BELIEFS: SECULARISATION Flashcards
what is secularisation (WILSON)
the process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose social significance.
what are 4 changes to religion in the UK since 1851?
-decline in church attendance
-ageing population
-fewer religious ceremonies taking place
-decline in christian faith and increase in non-christians faiths e.g. Islam (EV)
how has church attendance today led to a secular society?
- 2020: 4% attendance which has halved from the 1960s
-very small proportion of children attend sunday school by 2018
-only 18% of weddings take place in church
-baptisms steadily fallen- and only ‘bogus’ baptisms happen fr entry into faith schools
how has religious affiliation today led to a secular society?
- between 1983-2018 the % of adults with no religion rose from 1/3 to 1/2 - BSA survey 2018
-catholics inc. slightly due to immigration from eastern europe
-islam and non-christians also inc. due to immigration and birth rates
how has religious institutions today led to a secular society?
-state has taken over functions of the church e.g. in education teach religion nd not collective worship
-the decline in clergy : 45000 to 34000 despite the rise in population
how has religious belief today led to a secular society?
-it’s falling as the attendance of church decreases
-decline in belief in personal god, in Jesus as the son of God and in christian teachings about the afterlife and the bible
what are 3 evaluations to these?
non-christian faiths are growing in the UK
-people still turn to religion when they need it
-christianity is still the dominant belief in the UK
how has modernisation affected religious belief?
-decline in tradition and its replacement with rational and scientific ways of thinking
what is the effect of industrialisation on small communities
-more diverse in all aspects of their lives including diversity in religious institutions= decline in church going
what is rationalisation?
-The process by which rational ways of thinking replace religious ones.
-The protestant reformation started the process of rationalisation that undermined the religious worldview and replaced it with the rational, scientific outlook.
what is the medieval catholic worldview? (WEBER)
-they saw the world as an ‘enchanted garden’
-God and angels believed to be present today
-Humans could try influencing this e.g. charms for good luck
how did the Protestant worldview differ from that of Catholicism?
-Protestantism saw God as transcendent as existing above and beyond outside of this world
what does WEBER mean by the ‘disenchantment’ of the world?
- it squeezes out the magical and religious ways of thinking as religion can’t explain things
how did the protestant reformation lead to the ‘disenchantment of the world’?
-the protestant reformation begins the disenchantment of the world as events are now explained by predictable workings of natural forces.
what does BRUCE mean by the technological view?
-religious and supernatural explanations replaced with scientific and technological explanations. Religious explanations only survive where technology is least effective.
-e.g. a plane crash with the loss of many lives is unlikely to be regarded as the work of evil spirits or as God’s punishment
what is the impact of scientific knowledge on people’s attitudes towards religion? (BRUCE)
-the technological worldview has replaced religious and supernatural explanations of why things happen.
-Scientific knowledge doesn’t make people into atheists but it results in people taking religion less seriously.
what is structural differentiation? (PARSONS)
-process of specialisation
-occurs with the development of the industrial society
=separate, specialised institutions develop to carry out functions previously carried out by a single institution.
what is meant by disengagement?
-functions are transferred to other institutions such as the state as it becomes disconnected from wider society
-e.g. within education, law and welfare
according to BRUCE in what sense has religion become privatised?
-religion has become confined to the private sphere of the family and home.
-religious beliefs are now a personal choice because they have lost influence on wider society
social and cultural diversity: decline of community (WILSON)
-the decline of community contributes to the decline of religion as there is a loss of shared values from pre-industrial society
-religion loses its basis in stable, local communities it lost its vitality and hold over communities.
social and cultural diversity: industrialisation (BRUCE)
-industrialisation undermines the consensus of religious beliefs that hold small rural communities together
-more social and geographical mobility breaks up communities=brings different people together from different backgrounds= more diversity
social and cultural diversity: diversity of occupations, cultures and lifestyles (BRUCE)
-diversity of occupations, cultures and lifestyles undermines religion.
-plausibility of beliefs is undermined by alternatives.
what are 3 criticisms of the view that the decline of community causes the decline in religion?
- religion can be a source of identity on a worldwide scale. This is true of Jewish, Hindu and Muslim communities. (ALDERIDGE)
-some religious communities are imagined communities that interact through the use of global media
-Pentecostal and other religious groups often flourish in supposedly urban areas
religious diversity: what is the sacred canopy?
- a set of beliefs was shared by everybody and were made by the church as there was no competition so these beliefs were unchallenged
-(society isn’t unified under a single sacred canopy which creates a crisis of credibility.)
according to BERGER how did the Protestant reformation lead to religious diversity?
-Protestant churches and sects broke away in the 16th century since the reformation the number and variety of religious groups grew up with different versions of the truth
how does religious diversity create a crisis of credibility for religion?
- plausibility structure creates a a crisis of credibility as diversity undermines the reasons why people believe religious teachings and beliefs
-beliefs became relative rather than absolute
what is cultural defence?
-where religion provides a focal point for the defence of national, ethnic or group identity in a struggle against an external force like hostile foreign power.
what is cultural transition?
-religion provides a sense of community for ethnic groups living in a different country and culture.
- HERBERG: religion has performed similar functions for Irish, Afro-carribbean, Muslim, Hindu and other migrants in the UK
according to BRUCE why does religion survive in these situations?
-religion survives in situations as it is a focus for a group identity.
-proves secularisation but sows religion is most likely to survive where it performs functions.
what are 2 criticisms of secularisation theory?
-BERGER: argues diversity and choice actually stimulate participation of religion e.g. growth of evangelism
-BECKFORD: religious diversity will lead to some to question or even abandon religious beliefs
