The Problem of religion in the modern society in terms of Peter L. Bergers sociological understanding

This thesis investigates the problem of religion in the modern society in terms of Bergers' sociological understanding. It firstly describes his sociology of knowledge and secondly focuses upon how he establishes a close relationship between sociolgy of knowledge and the sociology of religion Berger discusses the problem of religion in the modern society at the context of secularization and pluralism. He defines secularization as a process by which sectors of society and culture are removed from the domination of religious institutions and symbols. Berger, unlike many sociologists, accepts not only secularization of society but also secularization of individual conciousness. But in 1980s he rethinks upon this view mentioned above in the light of last ampirical evidences which indicate that religious movements throught all world grow up commonly and accepts the notion of de-secuiarisation by claming previous idea of unfit of modernity and religion is not valid for the present Berger deals with the pluralism in the context of pluralization of social life- worlds and defines the the religious pluralism as a situation in which different religious grups are tolerated by state and engage in free competetlon with each other. Berger says that pluralism relativizes religious beliefs and shakes the foundations of religious beliefs taken for granted In Individual consciousness. The religious deflations of reality lost the quality of the certainlty and becomes the matters of preference, when common social acceptance can not be realized in the pluralistic structure of any society.