A Supply-Side Reinterpretation of the "Secularization" of Europe

Abstract

We propose a theory of religious mobilization that accounts for variations in religious participation on the basis of variations in the degree of regulation of religious economies and consequent variations in their levels of religious competition. To account for the apparent 'secularization of many European nations, we stress supply-side weaknesses - inefficient religious organizations within highly regulated religious economies - rather than a lack of individual religious demand. We test the theory with both quantitative and historical data and, based on the results, suggest that the concept of secularization be dropped for lack of cases to which it could apply.