RELIGION AND MODERNIZATION IN EUROPE

The crossroads for modernization are traced back beyond the Reformatio n towards the 11th and 12th century. The schism between Pome and Byzan tium and the concomitant struggle for superiority between the Emperor and the Pope paved the way for the difference between the spiritual an d the secular, and hence for a functional differentiation of society. Scholasticism became the first system of thought beyond traditionalism and laid the foundations for modern rationalism and individualism. Th e Christian heritage as well as the meaning of religion have been tran sformed in the processes of modernization. The interaction of structur al and cultural aspects of the processes are emphasized.