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Talcott Parsons and the enigma of secularization

Raf Vanderstraeten UGent (2013) EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL THEORY. 16(1). p.69-84
abstract
During the last ten or fifteen years of his life, Talcott Parsons (1902-79) discussed religion and secularization in a number of papers and essays. This work was left unfinished; in the last book that he saw into print, Parsons depicted these papers and essays as work-in-progress. This article focuses on Parsons' approach to secularization in this late work. Building upon his AGIL-scheme, Parsons analyzed the relation between processes of inclusion and increasing differentiation, on the one hand, and secularization at the value-oriented level, on the other. This article presents a reconstruction and an immanent critique of Parsons' approach, which highlights both its possibilities and its limitations in order to contribute to the development of a contemporary social theory of secularization and religious change.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
year
type
journalArticle (original)
publication status
published
subject
keyword
differentiation, RELIGION, inclusion, Talcott Parsons, religion, secularization, value generalization
journal title
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL THEORY
Eur. J. Soc. Theory
volume
16
issue
1
pages
69 - 84
Web of Science type
Article
Web of Science id
000313811900005
JCR category
SOCIOLOGY
JCR impact factor
0.593 (2013)
JCR rank
93/138 (2013)
JCR quartile
3 (2013)
ISSN
1368-4310
DOI
10.1177/1368431012449236
language
English
UGent publication?
yes
classification
A1
copyright statement
I have transferred the copyright for this publication to the publisher
id
2957838
handle
http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-2957838
date created
2012-07-07 11:27:09
date last changed
2013-02-25 15:21:13
@article{2957838,
  abstract     = {During the last ten or fifteen years of his life, Talcott Parsons (1902-79) discussed religion and secularization in a number of papers and essays. This work was left unfinished; in the last book that he saw into print, Parsons depicted these papers and essays as work-in-progress. This article focuses on Parsons' approach to secularization in this late work. Building upon his AGIL-scheme, Parsons analyzed the relation between processes of inclusion and increasing differentiation, on the one hand, and secularization at the value-oriented level, on the other. This article presents a reconstruction and an immanent critique of Parsons' approach, which highlights both its possibilities and its limitations in order to contribute to the development of a contemporary social theory of secularization and religious change.},
  author       = {Vanderstraeten, Raf},
  issn         = {1368-4310},
  journal      = {EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL THEORY},
  keyword      = {differentiation,RELIGION,inclusion,Talcott Parsons,religion,secularization,value generalization},
  language     = {eng},
  number       = {1},
  pages        = {69--84},
  title        = {Talcott Parsons and the enigma of secularization},
  url          = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1368431012449236},
  volume       = {16},
  year         = {2013},
}
Chicago
Vanderstraeten, Raf. 2013. “Talcott Parsons and the Enigma of Secularization.” European Journal of Social Theory 16 (1): 69–84.
APA
Vanderstraeten, R. (2013). Talcott Parsons and the enigma of secularization. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL THEORY, 16(1), 69–84.
Vancouver
1.
Vanderstraeten R. Talcott Parsons and the enigma of secularization. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL THEORY. 2013;16(1):69–84.
MLA
Vanderstraeten, Raf. “Talcott Parsons and the Enigma of Secularization.” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL THEORY 16.1 (2013): 69–84. Print.