For a large part of the history of Western culture, the chief sources of popular consciousness about society were tradition and the Christian Church. Even social revolutionaries like the ideologues of the American Revolution appealed to divine providence for a justification of their politics. In the present century, however, Western society has become more secular and more rationalist, and the chief sources for social theory have become the professional intellectuals, the scientists, economists, political theorists, and philosophers who work largely in universities.在西方文化史上，大众社会意识的主要来源是传统和基督教会。甚至连美国革命派的天意论者也呼吁他们为自己的社会革命辩护。然而，在本世纪，西方社会变得更加世俗化和理性主义，社会理论的主要来源已成为主要在大学工作的专业知识分子、科学家、经济学家、政治理论家和哲学家。