Beliefs - Secularisation - 5.3 Flashcards
Secularisation
When religious thinking, practice & institutions lose signifcance
Evidence of Secularisation in UK
> Religious Practice
Religious Belief
Religious Institutions
Religious Practice - Evidence of Secularisation in UK
Less people attending churches, sunday schools & weddings & baptism all declining.
Bogus Baptisms
Mostly now by older children to get in to faith schools fewer infant baptisms
Religious Belief - Evidence of Secularisation in UK
> Atheism increased & commitment to christian beliefs has declined
> Smaller organisations have grown e.g. catholicism, due to EU immigration.
> Other non christian religions increased due to immigration and increasing birth rate in these groups
Religious Institutions - Evidence of Secularisation in UK
> Religion used to effect every part of life, but now just private spheres
> State taken over church functions e.g. schooling, but faith schools?
> Numbers of clergy fallen, whilst the population has increased - reduces church’s influence
Criticisms of Faith Schools
Despite there being increased faith schools today, they are state funded & must conform to state regulations
Secularisation in Britain - Key Sociologists
> Bruce (Decline of Churches)
Bruce - Decline of Churches
Methodist church will fold by 2030 & COE will be a small voluntary orgnaisation with a lot of heritage property.
Secularisation in US - Key Thinkers
> Wilson (Reg as Superficial)
> Hadaway (Declining Church Attendance)
> Bruce (Secularisation from Within)
Herberg (Secularisation from Within)
> Berger (Religious Diversity)
Lynd (Religious Diversity)
> Bryman (Disneyfication of Religion)
Wilson - Religion as Superficial
> 45% of Americans went church on Sunday, but was more expression of US way of life, not deep religious belief.
> US increasingly secular & religion is superficial
Hadaway - Declining Church Attendance in US
> Research showed 40% went church
> After headcounts, empty pews found in churches, reality didn’t match church attendance records (Exaggeration)
What does Hadaway & Wilson study show?
> Still socially desirable to attend church but holds little conviction as few attend regularly.
Bruce - Secularisation from Within
> American religion still exists as it’s less religious & focused on glorifying god
> But as form of therapy, wanting improvement in real life, not afterlife.
Herberg - Secularisation from Within
> Churches moving away traditional beliefs, so have to accept cohabitation, divorce etc
> Hide beliefs on miracles & hell as these scare people off
Berger - Religious Diversity
> Now acceptance by US Christians others entitled to different beliefs
> No longer assumption our own beliefs are fully true - increasing doubt
Lynd - Religious Diversity
Early in 1900’s 94% of Christians agreed Christianity was the one true religion, compared with 41% in 1977.
Bryman - Disneyfication of Religion
> Religion has become diluted & trivialised & more focused on keeping customers
> Fear they’ll leave if ideas are too scary or boring
Explanations For Secularisation - KS
> Weber (Rationalism) > Bruce (Technological World, Privatisation, Reg Diversity) > Parsons (Structural Differentiation) > Wilson (Social & Cultural Diversity) > Berger (Religious Diversity)