Religion Renewal And Choice Flashcards
What does Davie say about the transition from obligation to consumption
Before, churches could oblige people to go to church, believe certain things and behave in certain ways. Now it is a matter of personal choice.
What does Davie say about believing without belonging
Religion isn’t declining, it’s just taking a privatised form. People still hold religious beliefs without belonging to religious organisations.
What does Davie say about vicarious religion
It is religion practised by an active minority on behalf of the great majority who experience it second hand. Churches are seen as spiritual health services that people can use in times of need. Vicarious religion is an example of believing without belonging because most people don’t attend church but remain attached to it for support.
What are criticisms of the believing without belonging view
- Voas and Crockett: evidence from 5750 respondents shows that both church attendance and belief in God are declining
- Bruce: the fact that people aren’t willing to go to church shows a decline in beliefs
- Day: although census results show 72% of people identified as Christian, this wasn’t for religious reasons but rather it shows that they belonged to a white English ethnic group
What reason does Hervieu-Leger give for the decline in religion
Cultural amnesia: loss of collective memory caused by less parents teaching their children about religion but rather letting them choose what to believe. This makes young people ignorant about traditional religion.
What is spiritual shopping
The idea that individual consumerism has replaced collective tradition and religion has become personalised
What is the difference between pilgrims and converts
Pilgrims follow an individual path for self discovery while converts seek religious groups that offer a sense of community and belonging
What is globalisation in religious context
The growing interconnectedness of societies which has led to increased movements of ideas and beliefs across national boundaries
How do globalisation, media and religion link
- globalisation leads to increased movement of ideas and beliefs across national boundaries
- this is due to the media which gives us access to all beliefs from worldwide
- as a result of this, religion becomes disembedded/de-institutionalised (moved from physical churches to the internet)
- people therefore see religious ideas as a cultural resource that they can use for their own purposes
What is the difference between online religion and religion online
Religion online is a top-down communication where a religious organisation uses the internet to address members and potential converts. Traditional & hierarchical
Online religion is a cyber religion which may have no existence outside the internet. Non-hierarchical relationships and a sense of community where people can explore spiritual interests and offer mutual support
What is religious consumerism?
- Lyon: people don’t belong to religious organisations but haven’t abandoned religion. They have become religious consumers, making conscious choices about what elements of religion they find useful
- Berger: this created a loss of faith in meta narratives which claim a monopoly of the truth, leading to a decline in mainstream churches
- Lyon: the decline doesn’t mean the end of religion but religion is evolving and taking on new forms which fit the consumerist nature of postmodern society
What is the re-enchantment of the world according to Lyon?
We are in a period of re-enchantment rather than disenchantment, with the growth of unconventional beliefs, practices and spirituality.
What is self religion and the new age?
New age spirituality emphasises the idea of life as a journey of self discovery and personal development. It is linked by individualism; the idea that everyone is free to decide what is true for them. These beliefs are called self religion.
What are the ideas concerning a spiritual revolution
A spiritual revolution is happening where traditional Christianity is giving way to holistic spirituality
What are the differences between religion and spirituality (5)
- religion: life = duty, spirituality: life = discovery
- religion: self sacrifice, spirituality: personal development
- religion: conforming to external authorities, spirituality: connecting with inner self
- religion: family life is traditional values and discipline, spirituality: family life is emotional bonds and self expression
- religion: out of step and losing ground, spirituality: growing and gaining ground
What did Heelas and Woodhead find during their investigation into whether traditional religion has declined?
There are 2 groups:
- the congregational domain of traditional and evangelical churches
- the holistic milieu of spirituality and the new age
They found that in a week:
- 7.9% attended church
- 1.6% did the holistic milieu activities
They found that traditional churches were losing support, evangelical churches were doing well and the holistic milieu was growing because:
1. New age spirituality has grown due to a shift away from obeying authority towards exploring your inner self
2. Traditional religions which demand obedience are declining
3. Evangelical churches emphasise healing and growth through salvation, making them more successful than traditional churches
What does Bruce say are the weaknesses of the new age (4)
- The problem of scale
Even if there are new forms of religion, it would have to be on a larger scale to fill the gap caused by the decline in traditional religion - Socialisation of the next generation
A belief system needs to be passed down to the next gen in order to survive but, in Kendal, only 32% of parents involved in the new age shared these beliefs with their kids - Weak commitment
Glendinning & Bruce say commitment to new age beliefs and practices was very rare even though people dabbled in spiritual activities - Structural weakness
The new age:
- lacks an external power to extract commitment from its members
- can’t achieve consensus because everyone has different beliefs
- can’t evangelise because it believes enlightenment comes from within
What are Stark and Bainbridge’s criticisms of secularisation theory
- it’s Eurocentric
- puts forward a distorted view of the past and future
What is religious market theory
The idea that
- people are naturally religious and religion meets human needs
- it is human nature to seek rewards and avoid costs
What are compensators
Religion is attractive because it provides us with compensators. When real rewards are scarce, religion compensates by promising supernatural ones.
What is the cycle of renewal
The cycle of religious decline, revival and renewal. Some religions decline and others grow and attract new members.
What is religious competition
Churches are like companies selling goods in a market. Competition leads to improvements in the quality of religious goods on offer leading to more customers while churches who don’t respond to the needs of their members will decline.
What is religion like in America and Europe
- in America, religion thrives because there has never been a religious monopoly. The constitution allows for freedom of religion, the separation of church and state and many denominations to choose from, leading to a healthy religious market.
- In Europe, most countries are dominated by an official state church with a religious monopoly. Competition has been held back and the lack of choice has led to decline.
- Stark and bainbridge conclude that it is the supply of rather than the demand for religion which influences the level of religion. The decline of religion isn’t universal.
What are some examples of supply led religion which support S&B’s theory
- Hadden & Shupe: the growth of televangelism met the consumer demands through preaching prosperity gospel
- Finke: Asian religions like Hare Krishna became popular with consumers in the USA
- Evangelical mega churches have lavish resources and are able to offer many activities to meet the diverse needs of their members
What are some criticisms of religious market theory
x Bruce: stats show that diversity comes with religious decline in the USA and Europe
x Bruce: S&B misrepresent secularisation theory
x Norris & Inglehart: in countries with a near monopoly, there are high levels of religious participation whereas in countries with religious pluralism there are low levels of religious participation
x Beckford: religious market theory is unsociological because it assumes people are naturally religious but doesn’t explain why they make the choices they do
What is existential security theory
- existential security is the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted
- poor societies have high levels of insecurity which leads to high levels of religiosity because it meets the need for security
- rich societies have a greater sense of security and so lower levels of religiosity
What is the trend in Europe vs America (secularisation and security)
- in Europe the societies are equal and secure with welfare states preventing poverty, therefore there is a trend towards secularisation
- in the USA it is unequal with inadequate welfare and individualistic dog eat dog values. This creates high levels of poverty and insecurity, increasing the need for religion
What is the link between state welfare and religiosity
Gill & Lundegarde found that the more a country spends on welfare, the lower the levels of religious participation. Religion used to provide welfare for the poor but now that the state does this, there is a decline in religion. However religion won’t disappear because it answers big questions that welfare provision can’t.
What are Vasquez’ critiques about Norris& Inglehart’s secularisation and security theory?
- They only use quantitative data and would need qualitative data to examine people’s definitions of existential security
- They only see religion as negative and ignore the positive reasons people have for religious participation
