Author(s): Volkan ERTÄ°T
Quantitative studies related to European churches or belief in god, hell or heaven indicate that churches are no longer the center of attraction, and religion has lost its power and prestige drastically in Europe. Social scientists have been busy for decades attempting to understand this dramatic change. In this article, I discuss the question, "why has Europe become the most secular continent in the world?" in light of three theories: Classical Secularization Theory, Religious Market Model and Secure Secularization Theory. Although my work claims that it is more convenient to look at the internal dynamics of each country to understand the process of secularization, the Classical Secularization Theory gives more plausible explanations if the subject is European.
The Journal of International Social Research received 7760 citations as per Google Scholar report
