Religious activism in a secular world

What is it about?

Modern society is characterised not only by processes of secularisation, but also by religious reactions to the perceived secularisation of society. In the Catholic Church, the rise of active congregations constitutes a prominent part of this reaction. With their work “in the world”, its members (brothers and sisters) had to represent religious values in a modernising and secularising world. This article provides an analysis of this form of religious activism in the system of education.

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Why is it important?

This article is original in that it applies Niklas Luhmann's systems theory to the study of the interaction between religion and education in modern society. From Luhmann's perspective, the focus of this article is on the mechanisms of social differentiation and inclusion in modern society at large, and on the opportunities and problems they create for systems such as religion and education.