過去三百年來，西方世界追求世俗化社會的聲浪越來越大，除了規範論者之外，各領域的社會科學學者也提出了「世俗化的論點」(secularization thesis)，他們依據所預期的正面筒度進行歷史分析之後，認為「現代化」帶來了世俗化的社會。近來，全球化被認為是社會世俗化的另一個導因。然而，在此同時，各宗教的復興卻使得這種論調備受質疑。在本文中，我們將回到現代性的創立者之一－亞當‧史密斯 (Adam Smith) 的論點中尋求解答。亞當‧史密斯以經濟與道德為基礎提倡全球化，他不認為全球化必然會導致世俗化；再者，雖然他也注意到了關於世俗化社會之相關論點，但是，他並不贊同那些說法。對他而言，世俗化社會的出現並不是全球化的必然結果，也不是全球化所希望造成的結果。
In the Westem world the voices calling for a secular society have grown ever louder over the last three centuries. 1n addition to these normative advocates, various social scientists have propounded the “secularization thesis” ; after analysing history from a purportedly positive view, they have argued that“modemization” leads to a secular society. Recently globalization has been seen as another cause of secularization. At the same time, the revival of various religions has cast doubt on these claims. 1n this paper we return to one of the founders of modernity for guidance. Adam Smith advocated globalization on economic and moral grounds. He did not see secularization as an inevitable consequence of globalization. Further, despite his awareness of the arguments of the advocates of secular society, he rejected their advice. For him, a secular community was neither a necessary nor a desirable consequence of globalization.
