Religion Renewal And Choice

Question 1

What does Davie say about the transition from obligation to consumption

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

What does Davie say about believing without belonging

Answer 2

Religion isn’t declining, it’s just taking a privatised form. People still hold religious beliefs without belonging to religious organisations.

Question 3

What does Davie say about vicarious religion

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

What are criticisms of the believing without belonging view

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

What reason does Hervieu-Leger give for the decline in religion

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

What is spiritual shopping

Answer 6

The idea that individual consumerism has replaced collective tradition and religion has become personalised

Question 7

What is the difference between pilgrims and converts

Answer 7

Pilgrims follow an individual path for self discovery while converts seek religious groups that offer a sense of community and belonging

Question 8

What is globalisation in religious context

Answer 8

The growing interconnectedness of societies which has led to increased movements of ideas and beliefs across national boundaries

Question 9

How do globalisation, media and religion link

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

What is the difference between online religion and religion online

Answer 10

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

Question 11

What is religious consumerism?

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

What is the re-enchantment of the world according to Lyon?

Answer 12

We are in a period of re-enchantment rather than disenchantment, with the growth of unconventional beliefs, practices and spirituality.

Question 13

What is self religion and the new age?

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

What are the ideas concerning a spiritual revolution

Answer 14

A spiritual revolution is happening where traditional Christianity is giving way to holistic spirituality

Question 15

What are the differences between religion and spirituality (5)

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

What did Heelas and Woodhead find during their investigation into whether traditional religion has declined?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What does Bruce say are the weaknesses of the new age (4)

Answer 17

1. 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
2. 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
3. Weak commitment
   Glendinning & Bruce say commitment to new age beliefs and practices was very rare even though people dabbled in spiritual activities
4. 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

Question 18

What are Stark and Bainbridge’s criticisms of secularisation theory

Answer 18

• it’s Eurocentric
• puts forward a distorted view of the past and future

Question 19

What is religious market theory

Answer 19

The idea that
- people are naturally religious and religion meets human needs
- it is human nature to seek rewards and avoid costs

Question 20

What are compensators

Answer 20

Religion is attractive because it provides us with compensators. When real rewards are scarce, religion compensates by promising supernatural ones.

Question 21

What is the cycle of renewal

Answer 21

The cycle of religious decline, revival and renewal. Some religions decline and others grow and attract new members.

Question 22

What is religious competition

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

What is religion like in America and Europe

Answer 23

• 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.

Question 24

What are some examples of supply led religion which support S&B’s theory

Answer 24

• 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

Question 25

What are some criticisms of religious market theory

Answer 25

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

Question 26

What is existential security theory

Answer 26

• 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

Question 27

What is the trend in Europe vs America (secularisation and security)

Answer 27

• 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

Question 28

What is the link between state welfare and religiosity

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

What are Vasquez’ critiques about Norris& Inglehart’s secularisation and security theory?

Answer 29

1. They only use quantitative data and would need qualitative data to examine people’s definitions of existential security
2. They only see religion as negative and ignore the positive reasons people have for religious participation