Criticism of the Theory of Secularization: Descriptive and Normative Aspects

The article examines the main areas of criticism of the theory of secularization that have developed in the sociology and philosophy of religion of the late 20th – early 21st centuries. Based on the research tradition and accumulating the views of the classics of philosophical thought, the author distinguishes between the descriptive and normative levels of criticism. It is emphasized that the first is based on the empirical refutation of the universality and linearity of the secularization process, as well as on the identification of religious revival in a number of regions of the world. Normative criticism is directed against secularism as an ideology that excludes religion from the public sphere. Post-secularism is interpreted as a normative program of a pluralistic social order, which assumes the legitimacy of religious voices in the public space. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that it represents an alternative approach to the organization of society, rejecting the exclusion of religion from social life, characteristic of secularism.