BIS: religion, renewal & choice - topic4

Question 1

why r New forms of religion occuring

Answer 1

result of trends in late modern society, such as greater individualisation, choice and consumerism

Question 2

do all sociologists believe secularisation is happening

Answer 2

some sociologists reject secularisation theory + argue that religion is simply changing, rather than in decline

Question 3

which sociologist came up with belief without belonging

Answer 3

Davie 2007
argues religion is not in declining but simply taking a different more privatised form.

Question 4

main points of belief without belonging

Answer 4

-p no longer go to church because they feel they have to
= church going declining because attendance is now matter of personal choice rather than an obligation.

-now have believing without belonging-people hold religious beliefs but don’t go to church.
-the decline of traditional religion is matched by the growth of new form of religion.

• is a trend towards ‘vicarious religion’

Question 5

vicarious religion

Answer 5

small minority practice religion on behalf of much larger number of people

Question 6

In Britain church attendance is decreasing does no one use churched anymore?

Answer 6

despite low attendance, many people still use the churches for rites of passage-baptism weddings + funerals. They are a ‘spiritual health service’, avaliable for everyone to use when they need it.

Question 7

what does Davie say about believing without belonging
(multiple modernities)

Answer 7

Davie rejects secularisation theory assumption that modernisation affects every society in the same way. Instead there are multiple modernities
e.g. Britain + America are both modern societies, but with very different patterns of religion- high church attendance in America, low in Britain, but accompanied by believing without belonging.

Question 8

what does Davie reject

Answer 8

secularisation theory

Question 9

Who came up with spiritual shopping?

Answer 9

Hervieu-Léger 2000
supports the theme of personal choice + believing without belonging.

Question 10

what are Hervieu-Légers points for spiritual shopping

Answer 10

-there has been cultural amnesia.
people have lost the religion that used to be handed down from generation to generation through family + church
-greater equality has undermined the traditional church’s power to impose religions from above, so young people no longer inherit fixed religious identity.
-
traditional relgion in decline, religion continues through individual consumerism. people have become spiritual shoppers. Religion is now individualised - we now develop our own ‘do it yourself’ beliefs.

Question 11

what does cultural amnesia mean

Answer 11

loss of collective memory

Question 12

what are Hervieu-Leger two new religious types emerging from spiritual shopping

Answer 12

Pilgrims: follow individual path in search for self-discovery
e.g. new age or through individual ‘therapy’

Converts: join religious groups that offer strong sense of belonging. This re-creates a sense of community
e.g. evangelical movements and ethnic minority churches.

Question 13

What did Lyon argue about postmodern religions

Answer 13

argues that postmodern society has several features that are changing the nature of religion - globalisation, the increased importance of the media + consumerism. As a result, traditional religion is giving way to. new religious forms + these demonstrate its continuing strength.

Question 14

Relocations of religion e.g. Online religion
(postmodern religion)

Answer 14

result of globalisation.
-increase movement of religious ideas across national boundaries via online religion.
-media saturates us with images + messages from around the globe, giving us instant access to the ideas + beliefs of previously remote regions.
-these ideas are ‘disembeded’ = the media lift them out of their local contexts + move them to different place + time
- so, R becomes de-institutionalised - signs + images become detached from their place in R institutions, floating in cyber-space.

Question 15

what’s an example of religion becoming disebedded

Answer 15

televangelism
relocates religion on the internet + TV, allowing believers to express their faith without attending church.

Question 16

what’s religious consumerism
(postmodern religion)

Answer 16

=postmodern society idea that we now construct our identities through what we consume.
-true for R: ‘spiritual shoppers’ choosing religious beliefs + practices to meet our individual needs, from offers in religious marketplace.
-Pick + Mix elements of different faiths to suit our tastes + make them part of our identity.
-Lyons view: R relocated to sphere of consumption. people may ceased to belong to religious organisations, but haven’t abandoned R. Become ‘religious consumers’ , making conspicuous choices about which elements of religion they find useful.

Question 17

what’s the effects of religious consumerism

Answer 17

Loss of faith in ‘meta-narratives’ because people become sceptical that any one of them is really true.
-dominant/traditional organisations lose their authority. many new movements spring up consumers can ‘sample’

Question 18

what’s re-enchatment of the world
Lyon

Answer 18

L sees recent decades period of re-enchatment with growth of unconventional beliefs + practices.
-although trad R declined in Europe, Lyon points to growth of non-traditional religion in the west + elsewhere.

