Secular attitude, theories of secularization and our society

Document Type : Scientific-Research

Authors

Ali Asghar Toosi

Mohammad Saeidi Nameghi

https://doi.org/10.22067/jss.v0i0.5259

Abstract

Is religious commitment declining? Is the form of religiosity changing in the society of Mashhad? To find answers to these questions, we studied the various theories of secularization and determined its three levels. We defined individual secularization and its product; the secular attitude, and determined its dimensions and its indexes. Next we measured the secular attitude. We then studied the various factors that can be effective in the variance of the secular attitude. The most important methods used were multi-variable regression analysis, variance analysis, path analysis and trend analysis. The sample consisted of 240 young and middle-aged people from Mashhad from all walks of life. The research, conducted in summer 2005, shows considerable presence of secular attitude, emergence of modern forms of religiosity and lack of sufficient consistency among religious groups.

Keywords

secular attitude

structural secularization

individual secularization

intra-religion secularization

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