Summary of Ronald F. Inglehart's Religion's Sudden Decline

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#1 Secularization has recently accelerated in most countries. It is caused by the fact that, for many centuries, a coherent set of pro-fertility norms evolved in most countries that assigned women the role of producing as many children as possible. These norms are no longer needed for societal survival, and are rapidly giving way to individual-choice norms.

#2 The rise of individual-choice norms is not the only factor driving secularization. Reactions against religious fundamentalists’ embrace of xenophobic authoritarian politicians, against the Roman Catholic Church’s history of covering up child abuse, and against terrorism by religious extremists are also contributing to secularization.

#3 The religious markets theory argues that established churches become complacent monopolies, but competition between churches brings high levels of religious participation. The religious individualization thesis argues that people are simply freeing themselves from institutional guidelines and making their own choices, with subjective forms of religion replacing institutionalized ones.

#4 The theory of evolutionary modernization states that countries’ levels of religiosity reflect their historical heritage. The collapse of a belief system can reduce people’s sense of security as much as war or economic hardship does.

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