Beliefs in Society: The Secularisation Debate Flashcards
1
Q
What is secularisation?
A
The decline in institutional religion.
2
Q
1851 Census of Religious Worship in England and Wales
A
- Found that 40% of the adult population attended church.
- This dropped to 35% by the turn of the century, and 20% by 1950.
3
Q
How much of the adult population attended church in 2015?
A
5%
4
Q
2011 YouGov Poll
A
Found that 63% of the adult population had not attended a place of worship for religious reasons in the last year.
5
Q
British Attitudes Survey (2014)
A
Fount that 58% of the population had never attended religious services.
6
Q
Outline a statistic that may be used to evaluate declining church attendence as a measure of increased secularisation.
A
Of the 16% of people who define themselves as belonging to the Church of England, 52% never attend church services.
7
Q
In 1900 65% of all children were baptized, compared to
A
41% in 2005.
8
Q
The number of Catholic Baptisms today is under 1/2 of
A
those in 1964, and many baptisms are an entry ticket into a high achieveing school, rather than a sign of Christian commitment.
9
Q
In 1971 60% of weddings were in church, but in 2012
A
the proportion was only 30%.
Evaluation - Could be because more venues have wedding licenses, not because people are more or less religious.
10
Q
English Church Census (2006)
A
- Shows that membership of large religious organisations such as the CofE and the Catholic Church has declined.
- However membership of smaller organisations (Pentecostalism, Baptism) has stabalised and grown in some cases.
11
Q
How could you evaluate the findings of the English Church Census (2006)?
A
The growth of smaller Christian organisations can not compensate for the overall declining trend.
12
Q
Gill et al (1998) - Patterns and Trends
A
Reviewed almost 100 surveys which show a significant decline in belief in a personal God, Jesus as the son of God, and traditional teachings about the afterlife.
13
Q
During the 20th century, the number of clergy decreased from
A
45,000 to 34,000
14
Q
How does Wilson define secularisation?
A
The process whereby religious beliefs, practices, and institutions lose social significance.
15
Q
What does Bruce (2002), predict if current trends continue?
A
- The Methodist Church will fold around 2030.
- The Church of England will essentially be a small voluntary organisation with a large amount of heritage property.
16
Q
Summarise the evidence which can be used to support the theory of secularisation:
A
- Church attendence has decreased
- Fewer people are defining themselves as religious
- Fewer people attend collective worship
- The amount of people dedicating their lives to religious office has decreased.
17
Q
Give a strength of the evidence used to support secularisation theory.
A
Its multi-facceted
18
Q
Evaluate patterns and trends used to support secularisation theory
A
- Two dimensional/Crude - Neglects people who are ‘on the fence’, and undecided.
- Use of official statistics and surveys poses methodological problems.
- Church attendence doesnt convey religiosity - society has become more individualised which explains why collective worship has decreased.
- Just because people arent members of a particular organisation, doesn’t mean they are less religious.
19
Q
Explain why church attendence and membership figures can be questioned in terms of their** validity and reliability. **
A
- Statistics could be distorted by those who produce them.
- Different organisations use different criteria to calculate membership.
20
Q
Give an example of how different organisations use different criteria to calculate church membership.
A
The Catholic church and the CofE count the number of people who have been baptised and confirmed, whereas the Church of Wales count those who attend easter communion.
21
Q
Give an example of how statistics on church attendence could be distorted by those who produce them
A
- Catholic figures are underestimated to reduce fees paid to central church authoroties.
- Anglican figures are overestimated to reduce the risk of closure for churches with a small congregation.
22
Q
Why does Martin (1969) criticise theories of secularisation?
A
- Argues many theories of secularisation are based on an unrealistic notion od a ‘golden age of religious commitment’.
- States that higher levels of church attendence asscoiated with Victorian England were influenced by non-religious factors like social and cultural expectations.
23
Q
Who criticised theories of secularisation for being based on an unrealistic notion of the golden age of religious commitment?
A
Martin (1969)
24
Q
Explain why the decline in church attendence can be interpreted in different ways
A
- Critics argue quantifying religiosity is not straightforwardly possible and reflects positivistic sociology.
- Statistics on religious participation may only be tenuously linked to religiosity
- Some argue that in postmodern society there has simply been a change in the way religion is practiced.
