CHRISTIANITY AND SECULARIZATION FOLLOWING THE IDEAS OF ŽELJKO MARDEŠIĆ

Abstract

Following the interpretation of the famous Croatian sociologist Željko Mardešić (Jakov
Jukić), this paper analyzes secularization in the context of contemporary sociology of religion.
Considering various social, cultural, and religious changes, the presented secularization process
is the origin of the sudden and unexpected flourishing of various forms of new religiosity and the
alarming appearance of relics of the past, i.e., the increasingly present fundamentalism and integralism
in major religions. According to Željko Mardešić, the secularization process consists of
three levels and includes society, the Church, and – most deeply – the individual person. The individual
finds themselves in a strange gap. On the one hand, secularization swallows up and annuls
the sacred, while, on the other hand, the individual produces the sacred, which is not a substitute
for traditional religion, but something completely new and opposed. Željko Mardešić sees the future
of Christianity following in the footsteps of the Second Vatican Council, which seeks the effort
of sincere questioning its state on the part of Christianity; to choose either political religiosity or
authentic religiosity with no political security. It is important to note that Christianity, deprived of
its many worldly roles, in the new secularization context is encouraged to focus on ritual celebration
and spiritual immersion to creatively transform society and cultural life. In this context, there
emerges an increasingly acceptable interpretation according to which, using Željko Mardešić’s
words, secularization is seen as a happy event for historical Christianity, because it draws Christianity
a little closer to the original evangelical truth and a more authentic living of the goodness of
its members. This event manifests in rejecting the collectivist and ideological vision of Christianity
and advocates accepting the light of goodness rather than one’s own group, supporting freedom
and the free human in a group defined by the community of people who believe in the person and
teachings of Jesus Christ.