The Research Of Berger's Theory Of Religion From The Perspective Of Historical Materialism

Peter L.Berger was a famous scholar of religion after World War II.He had an intensive study of the relationship between religion and society.His theory has a great influence in the western humanities and social sciences,which is content-rich,speculative and realistic.Based on human existence itself,Berger revealed the definition,essence,function and development status of religion,following the clue of the relationship between religion and human activities.Firstly,Berger defined religion as a kind of human activity and cosmization in a sacred mode.The essence of religion was the projection of human cosmization and significance.Secondly,Berger argued that the most important function of religion in history was sanctification,based on the alienating force of religion.Thirdly,Berger concluded that modernization would inevitably lead to the decline of religion through historical and dialectical analysis of the process of secularization.However,with the change of times and the development of society,Berger made a prudent reflection on his discussion of secularization.He overthrew the previous conclusion and finally turned to the theory of pluralization.This study aims to present the whole context of Berger's theory of religion,clarify his main opinions,theoretical transformation and its causes,and make a value analysis from the perspective of Historical Materialism.The first chapter mainly expounds the background of Berger's theory of religion,including his research background and main theoretical sources.The second chapter is the overall interpretation of Berger's theory of religion.The third chapter is aimed at analyzing the value of Berger's theory of religion.Berger's theory contains rich philosophical speculation and humanistic care,which not only has great theoretical value,but also has strong significance in reality.This study holds the view that Berger's theory of religion can be analyzed and evaluated scientifically based on the opinions and methods of Historical Materialism.Peter L.Berger's overall grasp of the status quo and substantive understanding of the problem should be affirmed.Of course,there are still many problems.In general,the value of Berger's thoughts is worth further exploration,and Berger's theory also gives a lot of enlightenment to the current development of religion.