Religious Research

Religious Research

An Analysis of the Role of Religion in the Emergence of Modernity

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
Milad Parand
Master's graduate in Comparative Studies of Religions and Mysticism, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Kashan, Iran
10.22034/jrr.2025.514603.2270
Abstract
The transition of humanity from the traditional world of the Middle Ages to the modern era, as well as the nature, causes, and factors underlying this influential event in the course of contemporary human history, has been a major concern of many thinkers and researchers. In the present study, examining and analyzing the role of religion in the emergence of modernity has been the author's primary concern. By examining the theories and perspectives of scholars, as well as the course of history and its transformation from the traditional world to the modern world, the study seeks to identify the traces and roots of religion in the foundations of modernity. Accordingly, in this descriptive-exploratory study, the role of religion in the emergence of modernity was examined using documentary and library-based data. It was found that the most important characteristics and components of modernity, including (1) rationality and reason, (2) humanism and individualism, and (3) secularism and the separation of religion from politics, are rooted in the teachings of Christianity, and that there is an undeniable connection between these characteristics and the teachings of Christianity. The conclusion is that modernity and its defining components are rooted in religion (Christianity), and that modernity is not a concept opposed to religion, but rather a different perspective on religion.
Keywords
Religion
Modernity
Christianity
Religious Roots of Modernity
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