religion, renewal and choice

Question 1

new forms of religion

Answer 1

some sociologists reject secularisation theory and argue that religion is simply changing rather than declining, as a result of trends in late modern society

Question 2

believing without belonging

Answer 2

Davie argues that religion is not declining but taking a different more privatised form

people no longer go to church because they feel they have to, so although church attendance has declined it is now personal choice not an obligation

believing without belonging, people hold religious beliefs but don’t go to church, decline of traditional religion but growth of new form of religion

trend towards ‘vicarious religion’, small minority practise religion on behalf of a larger group

britain, low attendance but churches are a ‘spiritual health service’ e.g. baptisms, weddings and funerals, available for everyone to use

Question 3

spiritual shopping

Answer 3

Danielle Hervieu-Leger personal choice and decline of obligation

cultural amnesia (loss of collective memory), people have lost the religion that used to be handed down generations through family and church

greater equality undermined the traditional church’s power to impose religion from above, young people no longer inherit a fixed religious identity

traditional institutional religion declined, it continues through individual consumerism, people become ‘spiritual shoppers’, religion is individualised

Question 4

what religions are emerging according to Hervieu-leger

Answer 4

pilgrims: follow an individual path in a search for self-discovery e.g. new age or through individual ‘therapy’
converts: join religion groups that offer a strong sense of belonging, this re-creates a sense of community, e.g. evangelical movements and ethnic minority churches

Question 5

postmodern religion

Answer 5

Lyon argues that postmodern society has several features that are changing the nature of religion (globalisation, increased importance of the media and consumerism)

as a result, traditional religion is giving way to new religious forms and these demonstrate its continuing strength

Question 6

postmodern religion: globalisation

Answer 6

as a result of globalisation, increased movement of religious ideas across national boundaries, often online

the media saturate us with images and messages from around the globe, giving us instant access to the ideas and beliefs of previously remote religions

these ideas are ‘disembedded’ as the media lift them out of their local contexts and move them to a different place and time e.g. televangelism relocates religion to the internet and TV, allowing believers to express their faith without attending church

Question 7

religious consumerism

Answer 7

postmodern society involves the idea that we now construct out identities through what we consume

we are ‘spiritual shoppers’, choosing religious beliefs and practices to meet our individual needs from the religious market place

‘pick and mix’ elements of different faiths to suit our tastes and identify with

Lyon - religion has relocation to sphere of consumption, people stopped belonging to religious organisations but haven’t abandoned religion, they are ‘religion consumers’ making conscious choices about which elements of religion they like

Question 8

self-religions and the new age

Answer 8

many new forms of religion are new age beliefs and practices, which reject obligation and obedience to external authority of traditional religions, instead emphasises personal development, autonomy and one’s inner self

key idea of individualism, everyone is free to decide for themselves what is true, explains why they have been called ‘self-spirituality’

Question 9

a spiritual revolution

Answer 9

traditional christianity is giving way to a new age spirituality that emphasises personal development and experience

the spiritual market is growing e.g. huge number of books about self-help and spirituality and the many therapies from meditation to crystal healing

Question 10

study of kendal

Answer 10

heelas and Woodhead investigated whether traditional religion has declined and how far the growth of spirituality is compensating for this

• the congregational domain: of traditional and evangelical christian churches
• the holistic milieu: of spirituality and the new age

2000, 7.9% of population attended church (congregational domain), and 1.6% took part in spiritual activities (holistic milieu)

traditional churches were losing support but evangelical churches weren’t, holistic milieu was growing

Question 11

how do heels and Woodhead explain their findings

Answer 11

new age spirituality has grown because of a ‘subject turn’ in todays culture, shift towards exploring inner self by following a spiritual path, traditional religions demanding duty and obedience decline

evangelical churches more successful than traditional as emphasise subjective aspects: spiritual healing and growth through personal experience of being born again

in spiritual workplace, winners appeal to personal experience as genuine source of meaning & fulfilment, not received teachings & commandments

Question 12

the weakness of the new age

Answer 12

bruce says new age can’t fill gap left by decline of traditional religion:

scale: growth of new age would have to be on much larger scale to fill gap
socialisation: belief system can only survive if passed down to next generation, kendal study minority of new agers’ children shared parents beliefs

weak commitment: serious commitment to new age beliefs is rare

structural weakness: new age spirituality is cause of secularisation because of its individualism, lacks cohesion as everyone free to believe whatever they wish

Question 13

religious market theory

Answer 13

stark and Bainbridge advocate religious market theory, secularisation ‘distorted view’ of past and future, no past ‘golden age’ of religion and not likely everyone will be atheist in the future

Question 14

what assumptions is religious market theory based on

Answer 14

people are naturally religious and religion meets human needs so overall demand for religion remains constant even if it varies between religions

it is human nature to seek rewards and avoid costs, people weigh up costs and benefits of different options available

Question 15

compensators

Answer 15

religion is attractive because it provides us with supernatural compensators when real rewards are unobtainable e.g. immortality is unobtainable but religion compensates by promising life after death

only religion can provide such compensators, because it can promise supernatural rewards

cycle of renewal: stark and Bainbridge suggest there is a historical cycle of religious decline, revival and renewal, as established churches decline, they leave a gap in the market for new sects and cults, secularisation theory one sided as only sees the decline

competition: religious market theorists argue that competition leads to improvements in the quality of the religious ‘goods’ on offer, churches that make their product attractive will succeed in attracting more ‘customers’

Question 16

america versus Europe: supply led religion

Answer 16

demand for religion increases when there is a choice, because consumers can find one that meets their needs

in the usa, religion is strong because a healthy market exists where religions grow or decline according to consumer demand

but where there is a religious monopoly, as in most European countries e.g. Church of England, lack of choice has led to decline

Question 17

supply-led religion

Answer 17

stark and Bainbridge main factor influencing level of religious participation is supply not demand

growth of evangelical mega churches mostly in US, (congregations of 2000 or more), lavish resources and offer vast range of activities to meet diverse needs of members

Question 18

criticisms of religious market theory

Answer 18

bruce rejects view that diversity and competition increase demand for religion, statistics show diversity accompanied by religious decline in both Europe and america

bruce says stark and Bainbridge misrepresent secularisation theory, it doesn’t claim past ‘golden age’ of religion or that everyone will be atheists, only long term decline

beckford says unsociological as assumes people are naturally religious and fails to explain why they make the choices they do

Question 19

existential security theory

Answer 19

norris and inglehart reject religious market theory as only applies to america and doesn’t explain variations in religiosity between societies

the reasons for variates is not degrees of choice but different degrees of existential security

religion meets a need for security so groups and societies where people feel insecure (disease, famine, environmental disaster) have high level of demand (low income groups and societies)

explains why poor third world countries remain religious while people in prosperous western countries are more secure so more secular

Question 20

what is existential security?

Answer 20

the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted

Question 21

america versus Europe: existential security theory

Answer 21

Western Europe is becoming more secular because these societies are relatively equal and secure, well developed welfare states which reduce insecurity among the poor

US more religious as most unequal of the rich societies, inadequate welfare safety-net and individualistic values, so higher levels of poverty and insecurity

explains why poor third world countries rain religious while western countries more secular

Question 22

evaluation of existential security theory

Answer 22

only see religion as a negative response to deprivation, ignore positive reasons people have for religious participation and the appeal of religion to the wealthy

only use quantitive data about income levels, don’t examine peoples own definitions of existential security, qualitative data is needed