Historicizing the secularization debate: Church, state, and society in late medieval and early modern Europe, ca. 1300 to 1700

In recent years, the sociology of religion has been consumed by a debate ov er secularization that pits advocates of a new rational-choice paradigm (th e so-called religious economies model) against defenders of classical secul arization theory According to the old paradigm, the Western world has becom e increasingly secular since the Middle Ages; according to the new paradigm it has become increasingly religious I put these two images of religious d evelopment to the test through a detailed examination of religious life in Western Europe before and after the Reformation, I conclude that the change s in social structure and religious experience that occurred during this pe riod were considerately more complex than either the old or new paradigms s uggest and, indeed, that the two paradigms are neither so opposed nor so ir reconcilable as many of their defenders contend It is possible, indeed prob able, that Western society has become more secular without becoming less re ligious. I discuss the limitations of the two competing paradigms and sketc h the outlines of a move adequate theory of religious change.