This book, nearly twenty years old now, soon became a classic in the sociology of religion. Its concluding chapter until today is unsurpassed in the analytical clarity with which the concept of secularization is taken apart and distinguished in its three main usages in the relevant literature. Casanova shows persuasively that secularization as differentiation and emancipation of the political, economic, cultural, administrative and legal spheres from the influence of religious norms and authority is the core of the secularization thesis, and the part of the thesis that best holds up to empirical scrutiny. By contrast, the notion of secularization as decline (of religious belief and practice) proves really only accurate in Western Europe, and not the rest of the world. Grace Davie later called this phenomenon "European exceptionalism." While several generations of sociologists expected societies on other continents, including North America, to follow the European trend of decline, by the 1980s it became clear that it was not the rest of the world, but Western Europe that was exceptional. Finally, Casanova sets out throughout all case studies to show that the (third) notion of secularization as privatization is the one most wrong-headed. Even though religion and politics are somewhat differentiated in most societies by the end of the 20th century, religion is anything but private, or privatized. By contrast, religion occupies the space of civil society (religious associations), political society (religious political parties), and economic society (e.g. welfare provision through religious organizations). The beauty of Casanova's book is that he can show through his case studies how certain trends in secularization transcend political and cultural boundaries. At the same time, the effect of authoritarianism on religion (here Catholicism) is not always the same. Whether the state is socialist (Poland), corporatist (Brazil) or proto-fascist (Spain), all pre-1990, plays out in various, often counter-intuitive ways.
A work of great empirical breadth that rewards the reader if he/she makes the effort of following the dense empirical analyses.
Let's hope that future generations can continue Casanova's work with even greater comparative scope, including also various non-Christian religions in the study of secularization.
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