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Secularization In Orleans, France: A Case Study Utilizing Mark Chaves' 'New Differentiation Theory', Stephanie J. Beck
Secularization In Orleans, France: A Case Study Utilizing Mark Chaves' 'New Differentiation Theory', Stephanie J. Beck
Honors Theses
Steeped in a heavily religious history, Europe and specifically France provide an intriguing backdrop for a closer look into secularization in present-day Orleans, France. Many various approaches to secularization theory have arisen over the past sixty years. This paper explores the evolution of secularization theory, delving into Mark Chaves' "New Differentiation Theory", based upon religious authority's influence on t he individual, societal, and institutional levels. Though created by an American academician, the "New Differentiation Theory'' provides a new basis of analysis with which one may draw conclusions regarding the state of secularization in a European city (in this case Orleans, …