Hubert Knoblauch in his book, Spirituality and Popular Religion in Europe, tends to believe that Europe is not as secular as other writers view it to be. In fact, he says that their opinion is only exaggerated(Turner, 2008). Other writers are criticized for seeing religion in institutional forms, but cannot account for the general religious change that includes Europe. He argues that religion should be viewed in a more mild way. Complementing of religion through basic means is to be considered. The book focuses on marked religions such as Christianity whereby it is highly visible and alternative religions. It also focus on social form of either religion or spiritality.
The interaction between Christians whether in a religious or non-religious context is brought to focus. Most of the Christians are avoiding marked religious language, but some are persisting with it. The Christians lay great emphasis on the existence of supernatural power being who is in charge. The movement of Christians advocating for marked religious language seems to be growing and will soon constitute the largest section of Christianity. It, however, does not mean Europe lack other religious. These religions draw their ideologies from different cultures, especially from Asian communities(Turner, 2008). These alternative religions believe in various elements for example nature.
Although marked Christianity may differ from alternative religiosity, they have some standard features. Both, for example, lay much importance of individualism(Turner, 2008). Again, some marked Christians have experienced something that surpasses their religious belief and tend to favor the alternative religions. A conclusion made is that, although some experiences are not explainable, the subjectivity of them is ignorable.
Spirituality, according to Knablauch is a subjective notion(Turner, 2008). He goes ahead to state that spirituality is different from religion due to its personal nature. Charisma, being part of spirituality, is, therefore, generalized and subjective. Spirituality is, nonetheless, not restricted to marked areas. Alternative religions can also be said to have individual who are spiritual.
With the new technology, religious communities facing compelling situations to adapt with the new tends(Turner, 2008). They have started adpting to the trends such as marketing, televangelism, and even pop music. Knablauch cautions that this should not be mistaken for secularity. The new changes have come under criticism in Europe, but the benefits of it are not ignorable.
The elimination of private and public communication boundary has affected religion in one way or another. It has transformed the very notion of religion. It has shaken the core of religion leaving spirituality to be said to be a social form of religion different from the church or any sect(Turner, 2008).
In a nutshell, Knoblauch is emphasizing that Europe religion is remodeling its appearance to be in line with the current changes. It is factoring all the important aspects of the modern world to enable spirituality to remain the social form separate from religion.
Reference
Turner B. S. (2008). Secularization, The Comparative sociology of De-secularization. (pp. 343-355). Los Angeles.
