Secularization in Governance: How Religion and Politics Explains Variations in Europeans’ Attitudes Público

Abstract

Is religion or politics more likely to explain variation in Europeans’ attitudes toward the secularization of governance? This thesis theorizes that the rise of the contemporary state due to modernization reinforced medieval religious structures that restricted religious pluralism. A limited religious environment created less religious participation and interactions with religious authority. Religious leaders intertwine religious and political views when they pose political issues as moral dilemmas. The increased exposure to these messages leads to individuals having attitudes that combine religious and political matters (i.e., religious leaders being involved in politics). This thesis argues that religion is better than politics in explaining variation in Europeans’ attitudes toward secularization. Statistical testing shows that religion is six times more powerful than politics at explaining these variations in attitudes. This paper intends to add to the literature regarding secularization by providing a comparative study of how religion and politics explain secularization.

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………….………………..……………………………..1

Theory……………………………………………….………………………………………....…..4

            History Before Secularization History……………………………………….………4

            Secularization……………………………………………………………………………..7

            Unit of Analysis of State-Craft Theory of Secularization……………….………11

Why Europe?...................................................................................................12

            Table 1……………………………………………………………………………..……...13

Data………………….……………………….…………………………………………........…..13

Hypothesis……….………………………………………………………………………….…….15

Results……………………………………………………..…………………….………….…..…18

            Table 2………………………………………………………………………..…………...20

Table 3…………………………………………………………………….........………..…….26

Table 4……………………………………………………………………….……........…...…28

Conclusion………………………………………………………………….……….………….…26

References…………….……………………………………………………….……….………….30

Appendix………………………………………………………………………...…………………41

            Correlation Matrix 1…………………………………………………………………..…41

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Religion
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Religion, General Political Science, International Relations
Palavra-chave	secularization in governance politics religion
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Thomas D. Lancaster, Emory University
Committee Members	Jill Robbins, Emory University Michael S. Berger, Emory University

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