- Religion has merely de-institutionalised itself and become more individual, declining church attendance cannot be seen a measure of belief.
25
How does **Davie (1991)** evaluate the patterns and trends used in Secularisation theory?
found that despite declining church attendence 62% of people believe in God. Thus, statistics on religious participation may only be tenuously linked.
26
How does **Glasner (1977)** criticise Wilson?
Argues sociologists such as Wilson are influenced by a traditional view of religion as church orientated.
27
Why can a decline in institutional religion not be taken as indicative of a decline in religious belief, according to **Bellah (1984)**?
Because a process of individuation has taken place which represented a shift away from collective worship to privatised religion.
28
Bellah (1984) - Individualisation
A process of individualisation has taken place which represents a shift away from collective worship to privatised religion.
29
Brierley (1991) - De-institutionalisation
* Observes that the religious scene has changes, rather than society becoming more secular.
* He claims that the population has moved away from religious participation in institutional religion, but at the same time beliefs have been maintained.
* The decline in institutional religion is not necessarily indicative of a decline in religious belief and commitment.
30
Why is the decline in institutional religions not necessarily indicative of a decline in religious belief (Brierley)?
The population has moved away from religious participation in institutional religion, but at the same time beliefs have been maintained.
31
Outline and explain two ways in which religion could be said to have declined in it's importance.
1. Decline in Baptisms: Less people are affiliated with a religion from birth, and those who do get baptised do so for non-religious reasons such as wanting to attend Catholic schools.
2. Decline in Church membership: English Church Census (2006) found membership of large religious organisations has declined.
32
Outline and explain two reasons why we should be cautious in our interpretation of statistical data that shows a decline in religion
1. Methodological problems: Figures can be questioned in terms of their validity and reliability, Churches may under or overestimate attendence.
2. Ignores changes in religious practice: In postmodern society people worship in diverse ways, decline in religious institutions does not mean a decline in belief.
33
What did the 2021 Census show?
For the first time in a census of Englan and Wales, fewer than half the population have described themselves as Christian.
34
What is the Muslim population in England according to the 2021 census?
3.9 million which represented a 43% rise.
35
Areas with a higher proprotion of people from ethnic minorities
are also more religious.
36
What did the 2021 cenusu reveal about Leicster and Birmingham?
They have become the first UK cities with "minority majorities".
37
Suggest why there may be a disparity in religiosity between different areas?
The ONS (2021) cited differing patterns of ageing, fertility, morality and migration as possible reasons for the change in religious profile or certain counties.
38
Those of "no religion"
have tripled since the millenium to 37%
39
What does Historian Tom Holland claim?
That England remains a 'Christian Country' by virtue of its history and state institutions.
40
Give an example of how state institutions are still partially religious.
Parliament opens with "prayers".
41
Summarise rationalisation and desacrilisation
* Scientific and rational explanations take precedence over religious faith and dogma.
* Includes the development of anti-emotional logic and the rise of scientific knowledge and explanations.
42
Summarise disengagement and differentiation
* Where the established church looses its prominence, power, significance , and place in relation to the state.
* Religion is divorced from the state
* Other social institutions take over the functions of the church (Differentiation)
43
Summarise social and cultural diveristy
* Diverse beliefs, values, and lifestyles become more characteristic of late modern industralised society, leading to a decline in religious belief and practice.
* Greater diversity undermines the credibility of individual religions.
44
Summarise religious diversity and pluralism
* Where one religion no longer has a monopoly of power and there is greater religious competition and plurality.
* Undermining of religion is the consequence of living in a multi-faith society.
45
Explain what is meant by the term rationalisation?
Where scientific and rational explanations take precedecne over religious ones. Therefore, people increasingly understand and expalin the world in secular terms.
46
Explain **Weber's **'Descarilisation Thesis'.
* He claimed modern society is characterised by rationalisation and intellectualisation which leads to disenchantment of the world.
* Rational action is a rejection of the guidlines put forward by emotion, tradition or religion.
* Thus, Human understanding has become secularised.
47
Who put forward the 'Descarilisation Thesis'?
Max Weber
48
What did **Weber** mean by 'the disenchantment of the world'?
The world is no longer charged with mystery and magic, the supernatural has been eroded from society and the meanings and motives taht direct action are rational and calculated ones.
