The Sociological Study of Religion

Challenging the classical teleological narrative that equates modernization with religious decline, this Special Issue highlights the persistence, transformation, and political potency of the sacred in late modern societies. Through theoretical reflections and diverse empirical case studies, the Reprint examines processes of sacralization within secular domains, the instrumentalization of religion in political contexts, and alternative epistemologies that contest Western rationalist frameworks. Taken together, the contributions demonstrate that secularization should be understood not as the disappearance of religion, but as its ongoing metamorphosis.