In:
European Sociological Review, Oxford University Press (OUP), Vol. 36, No. 4 ( 2020-08-01), p. 626-642
Abstract:
Germany was a divided country from 1949 until 1989. During this period, West Germany remained a rather religious country, while East Germany became, under socialist rule, one of the most secular regions in the world. We use this case of socialist state intervention as a natural experiment to test Voas’ model of secular transition, which states that all Western and Central European countries follow the same path and speed of secularization. We employ ESS, GSS, and KMU surveys, as well as church statistics, to show that Voas’ model holds for West Germany but not for the East. In East Germany, the state accelerated the secular transition substantially: through coercion, incentive structures, and education, it succeeded in triggering mass disaffiliations from the church irrespective of age, and in discouraging parents from socializing their children religiously. This led to a self-perpetuating process that resulted in a rapid increase in the number of people who were never socialized religiously at all.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0266-7215
,
1468-2672
Language:
English
Publisher:
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication Date:
2020
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2008855-3
SSG:
3,4
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