49
What is rational action?
* A rejection of the guidelines provided by emotion, tradition or religion.
* The cold, delibirate reason of human intellect.
50
What does **Wilson (1966) **argue in 'Religion in a secular society'?
* That people act less in response to religious motivation and assess the world in empirical and rational terms.
* The social significance of religion, in all of its forms, has declined.
* Religious ideas, concoiusness and explanations no longer inhabit the human mind and dictate human action.
* Religious practices no longer take up the time of the individual.
51
Which factors encouraged the emergence and development of rational thinking?
1. Protestantism
2. Greater knowledge of the physical and social world
3. Development of rational ideologies and organisations
4. The rational organisation of society
52
How has the organistaion of society encouraged a rational world view?
* Peoples lives are structured in a more organised and beurocratic way - religion no longer dictates the working week (shops used to be closed on sundays). Towns and cities are no longer built around a church in their centre.
* Removes religion from peoples everyday lives and encourages rational thought.
53
How has the development of certain ideologies and organisations to solve problems encouraged a rational world view?
* They produce practical and observable results rather than religious solutions, such as the promise of justice and reward in the afterlife.
* Solve societal problems through action, rather than prayer alone.
54
Give examples of rational ideologies and organisations whcih attempt to solve problems.
* WHO
* Modern Medicine
* The NHS
* IMF
* Welfare System
55
Why does Wilson argue that a rational world view is the enemy of religion?
* Because a rational world view is based on the testing of arguments and beliefs by rational procedures, and assesing the truth by means of factors which can be quantified and objectively measured.
* By contrast, religion being based on faith is non-rational and its claims to truth cannot be tested by rational procedures.
56
What does **Berger (1970)** mean by a 'secularisation of conciousness'?
* The majority of people in Western society increasingly look upon the world and their own lives withou the benefit of religious interpretations.
* Rationalisation is a key variable of a secular society, becuase a rational worldview is a rejection of faith (the basis of religion).
* We no longer percieve the world around a central religious truth.
57
Give an example which proves the growth of a technological worldview.
When a plane crashes, we are unlikely to see it as the work of evil spirits or God's punishment of the wicked, we look to scientific and technological explanations, such as a system failure.
58
Bruce (2011) - Growth of a technological world view
* The growth of a technological worldview has largely replaced religious or supernatural explanations.
* This leaves little room for religious arguments, which can only survive in areas where technology is least effective.
59
Give an example of religion being used in areas where technology is least effective.
People pray for help if they are suffering from an illness for which scientific medicine has no cure.
60
What example does Bruce (2011) use to argue that religion is only used when technology is not effective?
* Only when we have tried every cure for cancer, we pray.
* When we have revised for our exams, we pray - we do not pray instead of studying.
* Even the most commited believers recognise that a research programme is more likely than a mass prayer to produce a cure for AIDS.
61
What does **Bruce (2011)** mean when he claims that science has undermined religion?
* Scientific explanations negate the need for religious answers to lifes problems.
* Religion is secondary to science as an explanation of the world.
* Religion is only needed as an explanation when science has failed.
62
What conclusion did **Bruce** reach?
* Although scientific explanations do not challenge religious explanations directly, they have greatly reduced the scope for supernatural arguments.
* Scientific knowledge does not in itself make more people atheists, but the worldview it encourages results in people taking religion less seriously.
63
Evaluate the 'Descarilisation thesis'.
* The increasing number of New Age movements is a genuine attempt to remystify the world.
* **Heelas (1996)** points out that new age beliefs are concerned with spiritual issues that impact on everyday life in wide ranging ways.
64
According to Stark and Bainbridge (1985), why is secularisation a self limiting process?
* Becuase it always generates religious revival.
* Commentators who support the theory of secularisation typically focus their attention too narrowly on the decline of established religion.
* Which ignores the constant cycle of birth of NRM and NAM.
65
Who argued secularisation is a self-limiting process?
Stark and Bainbridge (1985)
66
Hay et al (1987)
Found almost half the adult population in Britain have had a 'religious or transcendental' experience.
67
What did **Marx** argue about secularisation?
* That industrial cpaitalism would set in motion a chain of events that would eventually lead to its own downfall.
