Classical social theorists such as Marx, Weber, and Durkheim all predicted that
modern society would inevitably secularize and that religion's role in the modern world
would diminish. Following these classical theorists, development studies - starting
with the early modernization theorists - viewed development and secularization as
inextricably going hand in hand as part of a universal march towards progress and
material abundance. In contradiction to these assumptions, however, religion has not
disappeared from the world. In fact, a revival of religion is afoot in many countries.