Question 19

what’s self-religion and the new age

Answer 19

-many new forms of R are new age beliefs + practices. New age rejects obligation + obedience to external authority found in traditional religions. Instead it emphasises personal development, autonomy + ones inner self.
-Key idea is individualism: everyone is free to decline for themselves what is true. this is why new age beliefs called ‘self-spirituality’ or ‘self-religions’

Question 20

what’s a spiritual revolution?

Answer 20

some sociologists argue ‘spiritual revolution’ is taking place with traditional christianity giving way to new age spirituality that emphasises personal development + experience.

Question 21

what’s an example of the spiritual market growing

Answer 21

the number of books about self help and spirituality and the many therapies from mediation to crystal healing.

Question 22

Heelas and Woodhead investigate wether traditional religion has declined and how far growth of spirituality is compensating for this.
what were the Two examples

Answer 22

1. congregation domain of traditional and evangelical christian churches
2. holistic milieu of spirituality and the new age

Question 23

give a statical example of the congregation domain and holistic milieu

Answer 23

found in a typical week in 2000, 7.9% of the population attended church (congregational domain) and 1.6% took part in spiritual activities (holistic milieu)

within the congregational domain the traditional churches were losing support while evangelical churches were holding their own. Although fewer people were involved in the holistic milieu, it was growing.

Question 24

spiritual revolution:
how do Heelas and Woodhead explain these trends (3)

Answer 24

1. new age spirituality grown because: massive ‘subject turn’ today culture = shift towards exploring inner self by following spiritual path. Result: trad religions that demand duty + obedience are declining.
2. Evangelical churches more successful than trad churches because emphasise subjective aspects: spiritual healing + growth thru personal experience ‘born again’
3. in spiritual marketplace, TF, winners are those who appeal to personal experience as the only genuine source of meaning + fulfilment, rather than the received teachings + commandments of traditional religion.

Question 25

who talked about the weaknesses of the new age

Answer 25

Bruce
argues the new age is too weak to fill the gap left by the decline of traditional religion

Question 26

what are the weakness of the new age

Answer 26

Bruce:
Scale: the growth of new age religions would have to be on a much larger scale to fill the gap left by the decline of traditional religions.
Socialisation: A belief system can only survive if it’s passed down to the next generation.
Yet Kendall study, only a minority of New agers children shared their parents beliefs.
Weak commitment: serious commitment to new age beliefs is rare.
Structural weakness: New age spirituality is cause of secularisation because of its individualism. It lacks cohesion because everyone is free to believe whatever they wish.

Question 27

which sociologist advocates religious market theory

Answer 27

Stark and Bainbridge 1985
they criticise secularisation theory for its ‘distorted view’ of the past + future: there was no past ‘golden age’ of religion, nor is it likely that everyone will be atheist in the future.

Question 28

Stark + Bainbridge bases religious market theory in two assumptions what are they?

Answer 28

1. people are naturally religious + religion meets human needs.
   2.people make rational choices based on the costs and benefits of the available religious options.

Question 29

religious market theory why is relgion attractive

Answer 29

-it provides us with supernatural compensators when real rewards are unobtainable; e.g. immortality is unobtainable, but religion compensates by promising life after death.
-only religion can provide such compensators because promise of supernatural rewards.

Question 30

relgious market theory:
what’s the historical cycle and competition

Answer 30

Historical cycle: S + B suggest there is a historical cycle of religious decline, revival and renewal: churches in decline leave gap in market for new sects + cults.

Competition: argue competition leads to improvements in quality of religious goofs on offer. churches make their product attractive will succeed at attracting more customers.

Question 31

religious market theory:
America vs Europe

Answer 31

demand for religious increases when their is choice, because comsumers can find one that meets their needs. USA region is strong due to healthy market exists where religions grow or decline according to consumer demand.
But where religious monopoly (most of Europe) e.g. Church of England, lack of choice led to decline.

Question 32

who came up with existential security theory

Answer 32

Norris and Inglehart 2004