Evaluation of Secularisation Debate

Question 1

What are Glock and Stark’s 5 core dimensions of religiosity (way of measuring secularisation)?

Answer 1

• Belief (Thinking = Religious persons will accept beliefs of a religion
• Practice (Doing) = Will put their commitment into practice
• Experience (Feeling) = Will feel they have a direct experience with supernatural force
• Knowledge (Understanding) = Has these of the basis of their religion
• Consequences (Reacting) = Behaviour will be affect (because of their beliefs) day to day

Question 2

What does Davie argue?

Answer 2

• ‘Belief with out belonging’ = people today may believe in religion but not belong in a formal organisation e.g. after 9/11 there was a public outpouring of belief.
• Vicarious religion = a minority of people are religious on behalf of a silent majority, those in the majority appreciate their efforts

Question 3

How do Voas and Crockett challenge Davie?

Answer 3

Argue believing and belonging are falling at a similar rate e.g. generational effect

Question 4

What is the Spiritual Revolution Thesis?

Answer 4

Claims there is a spiritual revolution occurring (significant growth in New Age Spirituality

Question 5

What was the Kendal Project?

Answer 5

Led by Paul Heelas to test the Spiritual Revolution Thesis.. Identified 2 possible trends:

• Secularisation theorists = decline in traditional religion
• Sacralisation theorists = argue there is a growth in New Age spirituality

Question 6

What was the methodology of the Kendal Project?

Answer 6

Comparison between ‘congregational domain’ (represented by 25 christian churches in Kendal) and ‘holistic milieu’ (those who practice actives which they see as involving the whole person e.g mind, body and spirit).

Question 7

What did the Kendal Project find?

Answer 7

• A headcount for attendance in Churches was 7.9% of the Kendal population. Figures from 1950s onwards showed significant decline.
• Holistic milieu showed strong growth but only 1.6% of the population were practitioners. Only 55% of these considered activities to have a spiritual significance so only 0.9%.

Question 8

What is the conclusion of the Kendal Project?

Answer 8

• Stated the spiritual revolution had not taken place in Kendal.
• At first 0.9% compared to 7.9% seems a big difference however if present trends continue the revolution will take place in 20-30 years.

Question 9

What do Glendinning and Bruce say about the Kendal Project?

Answer 9

That is shows the spiritual revolution is happening at such a slow rate that it will take many years to occur or may not happen at all.

Question 10

What is Individuation?

Answer 10

The idea of religion as an individual search for meaning= importance of religion has not declined but its form of expression has changed.

Question 11

How can the importance of religion vary?

Answer 11

It depends how we define both religion and secularisation