religion, renewal and choice

Question 1

Davie

Answer 1

Argues that in this modern, western society we have progressed from obligation to consumption

Question 2

Consumerism

Answer 2

The consumption of goods and services for example based on whether it is desirable to go ro church

Question 3

why does Davie argue that religion isn’t declining

Answer 3

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

Question 4

believing without belonging

Answer 4

believe in God but do not belong to an organisation

Question 5

vicarious religion

Answer 5

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

Question 6

spiritual health service

Answer 6

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)

Question 7

Voas and Crockett (2005)

Answer 7

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

Question 8

census results suggest

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

what is an identity marker

Answer 9

Christianity, identify with it being their identity rather than believing

Question 10

Daniele Hervieu-Leger

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

spiritual shoppers

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Hervieu-leger to new religion types

Answer 12

1. pilgrims-follow their own individual path to “self discovery” e.g. exploring New Age spirituality
2. converts-join religious groups that offer a strong sense of belonging e.g. ethnic minority churches.

Question 13

Lyon (2000)

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

postmodernism definition

Answer 14

they reject all embracing theorist that claim to have the absolute truth- they call these meta- narratives- just someone’s version of the truth

Question 15

what is the post modernist view based on

Answer 15

the idea that society is unstable, fragmented, media saturated global village, where image and reality are indistinguishable

Question 16

how do we define ourselves in a post modernist society

Answer 16

we define ourselves by what we consume

Question 17

the electronic church

Answer 17

religion has become disembedded from real local churches to the Tv and the internet

Question 18

what is the re enchament of the world

Answer 18

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

Question 19

spiritual revolution

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

the problem of scale

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

socialisation of the next generation

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

weak commitment

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

structural weakness

Answer 23

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

Question 24

stark and Bainbridge

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

what do they mean by saying the secularisation theory is Eurocentric

Answer 25

it focuses on the decline of religion in Europe and fails to explain its continuing vitality in America and elsewhere.

Question 26

why do stark and Bainbridge say there is no “golden age” of religion in the past

Answer 26

it id not realistic to predict a future end-point for religion where everyone will be atheist

Question 27

what is a compensator- why is religion attractive

Answer 27

when rewards are scare, religions compensates by promising supernatural ones

Question 28

why is the secularisation theory one-sided

Answer 28

it sees the decline, but ignores the growth of new religion and religion revival

Question 29

what is religions competitions?

Answer 29

competitions between different religious organisation

Question 30

why according to stark and Bainbridge is religion thriving in the USA

Answer 30

there has never been a religious monopoly there

Question 31

how does growth of televangelism show the growth of religion “supply led”

Answer 31

it opened up competitions in which evangelical churches thrived. as a commercial enterprise, televangelism responded to consumer demand by preaching a “prosperity gospels”

Question 32

explain how the cycle of renewal is an alternative theory to the secularisation theory

Answer 32

perpetual cycle throughout history, with some religions declining and others growing and attracting new members

Question 33

according to stark and Bainbridge how do churches operate like companies selling goods

Answer 33

competitions lead to improvements in the quality of the religions “goods” an offer for consumers

Question 34

criticism of the religious market theory

Answer 34

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

Question 35

why do Norris and Inglehart reject RMT

Answer 35

reject the religious market theory as they say it fails to explain that variations in religiosity between societies.

Question 36

why do Norris and Inglehart argue that there is variations in religiosity

Answer 36

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.

Question 37

why do people not need religion for security

Answer 37

where people already feel secure there will be a low demand for religion

Question 38

poor societies

Answer 38

where people are facing life-threatening risks such as famine and natural disasters have high levels of insecurity and thus high levels of religiosity

Question 39

rich societies

Answer 39

where people have higher standards of living and less risk and greater security have lower levels of religiosity

Question 40

Gill and lundegarde

Answer 40

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

Question 41

what are Vasquez criticisms for Norris and Inglehart explanation of different levels of religious participation globally

Answer 41

only see religion as a negative response for deprivation.

ignore the positive reasons people