Is secularization a necessary consequence of the rise of the modern world, or of civilisational progress in general?

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Sociology - Religion, grade: 2,1, University College Cork, language: English, abstract: In the following essay I want to start with some statistics and graphics, just to have an overview about the topic and about what religious groups and people we are talking, when discussing the problem of secularization. The next step will be, that I try to define different catchwords using all the time. I'm going to answer questions like: What is meant by secularization? Which effects and historical phases were crucial? How much influence has globalization on the process of secularism? And in the end: does secularization mean, that religion disappear? To reach the answers, I'm using different attitudes and theses of several authors and compare them with each others. Finally there are two main standpoints: modernization and secularization dues to a displacement of religion and second, religion is changing in social life, but it never loses it impact on people. Concluding I want to give up my own statement and try to come to a facit.