religion, renewal and choice Flashcards
new forms of religion
some sociologists reject secularisation theory and argue that religion is simply changing rather than declining, as a result of trends in late modern society
believing without belonging
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
spiritual shopping
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
what religions are emerging according to Hervieu-leger
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
postmodern religion
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
postmodern religion: globalisation
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
religious consumerism
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
self-religions and the new age
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’
a spiritual revolution
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
study of kendal
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
how do heels and Woodhead explain their findings
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
the weakness of the new age
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
religious market theory
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
what assumptions is religious market theory based on
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
compensators
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’
america versus Europe: supply led religion
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
supply-led religion
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
criticisms of religious market theory
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
existential security theory
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
what is existential security?
the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted
america versus Europe: existential security theory
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
evaluation of existential security theory
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
