Religion, Renewal and choice ( Theme 2 - Extent of worship today) Flashcards

Question

According to Hervieu-Leger what two types of religion are occuring?

Answer 1

Pilgrims: follow an individual path in a search for self-discovery e.g. through individual therapy. Converts: join religious groups that offer a strong sense of belonging. This re-creates a sense of community. e.g. ethnic minority churches.

Answer 2

the values of equality + human rights have their roots in religion, she argues. Such values can be a source of shared cultural identity.

Answer 3

Late modernity explains the weakening of traditional institutions such as the church, as well as the growing importance of individual choice in matters of religion.

Answer 4

Agrees believing without belonging is increasingly popular. He explains this in terms of a shift from modern to postmodern society.

Answer 5

globalization ( the relocation of religion) the increased importance of the media and Religious consumerism.

Answer 6

Globalization has lead to greatly increased movements of ideas across national boundaries often via online religion

Answer 7

We are a media saturated society meaning that images and messages get around the world, giving us access to to beliefs of previously remote religions.

Answer 8

The media lifts them out of their physical churches and move them to a different place and time. Ex: 'Electronic church' and televangelism dis-embed religion from real, local churches and relocate it on the Internet, allowing believers to express their faith without physically attending church.

Answer 9

De-institutionalized

Answer 10

its signs and images become detached from their place in religious institutions, floating and multiplying on TV and in cyber-space,individuals can adapt for own purposes.

Answer 11

Globalization and media mean many people express religious beliefs online and attendance can no longer measure religiosity. Online religion and Religion online.

Answer 12

Religion online - movements communicate with followers ( traditional form of religion online) Online religion - online communities where people discuss beliefs ( doesn't exist outside of the internet)

Answer 13

Cowan ( 2005) Pagans gained a sense of self worth from feeling they belonged to a global network

Answer 14

Postmodern society involves the idea that we now construct our identities through what we consume.

Answer 15

We are 'spirtual shoppers' who pick and pick mix elements of different faiths to suit our tastes and make them part of our identity, untill something more fashionable comes along.

Answer 16

While people may not belong to religious organisations, they haven't abandoned religion. Instead they've become 'religious consumers', making conscious choices about which elements of religion they find useful.

Answer 17

(Ammerman, 1987) made use of a number of churches without giving strong loyalty to any. One family attended services at a Methodist church, bereavement counselling at a Baptist church, while taking their children to another church for daycare.

Answer 18

causes a loss of faith of metannaritves, there is no authoritative absolute truth. Because people are scepital that any are true.

Answer 19

Berger Weakens traditional religions that claim a monopoly of the truth, as many competititng truths so religious dominations who claim this decline as they lose authority Lyon ( PM) Decline of traditional churches isn't the end of religion. - In their place, many new religious movements are springing up which the religious consumer can sample from which they can construct their own personal belief.

Answer 20

Re-enchantment of the world | Self religions and the new age

Answer 21

Lyon sees recent decades as a period of re-enchantment, with the growth of unconventional beliefs and practices. Traditional religion has declined in Europe, but there is a growth of non-traditional religion in west.

Answer 22

It assumes that religion is declining and being replaced by a disenchanted rational scientific worldview.

Answer 23

Many forms of new religon are New age beliefs and practices. Rejects the idea of obligation and obedience to external authority found in traditional religions. Instead, it emphasizes personal development and one's inner self.

Answer 24

Its key idea is individualism - everyone is free to decide for themselves what is true. This is why new age beliefs have been called self-spirituality.

Answer 25

Spiritual reveloution

Answer 26

Sociologists argue this is taking place where traditional christanity is giving way to a New Age spirtuality that emphasises personal development.

Answer 27

The spiritual market is growing with many books on self-help, therapy, and meditation

Answer 28

Heelas and Woodhead.

Answer 29

studied Kendal to investigate whether traditional religion has declined and how far the growth of spirtuality is compensating for this. They distingusish between two groups?

Answer 30

The congregational domain ( of traditional and evangelical church) The holistic milieu ( of spirituality and the New age)

Answer 31

Religion emphasizes conforming to church authority whereas Spirituality focuses on personal development and autonomy.

Answer 32

They found in a typical week in 2000, 7.9% of the population attended church ( the congregational domain) and 1.6% took part in spiritual activities ( The holistic milieu)

Answer 33

Within the congregational domain, the traditional churches were losing support, while evangelical churches were holding their own. Although fewer peole were involved in holistic milieu, it was growing.

Answer 34

1) Evangelical churches are demanding but focus on self improvement and personal growth. 2) People don't like traditional religions with high demand duty. 3) Shift away from doing your duty and obeying to external authority, to exploring your inner self by following spiritual path.

