MT3 secularisation and Anti-sec

Question 1

Parsons

Answer 1

Parsons argues that religion has lost many of the functions it used to perform which has contributed to its loss of influence and subsequent increase in secularisation. In other words, religion has gone through the process of structural differentiation – a process of specialisation and loss of function. For example, religion has lost its influence over education, welfare and the law as these have now been taken over by the state.

Question 2

Criticism of Parsons

Answer 2

There are still many religious people + the rise in fundamentalism

Question 3

Weber

Answer 3

Weber argues that rationalisation has caused secularisation. For Weber, in the past the Catholic worldview dominated Europe until the 16th century. This view saw the world as an enchanted garden full of supernatural beings that could affect people’s lives. However, the the process of rationalisation – using newly discovered scientific principles, people were able to understand how the world works.
As people developed rational understanding of the world, there was no longer the need for religious explanations and so religion declined. Therefore, rationalisation caused the disenchantment of the world – it removed the supernatural ways of thinking and replaced them with rational thought.

Question 4

Davie

Answer 4

argues religion is not declining, rather it is simply changing and taking on a more privatised form. As a result, religion is now based on believing without belonging -whereby people hold religious beliefs but don’t attend church. Davie is critical of the secularisation theories because they argue that modernisation is affecting all modern societies in the same way - by causing them to become secular. Davies argues there are multiple modernities eg both USA and the UK are modern societies, but with different patterns of religion- church attendance is higher in the USA.

Question 5

criticism of Davie

Answer 5

Bruce claims that declining attendance is a sign of the declining strength of belief - as the fervour of belief decreases people become less willing to attend church

Question 6

Hervieu- Leger

Answer 6

Argues that there’s been a decline in traditional institutional religion as a result of cultural amnesia- a loss of collective memory. Parents no longer teach their children about religion and instead let them decide what to believe in. However, for Hervieu-Leger this decline in trad. institutional religion is not a sign of secularisation and even if they’re declining , religion itself is not. Instead, people have become spiritual shoppers - they are individualised consumers of religion - they chose the elements of religion they are interested in pursuing and create DIY beliefs. Aar, two types of religious people have emerged: pilgrims and converts.

Question 7

Criticism of Hervieu-Leger

Answer 7

A multi-faith society doesn’t mean that one religion is not dominant e.g Christianity in the UK.