secularisation Flashcards
changes to religion since 1851
an increase in the average age of church goers
fewer baptisms and church weddings
a decline in the proportion of the population going to church
greater diversity, including non christian religion
secularisation
wilson - ‘the process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose social significance’
evidence that britain has become a secular society:
church attendance
sunday attendance fell from 1.6 million to 0.7 million in 2020
in 1971, 59% of weddings were in church, compared to 20% in 2018
bogus baptisms - infant baptisms have declined but older children being baptised has increased as an entry ticket to high performing faith schools
evidence that britain has become a secular society:
religious affiliation
between 1983 and 2018, the proportion of adults with no religion rose from just under 1/3 to just over 1/2
those identifying as christian fell by 40%
evidence that britain has become a secular society:
religious belief
surveys show a significant decline in belief in a personal god and in christian teachings about the after life and the bible
evidence that britain has become a secular society:
religious institutions today
the state has taken over many of the functions that the church used to perform - religion is confined to individual and family life
education provided mainly by the state
explanations of secularisation
modernisation - decline of tradition and its replacement with rational and scientific ways of thinking
industrialisation - leads to the breakup of small communities that were held together by common religious beliefs
religious diversity - undermines both the authority of religious institutions and the credibility of religious beliefs
weber - rationalisation
rationalisation refers the to the process by which rational ways of thinking and acting have come to replace religious ones
medieval catholic worldview - europe saw the world as an enchanted garden. god and other spiritual beings and forces were believed to be present in the world, changing the course of events through their supernatural powers. humans could try and influence these forces through prayers and spells
protestantism saw god as transcendent and although he created the world, he did not intervene it and left it to run according to its own laws of nature
disenchantment - the retreat of magic and myth from social life
the protestant reformation began the disenchantment of the world because it enabled science to thrive, giving humans more power to control nature
bruce - technological worldview
the growth of a technological worldview has replaced religious or supernatural explanations of why things happen. for example, when a plane crashes, we are unlikely to regard it as the work of evil spirits, instead we look for scientific and technological explanations
this leaves little room for religious explanations in everyday life, which only survive in areas where technology is least effective - illness with no cure
parsons - structural differentiation
a process of specialisation that occurs with the development of industrial society - separate, specialised institutions develop to carry out functions that were previously performed by a single institution
disengagement - religious functions are transferred to other institutions such as the state and it becomes disconnected from wider society. the church has lost influence over the law and education
bruce - religion has become privatised - confined to the private sphere of the home and family. religious beliefs are now largely a matter of personal choice and religious institutions have lost much of their influence on wider society
social and cultural diversity
decline of community - wilson argues that in pre industrial communities, shared values were expressed through collective religious rituals that integrated individuals and regulated their behaviour. when religion lost its basis in local communities, it lost its vitality and its hold over individuals
industrialisation - bruce sees industrialisation as undermining the consensus of religious beliefs that hold small communities together. give way to large loose knit urban communities with diverse beliefs and values. social and geographic mobility break up communities and create more diversity
diversity of occupations and cultures - bruce argues that the plausibility of beliefs is undermined by alternatives and individualism because the plausibility of religion depends on the existence of a practising community of believers
criticisms of the decline of community
aldridge points out that community does not have to be in a particular area:
religion can be a source of identity on a world wide scale - jewish, hindu and muslim communities
some religious communities are imagined communities that interact through global media
pentecostal religions tend to flourish in social areas
cultural defence and transition
cultural defence - where religion provides a focal point for the defence of national, ethnic or local identity in a struggle against an external force such as a hostile foreign power - popularity of catholicism in poland before the fall of communism
cultural transition - where religion provides support and a sense of community for ethnic groups such as migrants from a different country to culture
bruce argues that religion only survives in such situations because it is a focus for a group identity
