Religion, renewal & choice Flashcards
1
Q
What are the two main alternatives to the secularisation theory?
A
- theories of late modernity & postmodernity (religion is not declining but merely changing as society develops)
- religious market theory (secularisation is only one stage of a constant cycle of secularisation, religious revival, renewal)
2
Q
What does Davie argue about religion?
A
- major change in religion, away from obligation and towards consumption or choice
- religion is not declining but simply taking a privatised form, people are reluctant to belong to organisations but still hold religious beliefs > believing without belonging
3
Q
How is consumption & choice shown according to Davie?
A
- shown in the trend towards vicarious religion
- argues that religion is only practiced by an active minority (regular churchgoers & clergy) on the behalf of a larger minority
- this majority thus experiences religion second hand hence the pattern of Britain’s low attendance rates at churches but many still identify with the churches
- PM means no longer stigma attached to not attending church
4
Q
How are major churches used as a spiritual health services according to Davie?
A
- similar to the NHS where it is there for people to use when they need it
- e.g. special services such as rituals, baptisms etc
5
Q
Evaluation of Davies view
A
- if she were right wewould expect to see higher levels of belief > Voas & Crockett found evidence from over 500 respondents showing that both church attendance and belief in God are declining together
- Bruce criticises Davie for underestimating the extent of secularisation > declining attendance reflects declining strength in beliefs rather than privatisation of religion
6
Q
How has choice affected religion according to Hervieu-Leger?
A
- argues the decline in religious tradition is as a result of cultural amnesia > religion is no longer handed down from generation to generation and parents let their children decide what they want to believe > no longer have fixed religious identity imposed on them through socialisation
- religion has not disappeared but individual consumerism has replaced collective tradition people have a choice as consumers of religion > become spiritual shoppers > pick & mix elements we wish to explore
7
Q
Evaluation of Hervieu-Leger on spiritual shopping
A
- assumes that individuals have freedom to choose their spiritual beliefs, ignores influence of social structures e.g. culture background etc
- Voas & Crockett
8
Q
What has sprung about according to Lyon as a result of decline in traditional churches?
A
- New age beliefs and practices
- which rejects many features found in traditional religion such as obligation & obedience but instead emphasises autonomy & connecting with ones inner self
- some sociologists argue that a ‘spiritual revolution’ is taking place in which traditional religion is giving way to new age spiritual beliefs in order to align with societies views on self improvement
9
Q
How is a spiritual revolution evident in society?
A
- evident through the growth of self-help & spirituality books whereby their is seen to be a new found focus on how people can self-improve using spiritual techniques e.g. crystal healing
- PM has allowed people to use religion as a tool for their own needs rather than those of their community as seen in the past
10
Q
Evaluation of Lyon views on the new age
A
- Glendinning & Bruce > extent of this change is minimal, found that serious commitment to New age beliefs and practices was very rare
- new age is structurally weak because its characteristics such as everyone is free to believe what they wish lacks cohesion as a movement > unlikely to fill the gap left by the decline of traditional religion
11
Q
What two assumptions is the religious market theory based on?
A
- people are naturally religious & religion meets human needs
- it is human nature to seek reward and avoid costs
12
Q
According to Stark & Bainbridge, why is religion attractive?
A
- provides us with compensators
- religion compensates by promising supernatural rewards such as life after death >only religion can provide such
- put forward a cycle of renewal where religions decline, revive (members grow) and renew (attract new members)
- secularisation theory ignores growth of new religions & revivals
13
Q
What do Stark & Bainbridge argue about religious competition?
A
- churches operate like companies selling goods in a market
- argue competition leads to improvements in the quality of religious goods on offer
- churches that make their product succeed will achieve in attracting more customers
- religion thrives in the US because there has never been a religious monopoly > greater variety of denominations to choose from = healthy religious market
14
Q
What do Stark & Bainbridge argue influences the level of religious participation?
A
- the supply
- participation increases when there is an ample supply of religious groups to choose from
15
Q
What evidence is there to support the development of supply based religion?
A
- Hadden & Sharpe argue the growth of televangelism shows how religious participation is supply led
- this implies that the demand for religion is influenced by the quality & variety of religions on offer as well as the extent to which it responds to peoples need
- e.g. postmodernity may mean peoples work schedule may not align with the schedule of religion
> Electronic church disembeds from real, local churches and relocates onto the internet - allowing believers to practice their faith without physically attending
- religion has become de-institutionalised as it changes to meet its purpose
16
Q
Evaluation of religious market theory
A
- Hoover et al > supports supply led religion and argues that for most users, online churches is used a supplement for their church based activities
- fail to explain how religion remains in decline in some regions where a supply of religious diversity exists e.g. Australia, UK & why religious participation is predominant in countries with religious monopolies e.g. Ireland
- assumes people behave like consumers in a marketplace > does not reflect spiritual or traditional reasons for religious commitment
- existential security
17
Q
What do Norris & Inglehart argue the reasons for variations in religiosity are due to?
A
- don’t believe it is due to different degrees of religious choice like S & B
- argue that is due to different degrees of existential security (the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted)
- e.g. rich societies where people already feel secure will have a lower level of demand for religion compared to poor societies where they face life threatening risk such as diseases
- explains why poor developing countries remain religious compared to western countries
18
Q
How do Norris & Inglehart explain why the American remains religious?
A
- maintain that it is due to insecurity
- because America have an inadequate welfare safety net & individualistic ‘dog eat dog’ values
- creates high level of poverty & insecurity > creates greater need for religion
19
Q
How do Gill & Lundegaarde support the existential security theory as the cause of Americas religiosity?
A
- found that the more a country spends on welfare the lower levels of religious participation
- thus European countries that spend more on welfare are more secular > more secure
20
Q
Evaluation of the existential security theory
A
- they see religion as a negative response to deprivation and ignore the positive reasons people have for religious participation
