Revisiting Secularism in Western Christendom: A Theological and Sociological Approach

Penulis

  • Kevin Nobel Kurniawan Universitas Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33550/sd.v7i1.125

Abstrak

The objective of this article is to revisit the process of secularization in the decline of Christian religion in the West through a theological and societal discussion on a theoretical level. By arguing a societal perspective alone is insufficient to provides a specific explanation to religious decline, a theological perspective would provides a prior explanation to further clarify how the process of secularization operates in relation to the internal dynamic of the Christian religion. The expositions of such arguments would argue that the process of secularization can be differentiates into several parts: The objectivation of Christian beliefs for capitalism in European industrialization, the de-attachment of individual to spiritual faith, and the process of individualization and consumerism that deconstructs religion in postmodernity. This article will posit the theological Kierkegaardian view of Christendom in dialogue with sociological arguments on modernity and postmodernity, and also to relate such findings into the Indonesian context to provides conceptual anticipation for postmodern social changes.

KEYWORDS: secularism, christendom, Kierkegaard, modernity, liquid modernity, community. 

Statistik

Data terunduh belum tersedia.

Biografi Penulis

Kevin Nobel Kurniawan, Universitas Indonesia

He earned a Bachelor of Social Science Sociology from the University of Indonesia (2017). In 2020, he graduated from the Master of Social and Political Thought, University of Leeds. After pursuing Master’s studies in sociology at the University of Leeds to explore Zygmunt Bauman’s thoughts on the Holocaust and Ethics of Judaism, the author returned to teach and conduct sociological research in Calvin High School and the University of Indonesia. In the field of sociology, the author has an interest in exploring topics about Classical and Contemporary Sociology of Thought, Family Sociology, Sociology of Religion, Educational Sociology, and Sociology of Social Change. The author also has an interest in exploring the fields of psychology, philosophy and theology that are based on the thought traditions of Augustine, Soren Kierkegaard, and Martin Buber. He has produced several books and articles in various journals. He is an active lecturer in Sociology at the University of Indonesia and the Calvin Christian School. He can be reached at kevinnobel93@gmail.com.

Referensi

Amitai Etzioni. The New Golden Rule: Community and Morality in a Democratic Society. New York (Basic Books, 1996), 187.

Bilangan Research Center. Temuan Hasil Survei Spiritualitas Generasi Muda Kristen Indonesia. (Jakarta: Bilangan Research Center, 2018), 18.

Callum Brown. “What Was the Religious Crisis of the 1960s?” Journal of Religious History 34, no.4 (2010): 468–79.

Callum Brown. Death of Christian Britain: Understanding Secularisation 1800-2000. London: Routledge, 2001.

Giddens, Anthony. The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1990.

James Coleman. “The Rational Reconstruction of Society: 1992 Presidential Address.” American Sociological Association 58, no. 1 (2018): 1–15.

John Locke. A Letter Concerning Toleration. Indiana: Liberty Fund Inc, 2010.

Martin Buber. Between Man and Man. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1994.

Martin Buber. I and Thou. Edinburg: T.&T. Clark, 1986.

Max Weber. Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpreting Sociology. California: University of California Press, 1978 215.

Max Weber. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. London: Routledge, 1992.

Peter Berger. “Secular Theology and the Rejection of the Supernatural: Reflection on Recent Trends.” Theological Studies 38, no. 1 (1977): 39–56.

Peter Berger. Questions of Faith: A Skeptical Affirmation of Christianity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

Soren Kierkegaard. Attack Upon Christendom. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1968.

Soren Kierkegaard. Concluding Unscientific Postscript. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Thomas William Heyck. “The Decline of Christianity in Twentieth-Century Britain.” North American Conference on British Studies 28, no. 3 (2018): 437–53.

Timothy Keller. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of Christian Faith. New York: Penguin Group, 2008.

Titus Hjelm. “Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion.” Journal of Classical Sociology 18, 3 (2018): 231–48.

Zygmunt Bauman. Liquid Love. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003.

Zygmunt Bauman. Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000.

Zygmunt Bauman. Postmodernity and Its Discontents. New York: New York University Press, 1997.

Diterbitkan

30-04-2020

Cara Mengutip

Kurniawan, K. N. (2020). Revisiting Secularism in Western Christendom: A Theological and Sociological Approach. Societas Dei: Jurnal Agama Dan Masyarakat, 7(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.33550/sd.v7i1.125