S ANALYSIS OF CHRISTIANITY: THE FORMATION OF SECULAR RELIGION IN AMERICA / TALCOTT PARSONS’IN HIRİSTİYANLIK SOSYOLOJİSİ: AMERİKA’DA SEKÜLER DİNİN OLUŞUMU

Talcott Parsons's sociology of Christianity constitutes the main point of this article as one of the most important functionalist sociologists. This article includes partial information about his general theory of religion. According to Parsons principles of Western and American modernization arise from Christianity from an evolutionist perspective which is formed by historical and empirical data. There are five chapters in the article. In the first part, there are Parsons's point of view about religion and Christianity, general information about his studies on Christianity, also his ideas about the first period of Christianity. In the second part information on Parsons's comparisons of East and West Church can be seen. His ideas about the effects of Protestantism especially Calvinism on modernization have been descriptively explained in the third part. The next part is about his views on American Christianity and the pioneering role of America on economical and political modernization. In the fifth and result section, what Parsons think about religion in modern society is being critically considered. The aim of this work is reminding how can be contributory the Parsons's functionalist and Durkheimian paradigm. Otherwise emphasizing the hesitation of using “civil religion” and “secular religion” terms when he identifies holiness and spirituality is another aim of this study. Lastly, the idea of Parsons's sociology of Christianity has a subjective role on legitimating American modernization or 20th century American society is another crucial point.