Explanations of Secularisation

Question 1

Max Weber: Rationalisation

Answer 1

• Rationalisation refers to the process by which rational ways of thinking and acting come to replace religious ones
• Martin Luther’s 16th Century Protestant Reformation began the process of rationalisation

Question 2

How has Disenchantment led to secularisation:

Answer 2

• Protestantism saw God as transcendent
• Similar to the process of a watchmaker
• This meant that events were no longer to be explained as the work of unpredictable supernatural beings, but as the predictable workings of natural forces

Question 3

A technological worldview (Bruce)

Answer 3

• Bruce (2011)

- A technological worldview leaves little room for religious explanations in everyday life

Question 4

What does Structural Differentiation lead to? 2 processes

Answer 4

• Structural Differentiation: a process of specialisation that occurs with the development of industrial society
• Leads to disengagement: A transfer of functions to other institutions
• Privatisation: Confined to the private sphere of the home and family

Question 5

What are the 3 examples of Social and Cultural Diversity that have lead to secularisation?

Answer 5

1. Decline of community
   - Move from pre-industrial to industrial
   - Shared values are lost
2. Industrialisation
   - It undermines the consensus of religious beliefs that hold small communities together
3. Diversity of occupations, cultures and lifestyles undermines religion
   - Plausability of beliefs is undermined by alternatives

Question 6

What are the 3 criticisms of the secularisation theory (Aldridge):

Answer 6

1. Religion can be a source of identity on a worldwide scale
2. Some religious communities are imagined communities that interact through the use of global media
3. Pentecostal and other religious groups often flourish in ‘impersonal’ urban areas

Question 7

How does religious diversity link into secularisation? Berger: 2 ways

Answer 7

1. The sacred canopy
   - In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church held an absolute monopoly
   - Gave greater plausability as no one challenged what the Church said
   - Changed with the Protestant Reformation where there was the introduction of religious diversity
2. Plausability Structure
   - This creates a crisis of credibility for region

Question 8

What is Cultural Defence and Transition (Bruce)

Answer 8

• Cultural Defence
  Religion provides a focal point for the defence of national, ethnic, local or group identity
  E.g. The popularity of Catholicism in Poland before the fall of Communism
• Cultural Transition
  Where religion provides support and a sense of community for ethnic groups such as migrants to a different country and culture

Question 9

Criticisms of Berger’s Religious Diversity theory (Beckford)

Answer 9

• Beckford (2003): it is not inevitable that due to religious diversity, someone will drop or question their own religion