Arguments in favour of secularisation Flashcards
Religion has declined in the major institutions of society (political, legal, and educational
Wilson provides evidence of how religion has declined in importance in the political running of the country by making a historical comparison between today and life in 16th century England.
16th century Britain the Established Church…
i. Had a monopoly of knowledge ii. The church had a close relationship with the State and secular powers iii. The church exercised powerful social controls over the individual
in 21st century Britain, the Established Church now has little political influence; it is largely ceremonial. The Church is no longer as closely associated with the State and the politics of government ii.The Church has been relegated to the role of a pressure group iii. The Church no longer has a meaningful educational function
hese points show that the church has lost its institutional functions and as a result it has become increasingly marginalised in society.
Religion has declined in the major institutions of society (political, legal, and educational) A03
The Church of England is still part of parliament as it has 26 bishops in the House of Lords voting on laws and speaking out on a range of social issues from levels of poverty in the country to foreign policy and moral debates such as gay marriage.
The church always leads the key state occasions eg Remembrance Sunday, Royal events and national commemorations. Every day Christian prayers are said at the beginning of parliament.
Religion continues to play a prominent role in the education system of the country, with 25% of pupils attending a faith school.
The growth of science has undermined belief in religion
The growth of science has meant that the Church no longer has a monopoly of knowledge. By having to confront the growth of highly plausible scientific theories, religious organisations have been forced to change in ways that have fatally weakened one of their greatest strengths, namely the ability to control how people see and think about the world.
Scientific theories are rational, they use logic and are based on evidence that can be observed. Whereas religious explanations are irrational, based on faith and in beliefs which cannot be substantiated by evidence.
For example, Christianity teaches that God created the world in seven days including all animal and human life and vegetation. However, Darwin’s theory of evolution provides scientific evidence to show that all life on earth developed through natural selection. Therefore, the major Christian religions, the Catholic Church and Church of England, have been forced to accept evolution and modify, and some would say ‘water down’, their beliefs after being confronted with scientific facts.
The growth of science has undermined belief in religion A03
Some explanations remain inexplicable by science for example, what happens after death? Do human beings have a soul? It could be argued that the most “plausible” explanations to these questions are provided by religious ideologies.
Religion has become fragmented into a number of smaller, less influential organisations that struggle to claim a monopoly of the truth
Berger says the growth in the number and variety of different religious organisations, each with a different version of the truth, means that no one church can now claim an unchallenged monopoly of the truth.
Berger argues that this creates a crisis of credibility for religion. When there are so many alternative versions of religion to choose between, people are likely to question all of them and this erodes the absolute certainties of traditional religion. Religious beliefs become relative rather than absolute and a matter of personal choice.
Bruce says when people are faced with different religions claiming a monopoly of truth, they can be easily led to the conclusion that there is no one true belief and so they opt out of religion altogether.
From a pro-secularisation point-of-view, the growth in the number of different NRM’s tends to be interpreted as evidence of secularisation because it shows the fragmentation of religious practice. NRM’s arise and decline with great regularity and this shows the general weakening of the role of religion in society because it would seem most people have little overall commitment to new religions.
Religion has become fragmented into a number of smaller, less influential organisations that struggle to claim a monopoly of the truth. A03
It is wrong for pro-secularists to claim that religion is becoming fragmented in society as the Census results of 2011 shows that the major world religions still dominate belief in the UK. Over 33 million people described themselves as being Christian and nearly 3 million people said they were Muslims.
