Secularity in socio-cultural context: the case of Denmark
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2019.117Abstract
The article analyzes the meaning of the “secularity” in the socio-cultural context of Denmark, which is considered as one of the most secular nations in the world, while the Evangelical-Lutheran Church there has the status of the state Church. The special status of Folkekirke is enshrined in the 1953 Constitution of Denmark, stipulating state guarantees for favorable conditions of its activities, as well as partial financing. At the same time, the Constitution proclaims freedom of religion. As a subject of research, such situation gives rise to many theoretical problems related primarily to clarify the meaning of the basic concepts of Religious Studies, and the specifics of their applicability to the socio-cultural situation of each particular country. In the framework of the theory of secularization, Denmark is usually viewed as the intermediate model between the British “established” church, and the French principle of läicité. The term “secularity” is considered in the light of contemporary academic discussions on the theory of secularization, multiple modernities, and multiple secularities; the latter implies the isochronal existence of different types of secularity, which are formed within particular cultural-historical traditions of the given country, and constantly change under the influence of emerging societal realities. The article presents a critical review of the most popular theoretical versions in the Western Religious Studies aimed at the explanation of the causes and nature of secularity in Denmark, as well as in other Northern European countries. The author concludes that the considered options, in principle, do not contradict, but complement each other, and prove the fact that adequate interpretation of any complex phenomenon should not be one-sided and stocked within a single subject area.
Keywords:
secularity, religiosity, Folkekirke, multiple modernities, hidden sacrality, cultural religiosity
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References
Литература
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Zuckerman, Ph. (2009), “Why are Danes and Swedes So Irreligious?”, Nordic Journal of Religion and Society, vol. 1, no. 22, pp. 55–69.
Zuckerman, Ph. (2008), Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment, New York University Press, New York, NY, USA.
Levisen, C. (2013), Cultural Semantics and Social Cognition: A Case Study on the Danish Universe of Meaning. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, Germany.
Zuckerman, Ph. (2012), “Contrasting Irreligious Orientation: Atheism and Secularity in the USA and Scandinavia”, Approaching Religion, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 8–20.
Rosen, I. (2009), “I’m a believer — but I’ll be damned if I’m religious: Belief and religion in the Greater Copenhagen area: A focus group study”. Lund Studies in Sociology of Religion, vol. 8.
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Published
2019-03-29
How to Cite
Степанова, Е. А. (2019). Secularity in socio-cultural context: the case of Denmark. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies, 35(1), 209–221. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2019.117
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Religious studies
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Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.
