differentiation theory enables scholars to make typological comparisons when considering diverse empirical cases.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Premodern Boundary Negotiations: Self-Distinctions of the Religious Sphere
- Dynamics of Differentiation from Charlemagne to Dante. Medieval Christian Debates on Religion and Politics beyond the Model of a “Separation of Church and State” 15
- Secularity and Differentiation in Late Antiquity. The Case of Augustine of Hippo 51
- Monasticism, Differentiation and Secularization: Talcott Parsons and the Catholic ‘Monastic Movement’ in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 79
- Negotiating the Boundaries between Religion and Science in the Abbasid Empire 105
- Religious and Secular in Premodern Islam and Christianity 125
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Part II Colonial Boundaries: Religion, Culture, and “Middle Things”
- King, Messiah, and Culture in the Making of Zulu Secularity 157
- The “Middle Things”. Differentiating between the Religious Spheres in Indian and African Mission Contexts in the Nineteenth Century 189
- Beyond Non-Catholic/Catholic (Luong/Giao) Separation: Missionary Expansion and Divergent Manifestations of Religious Differentiation in Colonial Vietnam 213
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Part III Competing Epistemes: Lessons Learned From Asia
- The Autonomy of Science vis-a-vis Religion: Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome as a Theoretical Counter-Narrative to the Western Master Narrative of Functional Differentiation 239
- Global Translations: Conceptualizing Differentiations Between ‘Religion’ and ‘Science’ in Thailand and the Philippines in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 271
- Demarcating Religion: On the Varying Ways of Conceptualizing Social Differentiation in Japanese History 301
- Rethinking the Place of Religion and Worldviews in Differentiation Theory: A Historical Comparison between Chinese and European Societies 329
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Part IV Programmatic Proposals: Differentiation Theory and the Sociology of Religion and Secularity
- The Fragmentation of the Sacred: An Alternative Narrative of Western Modernity 359
- Rigid Differentiation Theory and Flexible Sociology of Religion? 379
- After Autonomy. Relationships between Art and Religion in Nineteenth Century Germany and their Implications for Differentiation Theory 407
- Beyond Normative Binaries: Neutral Zones as Precursors and Starting Points of Secularity 437
- The Authors 467
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Premodern Boundary Negotiations: Self-Distinctions of the Religious Sphere
- Dynamics of Differentiation from Charlemagne to Dante. Medieval Christian Debates on Religion and Politics beyond the Model of a “Separation of Church and State” 15
- Secularity and Differentiation in Late Antiquity. The Case of Augustine of Hippo 51
- Monasticism, Differentiation and Secularization: Talcott Parsons and the Catholic ‘Monastic Movement’ in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 79
- Negotiating the Boundaries between Religion and Science in the Abbasid Empire 105
- Religious and Secular in Premodern Islam and Christianity 125
-
Part II Colonial Boundaries: Religion, Culture, and “Middle Things”
- King, Messiah, and Culture in the Making of Zulu Secularity 157
- The “Middle Things”. Differentiating between the Religious Spheres in Indian and African Mission Contexts in the Nineteenth Century 189
- Beyond Non-Catholic/Catholic (Luong/Giao) Separation: Missionary Expansion and Divergent Manifestations of Religious Differentiation in Colonial Vietnam 213
-
Part III Competing Epistemes: Lessons Learned From Asia
- The Autonomy of Science vis-a-vis Religion: Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome as a Theoretical Counter-Narrative to the Western Master Narrative of Functional Differentiation 239
- Global Translations: Conceptualizing Differentiations Between ‘Religion’ and ‘Science’ in Thailand and the Philippines in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 271
- Demarcating Religion: On the Varying Ways of Conceptualizing Social Differentiation in Japanese History 301
- Rethinking the Place of Religion and Worldviews in Differentiation Theory: A Historical Comparison between Chinese and European Societies 329
-
Part IV Programmatic Proposals: Differentiation Theory and the Sociology of Religion and Secularity
- The Fragmentation of the Sacred: An Alternative Narrative of Western Modernity 359
- Rigid Differentiation Theory and Flexible Sociology of Religion? 379
- After Autonomy. Relationships between Art and Religion in Nineteenth Century Germany and their Implications for Differentiation Theory 407
- Beyond Normative Binaries: Neutral Zones as Precursors and Starting Points of Secularity 437
- The Authors 467