Human Security And Religious Change: An Analysis of 65 Societies Across 1981–2014

Abstract

Previous research has provided substantial support for the modernization theory by demonstrating that societies with high levels of human security are significantly less religious than societies with low levels of human security. This study presents a stronger assessment of the theory by testing a hypothesis that society’s level of human security also shapes trends in religious commitment over time. In our analysis, we use repeated cross-sectional survey data from 65 countries covering the 33-year time span from 1981 to 2014. Our empirical design draws on multilevel regression modeling in predicting country-level differences in religious change. Our findings demonstrate that high levels of human security were significantly linked with decline in religiosity during this period whereas low levels of security, conversely, were associated with rising emphasis on religion. The collapse of the prevailing belief system that occurred in ex-communist countries during this period tended to produce growing emphasis on religion, but the extent to which this happened depended on society’s level of human security. Overall, our results provide strong support for the revised version of secularization theory, which claims that declining religiosity depends on high levels human security.

Keywords: religiosity, modernization, human security

JEL Classification: Z