Are the Gods Dead? Secularization Theory Worldwide

This course is structured around one of our most distinguished but contested social science theories: secularization, or the thesis that modernization weakens religion. In this course, we will read classic and contemporary versions of the secularization thesis from various social science disciplines, evaluate whether secularization has occurred in a number of cases around the world, and consider whether this theory deserves to still hold a central place in social science.