age and religion

Question 1

what are some of the trends in age and religion identified by Brierley 2015?

Answer 1

-the only group to show a recent rise in church attendance is over 65’s
-since 1980 the number of under 15’s going to church has halved
-by 2025 its predicted only 2.5% of regular church goers will be between 15-19
-half of UK churches have none under the age of 20 in their congregation

Question 2

why are the elderly more religious according to Voas and Crockett 2003?

Answer 2

-the ageing effect - as people come closer to the end of their lives they become more interested in what comes next, could lead to greater religiosity, may also explain why more elderly women attend since they live longer
-generational effect - the elder generation’s upbringing was less secure due to war and social change (Norris and Inglehart call this an existential security theory)

Question 3

what are the 3 presumed reasons for young people being less religious?

Answer 3

-socialisation
-ritualism and tradition
-individualisation

Question 4

how does socialisation explain young people being less religious?

Answer 4

(Arweck and Beckford)
less likely parents will pass on their religious beliefs
Voas says this could be because of growth of inter-faith marriages

Question 5

how does ritualism and tradition explain young people being less religious?

Answer 5

(Brierley)
87% of 10-14 year olds in 2015 felt the church was boring and they couldn’t relate to the rituals and traditional teachings so avoided attending

Question 6

how does individualisation explain young people being less relgious?

Answer 6

(Collins-Mayo)
religion is now more of a personal choice, young people don’t feel pressure to join, rather spend their weekends doing leisure activities