secularisation

Question 1

church attendance today (uk)

Answer 1

only 6% of the adult population attended church on Sundays in 2005, halving since the 1960s

Sunday school attendance, church weddings and baptisms are declining

religious affiliation is declining, since 1983 adults with no religion have risen from a third to a half

Question 2

religious institutions today (uk)

Answer 2

Wilson argues that western societies have been undergoing a long-term process of secularisation, where ‘religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose social significance’

Bruce agrees, the influence of religion as a social institution is declining:

• religion once affected every aspect of life, but now is relegated to the private sphere of individual and family
• the state has taken over many of the functions the church used to perform e.g. schooling

Question 3

explanations of secularisation

Answer 3

rationalisation
structural differentiation
social and cultural diversity
religious diversity
cultural defence and cultural transition

Question 4

rationalisation

Answer 4

the process by which rational ways of thinking and acting replace religious ones

Weber argues that western society has undergone a process of rationalisation in the last few centuries

the 16th century protestant reformation undermined the existing religious worldview which saw the world as an ‘enchanted garden’ in which god, angels etc. changes the course of events through their supernatural powers

disenchantment and a technological worldview

Question 5

what is disenchantment?

Answer 5

the protestant reformation brought a new worldview that saw god as existing above and outside the world, not as intervening in it

• events no longer explained as the work of unpredictable supernatural beings, but as the predictable workings of natural forces
• through reason and science, humans could discover the laws of nature, and understand and predict how the world works, religious explanation of the world no longer needed

Question 6

what is a technological worldview?

Answer 6

bruce argues that a technological worldview has largely replace religious explanations of why things happen

religious worldviews only survive in areas where technology is least effective e.g. praying for help if you are suffering from an incurable illness

Question 7

structural differentiation

Answer 7

parsons, a process that occurs with industrialisation as many specialised institutions develop to carry out the different functions previously performed by a single institution such as the church

religion dominated pre-industrial society, but has become a smaller and more specialsied institution

religion has become separated from wider society and privatised in the home and family, religious beliefs are now largely a matter of personal choice

church and state are usually separate in modern society, so the church uses political power

Question 8

religious diversity

Answer 8

Berger says secularisation caused by increase of religious diversity

in the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church held an absolute monopoly and had no challengers

since the 16th century protestant reformation, the number and variety of religious organisation has grown, each with a different version of the truth

religious diversity undermines religion ‘plausibility structure’ (believability), alternative versions of religion enable people to question all of them and erodes the absolute certainties of traditional religion

difficult to live in a world containing a large number of incompatible beliefs without concluding that none of them is wholly true

Question 9

analysis of religious diversity

Answer 9

opposing views can strengthen a religious groups commitment to its existing beliefs rather than undermining them

Question 10

analysis of technological worldview

Answer 10

although scientific explanations do not generally challenge religious beliefs directly, they have greatly reduced the scope for religious explanations

Question 11

cultural defence and cultural transition

Answer 11

bruce identifies two counter-trends that seem to contradict secularisation theory

cultural defence: religion provides a focus for the defence of national or ethnic group identity in a struggle against an external force, e.g. catholicism in Poland before the fall of communism

cultural transition: religion provides a sense of community for ethnic groups living in a different country and culture

Question 12

evaluation of cultural defence and cultural transition

Answer 12

bruce argues that cultural defence/transition don’t contradict secularisation theory, since religion only survives in these situation as a focus for group identity and not as an expression of religious faith

e.g. once communism had fallen in Poland, church attendance declined

Question 13

secularisation in the usa: wilson

Answer 13

1962 45% of Americans attend church on Sundays, but this was more of an expression of the ‘American way of life’ than of religious beliefs

america is a secular society because religion has become superficial

Question 14

secularisation in the usa: bruce

Answer 14

shares Wilson’s view, three sources of evidence to support his claim:

• declining church attendance
• secularisation from within
• religious diversity and relativism

Question 15

declining church attendance (usa)

Answer 15

opinions polls say 40% of population since 1940, but this may be exaggerated

Hadaway et el found that in one county in Ohio, attendance level claimed in opinion polls was 83$ higher than researchers actually counted going into church

tendency to exaggerate church going is a recent development

Question 16

secularisation from within

Answer 16

in america, the emphasis on traditional christian beliefs and glorifying god has declined, instead religion has become ‘psychologised’, a form of therapy

American religion has remained popular by becoming less religious, it has become secularised from within, its purpose has changed from seeking salvation in heaven to seeking personal improvement in this world

Question 17

religious diversity and relativism (us)

Answer 17

bruce identified practical relativism among American christians i.e. accepting that others are entitled to hold beliefs different to one’s own

lynd and lynd found in 1924 that 94% of churchgoing young people agree with the statement ‘christianity is the one true religion’, by 1977 only 41% agreed

absolutism has been eroded, we live in a society where many people hold views different to ours, undermining our assumption that our own views are absolutely true

Question 18

criticisms of secularisation theory

Answer 18

religion may have declined in Europe but not globally, so secularisation not universal

evidence of falling church attendance ignores people who don’t go to church

religion is not declining but simply changing its form

Question 19

criticisms of religious diversity (us)

Answer 19

berger has changed his views and now argues that diversity and choice actually stimulate interest and participation in religion e.g. growth of the new Christian Right in the USA show the continuing vitality of religion, not decline