Editing Secularization (section)

==Sociological use and differentiation==
As studied by sociologists, one of the major themes of secularization is that of "differentiation"—i.e.,&nbsp;the tendency for areas of life to become more distinct and specialized as a society becomes modernized. European sociology, influenced by [[anthropology]], was interested in the process of change from the so-called primitive societies to increasingly advanced societies. In the United States, the emphasis was initially on change as an aspect of progress, but [[Talcott Parsons]] refocused on society as a system immersed in a constant process of increased differentiation, which he saw as a process in which new institutions take over the tasks necessary in a society to guarantee its survival as the original monolithic institutions break up. This is a devolution from single, less differentiated institutions to an increasingly differentiated subset of institutions.<ref>Martin, David (2005). ''On Secularization: Toward a Revised General Theory''. Ashgate Publishing Company, p. 20. ("Parsons saw differentiation as the separating out of each social sphere from ecclesiastical control: the state, science, and the market, but also law, welfare, and education, etc.")</ref>

Following Parsons, this concept of differentiation has been widely applied. As phrased by [[José Casanova (sociologist)|José Casanova]], this "core and the central thesis of the theory of secularization is the conceptualization of the process of societal modernization as a process of functional differentiation and emancipation of the secular spheres—primarily the state, the economy, and science—from the religious sphere and the concomitant differentiation and specialization of religion within its own newly found religious sphere". Casanova also describes this as the theory of "privatization" of religion, which he partially criticizes.<ref>Casanova, Jose (1994). ''Public Religions in the Modern World''. University of Chicago Press, p. 19. {{ISBN|0-226-09535-5}} ("Only in the 1980s, after the sudden eruption of religion into the public sphere, did it become obvious that differentiation and the loss of societal functions do not necessarily entail 'privatization.'")</ref> While criticizing certain aspects of the traditional sociological theory of secularization, however, [[David Martin (sociologist)|David Martin]] argues that the concept of social differentiation has been its "most useful element".<ref>Martin, p. 20.</ref>