religion, renewal and choice Flashcards
Davie
Argues that in this modern, western society we have progressed from obligation to consumption
Consumerism
The consumption of goods and services for example based on whether it is desirable to go ro church
why does Davie argue that religion isn’t declining
Davie argues that religion is not declining but taking a different privatised form
believing without belonging
believe in God but do not belong to an organisation
vicarious religion
religion practised by an active minority (the clergy and active church goers) on behalf of the great majority, who thus experience religion at second hand
spiritual health service
in Europe, religion is seen as a spiritual health service like the NHS. it belong to everyone and the majority use it when they need to e.g. in times of national tragedy or mourning (COVID-19)
Voas and Crockett (2005)
do not accept Davie’s claim that there is more believing than belonging. Evidence from 5,750 respondents show that both church attendance and belief in God are declining together. if Davie were right, we would expect to see higher levels of belief
census results suggest
72% identify themselves as Christians BUT in follow up interviews Abby Day (2007) found that many Christians did not describe themselves like this for religion reasons. it was a non religions marker of their ethnic or national identity.
what is an identity marker
Christianity, identify with it being their identity rather than believing
Daniele Hervieu-Leger
children no longer have religion handed down to them from the older generation-because fewer parents teach their children about religion. she calls this cultural amnesia- the loss of a collective memory of what religions traditions and beliefs should be like.
spiritual shoppers
religion has become a personal, spiritual journey where we choose elements we want to explore and the groups we wish to join.
nowadays, children decide for themselves what they want to believe. they have become spiritual shoppers
Hervieu-leger to new religion types
- pilgrims-follow their own individual path to “self discovery” e.g. exploring New Age spirituality
- converts-join religious groups that offer a strong sense of belonging e.g. ethnic minority churches.
Lyon (2000)
agrees with Davie that believing without belonging is increasing popular. he argues that traditional religion is giving way for variety of new religion forms that demonstrate its continuing power.
postmodernism definition
they reject all embracing theorist that claim to have the absolute truth- they call these meta- narratives- just someone’s version of the truth
what is the post modernist view based on
the idea that society is unstable, fragmented, media saturated global village, where image and reality are indistinguishable
how do we define ourselves in a post modernist society
we define ourselves by what we consume
the electronic church
religion has become disembedded from real local churches to the Tv and the internet
what is the re enchament of the world
lyon- the decline of traditional churches does not spell the end for religion-religion is evolving and taking new forms, A new age of religion
weber argues that society is now entering a period of re-enchantment- the growth of unconventional beliefs, practised and spirituality
spiritual revolution
some sociologists argue that a spiritual revolution is taking place , in which traditional Christianity is giving way to “holistic spirituality” or new age spiritual beliefs and practises that emphasise personal development and subjective experience.
the problem of scale
even if new age forms of individualised religion are springing up, this would have to be on a much larger scale if it is to fill the gap left by the decline of traditional institutional groups.
socialisation of the next generation
for a belief system to survive, it must be passed down to the next generation. women in the holistic milieu are more likely to be childless. and in at least three-quarters of marriages with a woman with holistic milieu, the husband does not share his wife’s beliefs-further reducing the likelihood of transmitting them to their children.
weak commitment
Bruce found that although people dabbled in meditation, alternative medicine, astrology, horoscope , serious commitment to new age beliefs was rare. even among who described themselves as “spiritual”, very few said that such practises were important in their lives.
structural weakness
new age is itself a cause of secularisation because of its subjective, individualistic nature- its based on the idea that there is no higher authority than the self
stark and Bainbridge
are critical of the secularisation theory they see the theory as being Eurocentric they argue there was no golden age of religion in the past instead they propose a religious market theory.
what do they mean by saying the secularisation theory is Eurocentric
it focuses on the decline of religion in Europe and fails to explain its continuing vitality in America and elsewhere.
why do stark and Bainbridge say there is no “golden age” of religion in the past
it id not realistic to predict a future end-point for religion where everyone will be atheist
what is a compensator- why is religion attractive
when rewards are scare, religions compensates by promising supernatural ones
why is the secularisation theory one-sided
it sees the decline, but ignores the growth of new religion and religion revival
what is religions competitions?
competitions between different religious organisation
why according to stark and Bainbridge is religion thriving in the USA
there has never been a religious monopoly there
how does growth of televangelism show the growth of religion “supply led”
it opened up competitions in which evangelical churches thrived. as a commercial enterprise, televangelism responded to consumer demand by preaching a “prosperity gospels”
explain how the cycle of renewal is an alternative theory to the secularisation theory
perpetual cycle throughout history, with some religions declining and others growing and attracting new members
according to stark and Bainbridge how do churches operate like companies selling goods
competitions lead to improvements in the quality of the religions “goods” an offer for consumers
criticism of the religious market theory
Bruce rejects the view that diversity and competition increase the demand for religion. statistics show religious decline has occurred in Britain and USA
Bruce argues that the secularisation theory does not state there was a golden age of religion, or secularisation is universal and does not claim all will become atheist. instead the theory suggests there has been a religious decline
Beckford says the RMT is not sociological as it assumes that people are naturally religious and fails to explain why people make the choices they do
why do Norris and Inglehart reject RMT
reject the religious market theory as they say it fails to explain that variations in religiosity between societies.
why do Norris and Inglehart argue that there is variations in religiosity
is due to different degrees of the existential security, by this they mean that the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted.
why do people not need religion for security
where people already feel secure there will be a low demand for religion
poor societies
where people are facing life-threatening risks such as famine and natural disasters have high levels of insecurity and thus high levels of religiosity
rich societies
where people have higher standards of living and less risk and greater security have lower levels of religiosity
Gill and lundegarde
found that the more a country spends of welfare, the lower the level of religious participation. thus European countries, which spend more than the USA are more secular than the USA
what are Vasquez criticisms for Norris and Inglehart explanation of different levels of religious participation globally
only see religion as a negative response for deprivation.
ignore the positive reasons people
