Beliefs-secularisation

Question 1

‘secular’

Answer 1

not sacred, not spiritual, not religious

Question 2

What is meant by ‘secularisation’?

Answer 2

process in which religious thinking, practise and institutions lose social significance.

Question 3

Disappearance thesis VS Differentiation thesis

Answer 3

Disappearance thesis: Religion is disappearing in society
Differentiation thesis: Religion is transforming, traditional religion=decline

Question 4

Disappearance thesis

(Heelas and Woodhead)

Answer 4

• Modernity = decline and death of religion
• Religion had less significace for the individual in modern days.

Question 5

Decline in religious and supernatural beliefs

Wilson

Beliefs in the middle ages.

Answer 5

• Religion was held in high regard, if you did not believe in the supernatural you would not make it known!
• This has changed over years, religion no longer has the same status + people have accepted alternative explanations.
• Disappearing to new narratives.

Question 6

Decline in religious and supernatural beliefs

Laslett

Clayworth in Nottinghamshire

Answer 6

• Villagers combine witchcraft and religious beliefs
• Religion was the ‘default’ (right way for society).

Question 7

Decline in religious and supernatural beliefs

Surveys on belief-belief in a personal God

2016

Answer 7

• 2016:
• 29% of 18-24 said they had a belief in God.
• Are the younger generation becoming more religious?

Question 8

Decline in religious practise

Bruce

Church membership statistics

Answer 8

• 1860-1910 church attendance was at its highest! 28% of Adult population were members.
• 2002- dropped by 17%
  8% attended church

Question 9

Decline of the social influence of the church

Western Europe

Answer 9

• 12th and 15th century the church played a major role in westrern politics.
• Today: Power and prestige has declined.

Question 10

Decline of the social influence of the church

Western Church-Bruce

Answer 10

Although the Uk population has doubled, the number of church clergy has declined.

Clergy-formal leaders within established religions

Question 11

Religion is disappearing in society

Marx

Religion is a relflection of class society:

Answer 11

Religion is a relflection of class society:
* Religion would declinw; people have gained class conciousness, society used communism structure.
* religion; compensation for class system=classless society emerges then religion will disappear.
* has been tried, religion got stringer in some places and did not disappear.

Question 12

Religion is disappearing in society

Marx

Seeds of secularisation

Answer 12

• Capitalist world: people see the contract between employer and workers as important, this is a distraction of religion-God no longer seen as being the ‘higher’ power.

Question 13

Weber

Religion spearheaded rationalism + Rationalism>faith

Answer 13

• Modernity-‘age of reason’-driven by the process of rationalism.
• The progress made by science became more rationalised explanation of the world.
  **- Rationalisation replaces faith!
  **- Rationalism=more logical explanation for things in the world, science proved an alternative.

Question 14

Weber

Calvinistic protestantism was its own gravedigger

Answer 14

• Calvanism created a way for secularisation to begin
• first form of capitalism where wealth and material goods became more important
• Religion-justification for becoming rich, beliefs become less important as wealth increased.

Question 15

Disappearnace theory

Wilson

Answer 15

• Religion does not have the same function, tehre are now institutions which carry out the same functions that religion played e.g. schools, politics and welfare.
• Science and rational thinking has replaced religious beliefs: Science explains things which religion cannot.
• Individualisation has broken down a sense of community, religion promoted communal values which people no longer hold anymore.

Question 16

Disappearnace thesis

Weber

Protestant world and modern society

Answer 16

• Protestant world: a branch of christianity that have cut down the importance of the sacred and ritual elements of religion, this group has the greatest level of secualrisation.
• Growth of media, geographical mobility, exposure to other belief systems all impact secularisation.
• Religion is a ‘market place’, the religious belief of there being one truth/monopoly has weakened.

Question 17

disappearance thesis-evaluation

Measuring levels of religiousity

Answer 17

• Accuracy of figures may be incorrect, whether systematically collected or based upon educated guesses and when they are collected.
• Privatisation of religion: people may still be religious but may express it in different ways which will not be counted within the stats.

Question 18

Disappearance thesis-evaluation

Meaning of church attendance

Answer 18

• going to church was a valid indicatoir that you were religious.
• past: attendance represented a sense of community and belonging.
• Today: PM world sense of community has been lost.

Question 19

Disappearance thesis-evaluation

A ‘golden age’ of religion

Answer 19

• Most reearch looks at what religion was like in the middle ages.
• Not reliable/valid to compare tiome eras because of changing nature of society; diversity, economy and globalisation.