* It a communist society there would then be no oppression or pain, so no need for religion.
68
What did **Weber** argue about secularisation?
* That rationalisation would lead to the gradual erosion of religious influence.
* Emphasis would be placed on the rational and logical pursuit of goals, rather than tradition, ritual, or religion.
69
What did **Comte** argue about human history?
That it passed through three stages, each characterised by a different set of intellectual beliefs:
1. Theological
2. Metaphysical
3. Positive
70
What was the 'theological stage' of human history according to **Comte?**
When religious and supersticious beliefs dominated.
71
What was the 'Metaphysical Stage' of human history according to **Comte?**
When philosophy became more important. Philosophers rather than religious leaders were seen as the key intellectuals.
72
What is the 'Positive stage' of human history according to **Comte?**
When religious beliefs would dissapear entirely, and science alone would dominate human thinking and direct human behaviour.
73
What did the founding fathers of sociology (Comte, Marx, Weber, Durkheim) all anticipate about religion?
* That religion would be undermined by the condition of modernity.
* Modern societies and the rationalised logic characteristic of them are viewed as being incompatible with the retention of religions central role.
74
What did **Durkheim **argue about secularisation?
* Although he claimed there was something eternal about religion, he anticipated it would still decline in its social significance.
* Predicted religion would retain importance in simple societies, but in larger industrial society it would loose its intigrating force.
* Social solidarity would be achieved by education and the media, not religion.
75
How has the media replaced the functions of religion?
* By providing moral guidelines and defining the parameters of right and wrong.
* Through the provision of knowledge
* Creating standards against which behaviour is checked.
76
How does **Wilson (1966)** define secularisation?
The process whereby religious thinking, practice, and institutions lose social significance.
77
What problem is central to the secularisation debate?
* Different sociologists study religiosity in different ways, which impacts on how they define and measure secularisation.
* The more broadly religiosity is defined, the less likely it is to be seen in decline.
78
Hanson (1997)
Argues that definitional diversity can lead to misunderstanding and adds to the complexity of the debate on secularisation.
79
What is differentiation?
* Changes in society have led to the church loosing its former roles and functions.
* The decline of community also undermines religion becuase it can no longer serve as a focal point of activity.
* Where religion once pervaded every aspect of life, it has increasingly become regulated to the private sphere of the indivdual.
80
Who put forward the idea of structural differentiation?
Parsons (1951)
81
What does **Bruce** argue about differentiation?
* Fundemental chnages in society have led to the church and institutional religion loosing many of its functions.
* The decline of the community undermines religion because it can no longer serve as a focal point of activity.
* People are unlikely to turn to a priest of vicar for practical or emotional support, or the church for education, welfare, and knowledge.
* Where religion once pervaded every aspect of life, it has increasingly been relegated to the private sphere of the indivdual and the family.
82
Outline some examples of the social roles historically held by the church
* Educational provision
* Emotional council
* Transmission of knowledge
* Moral guidance
83
Expalin how the church was historically a focal point?
Towns were built around churches. E.g. Hexam or Corbridge, the church is in the town centre.
84
What does structural differentiation lead to?
The disengagement of religion, where religion becomes disconnected from wider society.
85
What did **Parsons (1951) **argue despite sturtucral differentiation?
* That the church has become more specialised and better equiped in the functions it retains.
* Religious beliefs thus still give meaning and significance to life .
* Religious beliefs and values have become increasingly generalised.
86
Give examples to support **Parsons** theory of the generalisation of religious values
1. In America religious ideas have become the basis for more general social values. For example, gun laws and defence theories reflect the old testament (eye for an eye).
2. In relation to education in England and Wales, faith schools gain governmental support.
87
What is meant by the disengagement of religion?
* The church used to be engaged and intergrated with the state and was an extreemely powerful and influential institution in social, cultural, political, and economic processes.
* However, the church has lost its prominence and influence on public life.
88
Martin (1969) - Disengagement
Argues that compared to its role in medieval Europe, the church is contemporary western society has undergone a process of disengagement, is now distant from the state and has become privatised.
89
Wilson (1977) - Symbolic rites of passage
* Claimed the church has ceased to preside over national life.
* Its involvement in wider society is limited to symbolic rites of passage: 'hatching, matching, and dispatching'.
