Lesson 3 Flashcards
Census 2011
59,3 Christian
25,2 no religion
4,9 Muslim
1,5 Hindu
0,5 Jewish
Census 2021
46,2 Christian
37,2 No religion
6,5 Muslim
1,7 Hindu
0,5 Jewish
What did Augustine see faith as
In the fifth century Augustine saw Christian faith as something that a person commits to in a personal way.
What happened regarding faith at the reformation
-at the Reformation, there was a more personal challenge and invitation to interpret the scriptures.
-The Catholic Reformation included elements of personal commitment and dedication with spiritual exercises to deepen a person’s faith.
-Lutheran theology held that God could be encountered and worshipped through the ordinary family life, not just through the Church
What was religion like historically
-historically, religion was not a matter of individual choice.
-The conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine effectively committed the whole Roman Empire and its citizens to Christianity.
What’s the post reformation agreement
-The post-Reformation agreement in 1555, known as the Augsburg Settlement, ruled that each prince would have the right to decide on the religion of his own state
Peace of Westphalia (1648)
-said that those whose religion was not the same as the state religion should be free to practise it in private, and also, to a limited extent, in public.
-There was a gradual acceptance that people should be free in matters of religion, no matter what society they lived in.
As society became more secular what did religion become?
As society became more secular, religion became a set of ideas and values that individuals might choose to follow.
This is the key feature of the ‘secular’ view of religion, but it comes from the history of Christianity itself.
Multi faith society of 21st century
-The multi-faith society of the twenty-first century is quite the opposite of the situation in the sixteenth century.
-The choice of a religion may be seen almost as a consumer decision - it is taken up because it suits one’s own self-image, and promises to deliver personal benefits.
How can we see developments
-one way to see developments is as a gradual relaxation in matters of religion, starting with the Emperor Constantine adopting Christianity as the official religion of his empire
-through the Holy Roman Empire and the power of the popes,
-through the Reformation and the agreement that each nation should decide its own religion;
-to the Westphalian acceptance that people should be free to practise their religion in private, whether or not it was that of the state; through to a modern free-for-all in which religion is simply a personal choice.
-There is a broad, general truth in that view.
Religion being seen as a personal matter - point one
- The number of people who choose not to belong to any religion is rising. Some of these people call themselves atheists or agnostics. Others will simply say that they are not interested in religion at all
Role of public religion - point 2
- Those within a religious tradition may insist that it is not enough simply to attend worship, or to accept nominal membership through baptism. Indeed, worship and rites of initiation such as baptism are not even necessary. Instead, a person should be personally convinced and committed to the religion.
Religion as relegated to personal sphere
-Religion is said to be relegated to the personal sphere when it seen as entirely a matter of personal choice and conviction.
-This would suggest that evangelisation is wrong or immoral, because trying to persuade people to change their views goes against their personal autonomy.
What do people defend about religion?
-Many people accept and defend many aspects of the Christian religion, for example: preserving church buildings and cathedrals, or having Christian ceremonies for state occasions.
-Many people agree that religion contributes to culture.
In what way does religion still belong to public sphere?
-In many ways religion still belongs to the public sphere.
-The Church of England remains the established religion in England.
-Civic occasions, for example, remembering those who are killed in war, or celebrating the life of a monarch or other famous persons, are still mainly religious.
-After a tragedy, people may attend special memorial services to give them the opportunity to grieve together, or to celebrate the values of the person or people who have died.
-At the start of Sporting Occasions, the National Anthem is often sung, starting with the word ‘God’.
