Secularization in Max Weber. On current usefulness of re-accessing that old meaning

The author argues that the treatment of the secularization thesis by Brazilian empirical studies in sociology of religion is theoretically deficient. In the article, having regard to the empiricist and ill-advised celebration of recent religious ferments that are supposed to be turning our times into a "de-secularized" or "post-secularized" age, the author supports the claim for resetting the conceptual discussion. He suggests that it would be very useful to Brazilian sociology of religion to cope again with the old political-juridical meaning through which the problem of a socio-historical process of dessacralization was conceptualized, taking place above all in the sphere of political-juridical normativity. This is the meaning unfolded by Max Weber, considered the major proponent of the secularization theory, in his sociology of law

O crescimento da libertade religiosa e o declínio da religião tradicional: A propósito do censo 2010

The article – based on the data of the 2010 census, gathered and interpreted by Flavio Pierucci – deals with the fight to conqueer the followers’ souls in the Brazilian metropolises. The different religions – the Catholic church, the Protestan churces, the cults of African origins, are harsh competitors and every means is allowed to get the conversion. The most relevant datum of the religious scenery – which is extremely dynamic and lively – is the decline of Catholicism, nothwistanding a number of 123 millions declared Catholics in a population of 190 millions. The religious freedom is accompanied by the “secularization”, and consequently the separation between the State and the Church. The disestablishment is the core of the Brazilian religious modernity. The secularization of the state juridical asset is associated with an extraordinary socio-cultural vitality, and, because of the large number of religious operators, missionaries of the new churches, prophets, gurus and magicians, it is extremely difficult to say whether thee Brazialian population is more or less religious now than a century ago.The article – based on the data of the 2010 census, gathered and interpreted by Flavio Pierucci – deals with the fight to conqueer the followers’ souls in the Brazilian metropolises. The different religions – the Catholic church, the Protestan churces, the cults of African origins, are harsh competitors and every means is allowed to get the conversion. The most relevant datum of the religious scenery – which is extremely dynamic and lively – is the decline of Catholicism, nothwistanding a number of 123 millions declared Catholics in a population of 190 millions. The religious freedom is accompanied by the “secularization”, and consequently the separation between the State and the Church. The disestablishment is the core of the Brazilian religious modernity. The secularization of the state juridical asset is associated with an extraordinary socio-cultural vitality, and, because of the large number of religious operators, missionaries of the new churches, prophets, gurus and magicians, it is extremely difficult to say whether thee Brazialian population is more or less religious now than a century ago

"Bye bye, Brasil": o declínio das religiões tradicionais no Censo 2000

SWIFT social changes are occurring in Brazil's religious milieu. Although these changes are mainly cultural, there is an important demographic dimension as well. It is precisely to highlight the greater sociological significance of this inescapable component that we chose the viewpoint of the demographic decline of three religions: Catholicism, Lutheranism and Umbanda. These are momentous sociocultural mutations, as described by 2000 demographic Census, founded on data that was checked and double checked by highly qualified technical personnel. Thus, the figures have the comparative advantage of being highly trustworthy, unlike the quantitative data normally conveyed by the media, not rarely originating from religious sources of (dis)information.NO CAMPO das religiões em nosso País, estamos diante de mudanças sociais aceleradas. Elas são principalmente culturais, mas têm importante dimensão demográfica e é justamente para salientar a significação sociológica mais ampla dessa dimensão populacional inevitável, que o artigo elege o ponto de vista do declínio demográfico de três das nossas religiões tradicionais: o catolicismo, o luteranismo e a umbanda. São mutações socioculturais de monta essas que o censo demográfico de 2000 descreve com números checados e rechecados por pessoal técnico da maior competência, dotados, por isso, da vantagem comparativa de ser altamente confiáveis, diferindo nesse aspecto dos dados quantitativos que circulam normalmente na mídia, provenientes não raro de fontes religiosas de (des)informação