Religious Renewal

Question 1

What are the 4 reasons for societies experiencing Religious Renewal?

Answer 1

• people practice religion privately
• people are spiritual shoppers
• postmodernism
• “spiritual revolution”

Question 2

What is Religious Renewal?

Answer 2

The view that religion is not in decline, instead it is changing

Question 3

According to Davie (2013), what does people practicing religion privately lead to? (religious renewal)

Answer 3

Davie believes that big religious institutions such as X are still dominant in Europe. However, nowadays people “believe without belonging”, fewer people now attend church but does mean they are less religious. Choose to prayer privately. People have moved away from an obligation in religion, in the past people felt attending church was compulsory but now it is a personal choice

Question 4

According to Davie (2013), what is a vicarious religion? (practicing privately)?

Answer 4

In UK, vicarious religion has become norm. There is an active minority of people who attend church who are doing on behalf of the majority, who are believing without belonging. Religion has now become a spiritual health service where people access churches when they really need to.
For example there is a surge is Church attendance at Christmas

Question 5

Evaluation of the view that people practicing privately has lead to religious renewal?

Answer 5

Bruce says that declining in church attendance is a sign of declining religion

Question 6

According to Hervieu-Lerger (2006), how are people turning into spiritual shoppers? (religious renewal)

Answer 6

Traditional X is giving way to a ‘holistic spirituality’ whereby New Age beliefs are emphasising personal development. This has lead to a ‘spiritual market’ whereby there has been an explosion of books on self help such as crystal healing. This is connected to individualism

Question 7

According to Hervieu-Lerger (2006), how has society undergone cultural amnesia? (spiritual shoppers, religious renewal)

Answer 7

Where society has lost the collective memory of religion. No longer is religion is being passed on through generations. Instead, people are spiritual shoppers who are able to browse a range of religious and spiritual services

Question 8

According to Hervieu-Lerger (2006), what are the two types of spiritual shopper? (religious renewal)

Answer 8

• pilgrims

- converts

Question 9

According to Hervieu-Lerger (2006), what are pilgrims? (spiritual shoppers, religious renewal)

Answer 9

People on an individual journey of self discovery, more likely to show interest in New Age movements

Question 10

According to Hervieu-Lerger (2006), what are converts? (spiritual shoppers, religious renewal)

Answer 10

People who gravitate towards traditional faith groups to enable a sense of belonging. For example Evangelism describe themselves as “born again Christians”

Question 11

Evaluation of the claim that spiritual shoppers has lead to religious renewal?

Answer 11

Pilgrims who pay for these weird services who are not religious

Question 12

According to Lyon (2000), how is religion adapting to a postmodern society?

Answer 12

Religion is becoming a diverse religious product which has to market to consumers. Postmodernity is characterised by individualism, relativity of knowledge and a diversity of culture so religion has to change

Question 13

According to Lyon (2000), what are 4 ways in which religion must adapt to a postmodern society?

Answer 13

• globalisation
• online religious services
• consumerism
• self religion

Question 14

According to Lyon (2000), how has globalisation meant that religion has had to adapt to a postmodern society?

Answer 14

Interconnected of countries. Religion has become disembedded from its country of origin and is transmitted across the globe via the internet. For example, online communities such as “E Churches” allow people to access religion

Question 15

According to Lyon (2000), how has online religious serivces meant that religion has had to adapt to a postmodern society (two approaches)?

Answer 15

Two ways:

• top down approach where religious organisations use the internet to share services
• “cyber religions” whereby communities exist entirely online

Question 16

According to Lyon (2000), how has consumerism meant that religion has had to adapt to a postmodern society?

Answer 16

People are able to shop around in the religious sphere and choose what to practice. People can “pick and mix” from a range of different beliefs; for example some people may prayer the traditional way whilst engaging in New Age movements

Question 17

According to Lyon (2000), how has self religions meant that religion has had to adapt to a postmodern society?

Answer 17

People no longer see prayer as worshipping a higher power, but see it as a way of developing oneself. For example, some people no longer pray to respect God but to instead calm oneself

Question 18

According to Lyon (2000), how has a postmodern society lead to a re-enchantment of religion within society?

