Three Types of Liquid Religion

Abstract

This article explores ways to think of religion using Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of liquid modernity. The concept of liquid religion opens up perspectives for both “new” and “old” social forms of religion that seem to flourish within a liquid milieu. Attention is also drawn to three types of relationship between solid and liquid religion. The first type consists of liquid phenomena in the religious sphere: religious events, small communities, global religious networks and virtual communities. The second type consists of phenomena on the boundaries between the religious and the secular sphere, such as religious services in a hospital or a prison. The third type consists of meetings and collective activities outside the religious sphere, such as those in the political and cultural spheres, which nonetheless have important religious qualities. This typology is used to make general observations on the basis of empirical research, mainly conducted in the Netherlands.