Abstract

The purpose of the dissertation was to provide a dialectical model for interpreting secularization and American religion. Chapter two examines the contours of the secularization debate at several levels. First, Weberian and Durkheimian schools of thought are analyzed. The sources of the impasse in the secularization debate are uncovered through an examination of their separate definitions of religion, levels of analysis, epistemological assumptions and methodological approaches. Then, the research programs and epistemic methods of their theoretical parents, Weber and Durkheim, are reviewed. Finally, the central question of secularization is reframed. ;Chapter three reviews recent attempts to address epistemic problems of past theoretical approaches. Following the suggestive lead of Hekman, Mannheim's theoretical approach is examined with particular emphasis on his epistemological orientation. Then, his methodological framework for interpreting the relation between religion and society is carefully reviewed, and the implications for secularization are discussed. ;Chapter four includes an introductory overview of the evolution of ideological and cultural strains, individual response, and social-structural configurations which form the background for the historical period under consideration. Then, the epoch, 1880-1935, is analyzed, and the framework of the socio-historical dialectic is applied to specific social, economic, and religious trends. ;Chapter five addresses the implications of Mannheim's socio-historical dialectic for understanding the phenomena of secularization. The epistemological reorientation Mannheim provides leads to a "kaleidoscopic" approach to secularization in the American context. The chapter concludes with a critique of the theoretical model