Answer 18

In a postmodern world, religion has become re-enchanted with society meaning as society changes, so does religion

Question 19

Evaluation of the claim that religion is now operating in a postmodern society?

Answer 19

-online services are most likely supplementary to traditional services

Question 20

According to Heelas and Woodhead (2005), how has society undergone a spiritual revolution?

Answer 20

Allege that peoples approach towards spirituality is drastically changing. They do not agree that religion is privately thriving instead, there is a growing market place of new spiritual activities. “The Kendal Project” alleges a growth in holistic milieu meaning a variety of services are available to meet peoples needs and bodies

Question 21

According to Heelas and Woodhead (2005), what did “The Kendal Project” suggest?

Answer 21

People were falling out of love with traditional christianity and wanted to follow newer teachings such as Evangelism as their worship appealed to younger people. Evangelism takes a more lively approach to worship by dancing and emphasises importance on personal and spiritual growth.

Question 22

According to Heelas and Woodhead (2005), what did “The Kendal Project” suggest about people who took more of a spiritual approach?

Answer 22

Some people took an interest in the growing availability of New Age Movements which emphasised personal development and self help. In Kendal, there was demand for services such as therapies, meditation and future telling.
People preferred the characteristics of spiritual movements to those of traditional religions that encouraged respect to others

Question 23

Evaluation of the view that society has undergone a spiritual revolution?

Answer 23

-New Age Movement are no where near as popular as traditional religions

Question 24

What are the two theories seeking to explain why organised religion continues to thrive in some countries? (religious renewal)

Answer 24

• Religious market theory

- existential security

Question 25

According to Stark and Bainbridge (1986), what is the religious market theory?

Answer 25

Propose that most secularisation theories are eurocentric, meaning they only focus on western European countries. They make two key assumptions about people

Question 26

According to Stark and Bainbridge (1986), what are the two assumptions they make about people? (religious market theory)

Answer 26

• most people are naturally spiritual and being apart of a movement helps meet basic needs
• humans weigh up the rewards and costs of being part of a religious system

Question 27

According to Stark and Bainbridge (1986), what are the 4 explanations as to why people in America are still devoutly religious? (religious market theory)

Answer 27

• religion as a compensator
• religion has undergone cycles of renewal
• religion in the USA is supply led
• no religion had a monopoly over thinking

Question 28

According to Stark and Bainbridge (1986), how does religion act as a compensator? (religious market theory)

Answer 28

Life in the USA is vastly unequal and many people face blocked opportunity. Not everyone can achieve the American dream. To make up for this, people have a faith, compensating for the lack of material reward in real life.

Question 29

According to Stark and Bainbridge (1986), how has religion undergone cycles of renewal in the USA? (religious market theory)

Answer 29

Where Christian groups find their support dwindling, they get creative, seeking to rebrand themselves and to recruit new members. Therefore, Churches compete against each other for membership in a business like way

Question 30

According to Stark and Bainbridge (1986), how is religion supply led? (religious market thoery)

Answer 30

Churches, like businesses, have to adapt to their congregations in order to keep up with demand. For example, when TV became the norm people began to stay at home now, churches then had to provide televangelist services for their followers

Question 31

According to Stark and Bainbridge (1986), how does no religion in the USA have a monopoly over the population? (religious market theory)

Answer 31

In Europe, Catholicism dominated and had a monopoly over thinking. In the USA, however, no religion had this dominant role meaning a competitive market place still existed

Question 32

Evaluation of the religious market theory of religious renewal?

Answer 32

Fact that X has had to work so hard to compete for members show it is really in decline.

Question 33

According to Norris & Inglehart (2011), what is the exstitential security theory?

Answer 33

They propose that religion is still thriving in many parts of the world and this is down to how secure people feel in their existence. People whose lives face few threats are less likley to be religious compared to those who face few threats (war, conflict, poverty). Relgion offers people salvation in the after life, thus compensating for the difficulties they face.
Explains in the USA too, who offer little welfare support compared to Western European countries (free healthcare e.c.t.)

Question 34

Evaluation of the exstitential security theory?

Answer 34

Has a negative view on why people are religious