The sense of community in times of secularization and modernism

Abstract

Based on theoretical studies we approach the secularization process and the introduction of the Modern ideas effects over the community sense. The object's removal from the religious institutions’ domain or its signification from the sacred and the exaltation of the rational and the urbanization unveil how both phenomena affect social relations regarding its interference over social symbols, meanings and, therefore, over the identity that underlies the community sense. What is shown are the deep social transformations that inflict over the still recent structures of urbanization, not enough assimilated or well understood in concerning of the forces that act over the relationships and daily life of whom integrates them. Religion is conceived as a human projection and, therefore, as a result of a necessary unconscious signification process that occurs through a mechanism of self-defense for inner conflict, with the intention of externalize it. Thereby, the Modern ideas can’t provide a tolerable interpretation of reality to fulfill the emotional void resulted from secularization. In this context, the solidarity, responsible for the community identity, decline while happened the decrease of common representations. Nonetheless, the necessity of signification doesn’t decrease. Thus, against modernist predictions, community's members tend to redirect its projections, qualifying new symbols. What is noticed is that no process can remove representation's meaning without offer a substitute or witness the redirection of it to other object. Nonetheless, it is possible to provide tools that will help community to detach of projections when the necessity of them be surpassed conceiving the reality.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.