Observation of the religious system: religious / non-religious distinction in contemporary times

Abstract

The society as a social system does not refer to an institutional hierarchy, but to differentiated functions between its constituent systems, hence, the function of religion in contemporary times, as in the Mexican context, is developed in a dichotomy and a possibility to choose between religious and non-religious. It must be known that it all started with generation of individuals with a different vision of the world molded by modernity; consequently, the religious function was transformed, bringing new ways of religious expression, as well as religious withdrawal. With regards to what has been previously mentioned, this text explores the phenomenon of withdrawal and the new interpretations of what religion is from the general theory of social systems’ point of view, which depicts an alternative reflection to the ones offered by the other traditional theoretical models, thereby acknowledging the complexity of this topic.