postmodernism and religion

Question 1

brief overview of plan

Answer 1

p1: religion is just another mettanarrative rationalistion decline in reiligion (however westernised view)
p2: disneyfication lyon religion is changing to fit in a constumerist postmodern lifestyle (however peopel absorbing televangelism will still be attending regular church services)
p3: new age movements are fitting pm life better (heelas and woodhead differentation theis and spirual shopping (however NAM poularity doesnt come near challenging trad popularity)
p4: beck and giddens ontological security leads to fundamentalism (however fundamentalism is largley a small phenomenon compared to the seccularisation of the majoirty of the west)

Question 2

lyotard mettanarratives

Answer 2

religion is just another set of mettantaratives that are pumped out in order to make people beleive that they have the asnwers to the ‘big questions’ in life

when in reality rationalisation and the increase in scientifc understanding has made these mettanarratives of religion redundant as there are more falsafiable explainations for things rather than tortologies

Question 3

crticisms of lyotards mettanarratives

Answer 3

this is a westernised view that there has been seccularisation due to the rise of scienfic understadning

berger argues that instead the west is going through this while the east especially remains very religious despite svientific developments

Question 4

disneyficatoin

Answer 4

lyon argues that religion is changing how it operated to fit a postmodern lifestyle.
due to the move towards consumer culture religion is becoming another commodity off of the supermarket shelf which may decrease the value on the fundamental values of religion

religious worship is moving to the private sphere so developments such as televangelism have been made to adapt to the change in consumerism

Question 5

criticism of disneyfication

Answer 5

lyon overexaggerates the change that has tsken place, he alludes to the idea that televangelism is becoming something that those who arent particualry religous consumee. when inrealkity those who attend televangelist services will most likely also attend in person sermons and things

NOT REPLACING TRADITIONAL SERVICES

Question 6

new age movements dominating traditional religion

Answer 6

heels and woodhead in the kendall project found that prostmosern lifestyles and persepctives are far better suited to new age movements and religions that are less traiditional and hierarchical as traditional relgions

for example the differentiation thesis measn that how people are spritial has changed and now NAMs such as yoga are better sutied to quesnch peples spirtual thirsts than trad religion is

hervieu leger argues postmodern society allows for spiritual shopping

Question 7

criticism of new age movements

Answer 7

although NAMS are increasing they haven’t and wont in the near future be able to compete with the popularity of new age movements

similarly bruce argues that middel class women are those who are most likley to subscibe to new age movements which poses the argument that only those with the freedom to choose are part of the differentiation thesis

Question 8

beck and giddens late modern perspective

Answer 8

beck and giddens argue that late modern society bring ao many unknowns and risks to indivudals that some regress back to the certainity and godmatic beleifs that traditional religion has which creates fundamentalism

giddens argues that en mass people suffer from ontological security where they dont know who they are or what to do with their lives are therfore they turn ot religon for moral guidance