Abstract
To what extent the coexistence of a plurality of legitimations in a society could, in certain cases, be a factor contributing to the wellbeing of the society, rather than its desintegration is the question posed by this analysis.
To do this, two models of society are set up as ideal types opposed to one another. All the elements of the cultural system in the slightly differentiated society, the system of legitimation, the system of values and the system of norms are closely related and are based on one another. By way of contrast, in a highly differentiated society, particularly if there is one accepted set of values, the system of legitimation and the system of norms may be relatively autonomous. This being so, christians sharing a common system of legitimation could find themselves on other levels of the cultural system, closer to non-christians than to other christians. This presupposes on the part of individuals an interiorisation of certain attitudes, particularly vis-à-vis people different from themselves, with whom nevertheless they are collaborating to a limited extent.