Secularisation Flashcards
Religious Practice - Evidence of Secularisation in UK
Less people attending churches, sunday schools & weddings & baptism all declining.
Secularisation
When religious thinking, practice & institutions lose signifcance
How do we know that secularisation is happening - Evidence FOR secularisation
> Popularity
Plausability
Power
Why has secularisation happened? Evidence FOR
> Rationalisation
Structural Differentiation
Social & Cultural Diversity
Religious Diversity
Rationalisation - Weber
> Due to industrialisation, people use science, logical and evidence based ways of thinking not religion & supernatural, move from medieval Catholic worldview to modern Protestant worldview
Disenchantment - Weber
> ‘Magical’ element of religion has disappeared
> People have stopped believing in ‘magical’ figures like angels
Technological Worldview - Bruce
> No longer see bad events as God’s punishment, but scientific explanations, reducing scope for religious explanations
> Religion only used when technology ineffective e.g prayer for incurable cancer
Parsons – Structural Differentiation
Church performed variety of functions eg. education, caring for sick & poor, but replaced by NHS & Education, provided by the state
Disengagement - Structural differentiation (Parsons)
> Church now disconnected from wider society
> People no longer engage with it on a daily basis
Privatisation - Structural Differentiation (Bruce)
> Religious belief privatised in home & family is now matter of personal choice
> Traditional rituals & symbols have lost meaning.
Controlled by State -Structural Differentiation (Parsons)
> Even where religion is involved in education/welfare, needs to conform to state controls
> e.g. teachers must have qualifications recognised by state
> Church lost political power, separate from state in modernity
Social & Cultural Diversity - Wilson
Decline of Community & Industrialisation
Diversity
Individualism
Decline of Community & Industrialisation - Wilson
Local communities shared rituals, reinforcing social solidarity. Industrialisation destroyed stability & religious basis for society.
Sacred Canopy
In pre-industrial society, Catholic Church had no competition, all lived under same unquestioned shared beliefs.
Plausibility Structure - Berger
> Plausibility of all religious views are undermined with multiple versions of the ‘’truth’’
> People fearful of choosing wrong truth so chosen none or create pick n mix of beliefs
Evidence Against Secularisation - Secularisation is not happening
> Cultural Defence
Cultural Transition
Fundamentalism
Resacrilisation & Reenchantment
Religious Market Theory
Existential Security Theory
Cultural Defence - Bruce
> Religion gives a focal point for defence of national identity in struggle with external forces e.g. hostile foreign power.
> Using religion to defend against a racist, hostile environment.
> e.g. the resurgence of Islam before the revolution in Iran in 1979.
Cultural Transition - Bruce
Gives sense of community and support for Black, Asian and minority ethnic people living in a different country & culture e.g. Muslims in UK
Fundamentalism
Taking the literal approach to following religious texts
Examples of growth of religious fundamentalism
New Christian Right in USA
Resacrilisation
A renewal and continuing vitality of religious beliefs - shifting from traditional religions to a more individualistic spirituality centered on the self.
Reenchantment
People are now starting to believe in the magical elements of some forms of new religious movements
Religious Market Theory
> Demand for religion increases when there are more different religions to choose from.
Where there is a religious monopoly, it leads to a decline in religion.
Existential Security Theory
> The presence of a strong welfare state acts as a safety net for them to turn to.
> When there is no such safety net, they turn to religion for comfort and support.