* The church simply fulfills a ceremonial function.
90
What are the positive functions of disengagement according to Martin (1969)?
Disengagement allows the church to become 'purer' as it can concentrate on religious and spiritual matters uninfluenced by secular concerns.
91
How does the configuration of the House of Lords go against theories of secularisation?
26 Church of England Bishops sit in the House of Lords where they have some influence on legislation.
92
How is the decline of community linked to secularisation?
* Move from pre-industrial to industrial society, corresponds to the decline in community.
* Urbanisation causes the population to shift from rural to urban areas.
* Cities are a more depersonalised fractured environment.
* Religion has lost its basis in stable local communities.
93
How is industrialisation linked to secularisation?
* It has undermined the consensus of religious beliefs and practices that held small, rural communities together.
* Close-knit rural communities gave way to large loose-knit urban communities with diverse beliefs and values.
* Social and geographical mobility created heterogenity, undermining religion.
94
How is diversity of occupations, cultutres and lifestyles linked to secularisation?
* The plausability and credibility of religious beliefs are undermined by alternatives.
* Religion is disrupted by greater individualism becuase it depends on the existance of a practicing community.
* In the absence of a functional day-to-day community of worshipping believers, both belief and practice tend to decline.
95
Evaluate the view a decline in community has led to secularisation, according to **Alridge (2013)**
* A community does not have to be in a particular area.
* Religion can be a source of identity of a world wide scale.
* Some religious communities are imagined communities that interact through the use of global media.
* Pentecostal groups often flourish in 'impersonal' urbban areas.
96
How does **Wilson** explain the link between secularisation and the decline of community?
In pre-industrial communities, shared values were expressed through collective rituals that integrated individuals and regulated their behaviour
Yet as reigion has lost its basis in stable local communities, its lost its hold over individuals.
97
How does **Bruce** explain the link between secularisation and industrialisation?
Industrialisation undermined the consensus of religious beliefs that held small rural communities together.
98
How does the diversity of occupations, cultures, and lifestyles lead to secularisation according to **Bruce?**
The plausaility and credibility of singular religious beliefs is undermined by the sheer volume and scope of alternatives.
99
Berger (1969)
Identifies the trend torwards **religious pluralism and diversity**- where there are many different religious interpretations and organisations - as a cause of secularisaion.
100
Explain what **Berger** means by 'sacred canopy'?
The overarching belief system shared by all, dictated by the church.
101
How can the growth in relgious pluralism be seen to fragment religious influence?
* Singular religions no longer have a monopoly over the truth.
* Encourages people to question the credibility of religion, due to the amount of competing beliefs.
* Undermines the previously held sacred canopy.
* People recognise there is choice, encourages the emergence of different religious tribes.
102
What does **Wilson** mean when he states *'NRMs are likely to be no more than transient and volatile gestures of defiance in the face of a secular society'*?
* Sects are short lived because people cannot maintain the often extreeme beliefs they hold.
* Sects are schismatic and world-rejecting sects are unlikely to be able to influence society.
* New Religious Movements are quick tempered and temporary, beliefs die out when they arent transferred onto the second-generation.
* Sects are often reliant on a charismatic leader.
103
What does **Wilson** mean when he states sects are *'the last outpost of religion where religious beliefs and values have little consequence'*?
* People latch on to them when religion begins to die out, which is a symptom of secularisation in of itself.
* They are seen as minority fringe groups which seem irrelevant to society.
* Sects die out fast, they have a quick turn-over of believers.
104
Explain the structure of religion in the Middle Ages (Berger)
* The Catholic Church held an absolute monopoly.
* Everyone lived under a singular sacred canopy, which gave these beliefs greater plausability.
* The Church's version of the truth was unquestioned.
105
Explain the structure of religion post-reformation (Berger)
* When the Protestant church broke away from the Catholic church, in the 16th century, the monopoly of one belief system was undermined.
* Since then, the number and variety of religious organisations has continued to grow.
106
When was the monopoly of a singular belief system first undermined?
The Protestant Reformation
107
How has religious diversity created a plurality of life worlds?
* With the arrival of religious diversity, no church can claim an un challenged monopoly of the truth.
* Society is no longer unified under a single sacred canopy, provided by one church.