Answer 35

Bruce he argues that the new age is too weak to fill the gap left by the decline of traditional religion for 4 reasons: the scale, socialization, weak commitment and structural weakness.

Answer 36

The growth of New age religions would have to be on a much larger scale to fill the gap left by the decline in tradtional religion.

Answer 37

A belief system can only survive if it is passed down to the next generation. Yet in Kendal's study only a minority of new agers' children shared their parents belief.

Answer 38

Serious commitment to New Age is rare.

Answer 39

New Age spirituality is a cause of secularization because of its individualism. It lacks cohesion because everyone is free to believe whatever they wish. ( lacks external power and cannot achieve consensus.

Answer 40

New age religions lack consensus on belief like Durkheim states, there isn't a power to believe in.

Answer 41

Stark and Bainbridge (1985) they are critical of the secularisation theory they argue that it is to Eurocentric.

Answer 42

It focuses of the decline of religion in Europe but fails to explain its continuity in America and elsewhere.

Answer 43

It is a 'distorted view' of the past and future. Stark and Bainbridge argue there was no golden age of religion in the past, as secularization describes and not everyone will end up a atheist in the future.

Answer 44

1) People are naturally religious and religion meets human needs. People make rational choices based on the costs and benefits of the available religious options?

Answer 45

It offers us with supernatural compensators when real rewards are unobtainable e.g. promising life after death.

Answer 46

Religion tends to follow through cycles, temporary periods of secularization and then a revival due to new religions and New age movements, rather than a golden age then gradually stopping.

Answer 47

competition leads to improvements in the quality of the religious goods on offer, churches that are not responsive will decline.

Answer 48

The supply led religion that promotes rewards in life, also lots of choice means that religion willl boom this is different to secularization theorists who say that lots of choice will lead to decline in religion.

Answer 49

Demand increases where there is choicr, because consumers can find one that meets there needs. Thats why USA have strong religion because of a healthy market exists where relgious grow or decline according to consumer demand.

Answer 50

Because there is a religious monopoly, as in Most European countries r.g. COE lack of choice has led to a decline

Answer 51

It is the supply, ( secularization theorists say its the demand). Participation increases when supply increases for religious groups and declines when supply gets restricted.

Answer 52

Hadden and Shupe Finke Stark

Answer 53

the growth of televangelism in the US shows that the level of religious participation is supply led. Televangelism responded to consumer demand by preaching a 'prosperity gospel'

Answer 54

Lifiting restrictions for migration from Asian nations, introduced religions such as Hare Krishna which became popular with consumers.

Answer 55

Japan is another state where diversity has encouraged paritcptation. After the de-regulation of religion after ww2 , new religions had thrived such as Soka Gakkai ( a form of buddism)

Answer 56

Bruce Norris and Inglehart Beckford

Answer 57

Stark and Bainbridge misinterpret secularisation theory. The theory doesn't claim a 'golden age' of religion and did not say it is universal.

Answer 58

show that high levels of religious participation exist in catholic countries where the Church has a near monopoly such as Venzuela, compared to countries with pluralism such as Holland, often have low levels of participation. So there is a contradiction.

Answer 59

It is unsociological because it assumes people are 'naturally religious', it is a choice not natural.

Answer 60

Existential security theory by Norris and Inglehart (2004)

Answer 61

reject religious market theory on the grounds that it only applies to America and fails to explain the variations in religiosity between societies.

Answer 62

They argue the that the reason for such variations is not due to different degrees of religious choice, but different degrees of existential security ( the feeling that survivial is secure enough.) Therefore societites that feel secure are less religious.

Answer 63

where people feel life threatening risks such as famine and disease so there is large numbers of insecurity.

Answer 64

Where people have higher standards of living and are at less risk, have a sense of security.

Answer 65

Thus demand for religion is not constant it varies between societies. Demand is highest with low income groups and societies and lowest with high income groups and societies.

Answer 66

Western Europe is becoming secular because these societies are relatively equal and secure, with developed welfare states which reduce insecurity among the poor.

Answer 67

This is because America is also the most uequal of the rich societies, with high levels of poverty and a weak welfare system.

Answer 68

Gill and Lundegaarde ( 2004) the more a country spends on welfare the less religious a nation is. This is because religion used to provide for the poor, now this done by the government. Thus USA is more secular than European countries as they spend less.

Answer 69

Uruguay has high diversity but low participation. They also have a well developed welfare system.

Answer 70

1) existential security theory is based on income, not peoples definition of security 2) They see religious participation as a negative response to deprivation, ignoring the positives and the appeal to the wealthy.