* Religious diversity creates a plurality of life worlds, where peoples perceptions of the world vary and there are different interpretations of the truth.
108
Explain what **Berger** means by a 'crisis of credibility' for religion
* Diversity undermines religion's plausability structure, as when there are alternative versions of religion to choose between, people are likely to question all of them.
* This erodes the absolute certsinties of traditional religion.
* Religious beliefs become relatibe rather than absolute.
109
Explain how the erosion of absolutism causes secularisation, according to **Berger**
The erosion of absolutism, occurs due to the increased plularity of religious beliefs.
This reminds people that their beliefs are their personal preference which undermines religious certainty, causing some to opt out of religion altogether.
110
What does **Bruce** see as the most important cause of secularisation, and why?
The trend torwards religious diversity, because:
*'It is difficult to live in a world that treats as equally valid a large number of incompatible beliefs, without coming to suppose that there is no one truth'.*
111
Which two counter trends which supposedly go against secularisation theory does **Bruce** identify?
1. Cultural Defence
2. Cultural transition
112
What is cultural defence?
* Where religion provides a focal point for the defence of national, ethnic, local, or group identity in a struggle against an external force such as a hostile foreign power.
* The religious identity of communities can lead to the development of a new loyalty, as a way of asserting ethnic or national pride.
113
What is cultural transition?
* Where religion provides support and a sense of community for ethnic groups such as migrants to a different country/culture.
* Religion thus aquired enhanced importance because it assists people in the shift from one society to another.
114
How does **Bruce** analyse the two counter-trends of Cultural defence and Cultural Transition?
* He argues that in both cases it is their group identity that is important, rather than their religiosity.
* Religion only remains strong because of its social importance.
* These examples do not disprove secularisation, but show that religion is most likely to survive where it performs functions other than relation to the supernatural.
115
What does **Bruce **conclude about cultural defence and cultural transition?
Cultural defense and cultural transition may keep religion relevant but they will not create a religious society out of a secular one.
116
How does the growth of NRMs contribute to secularisation?
* The continued proliferation of sects and cults contributes to religious pluralism.
* They fragment institutional religion, and weaken the hold of religion over society.
* Religion no longer provides a 'shared universe of meaning'.
* Sects are seen as the last refuge of the supernatural in a secular society.
117
Who described sects as 'the last refuge of the supernatural in a secular society'?
Berger
118
Who argued sects are a feature of:
'societies experiencing secularisation and they may be a response to. a situation in which religious values have lost social pre-eminence'?
Wilson (1982)
119
Why does Wilson dismiss the growth of NRMs?
* He claims they do not contribute torwards the culture by which society lives.
* They do nothing to halt the continuing process of secularisation and are 'no more than transient and volatile gestures of defiance.
* Claims sects provide a 'society for dropouts'.
120
Who said sects are 'no more than transient and volatile gestures of defiance', in the face of a secular society?
Wilson (1982)
121
How does **Wilson** see sects?
As the last outposts of religion in societies where religious beliefs and values have little consequence.
122
How do **Berger and Luckmann (1969)** expalin NRMs?
Argue the emergence of NRMs proves, religion no longer provides a 'shared universe of meaning'.
123
How do **Stark and Bainbridge (1985)** criticise the growth of NRMs as evidence of secularisation?
They accept the idea that NRMs thrive when conventional religions are weak.
However they deny that secularisation has taken place, arguing the existance and growth of sects and cults prevents secularisation moving far.
124
Wallis (1984) - NRMs
Argues that NRMs involve only a very small proportion of the population and even then often only for brief periods of time.
125
What does **Bruce** suggest about the recent growth in NRMs?
People who chant in Sokia Gakki or meditate in Transcendental Meditation, attend religious seminars or weekend retreats, carry on their lives as normal and there is no consequence for society.
126
Is there a consensus regarding religious pluralism as evidence for secularisation?
No, some see it as the dilution of religion, whereas others see it as proof that religion can be maintained futher.
127
Outline the key criticisms of secularisation theory
1. Religion is not declining it is simply changing its form.
2. Secularisation is one sided, focusing on decline and ignoring religious revival.
3. Secularisation is not universal.
4. The past was not a 'golden age' of faith.
5. Religious diversity may actually increase participation, by offering increased choice.
