Secularisation Flashcards
What is secularisation
The idea that society has become less religious
Evidence for secularisation - decline in the power of the church
In the past the power of the church was unquestioned. However in recent times, the power of the church has greatly declined. The church was a dominant institution with power wealth and status. Church leaders used their power and influence over many secular institutions from education to politics. Individuals can now live their lives without any connection to religious institutions.
Evidence for secularisation - Bruce evidence for disengagement and church losing power
1 - churches are in ruins or have been turned into restaurants, pubs etc
2 - the church has seen a massive decline in people joining the clergy or church and these jobs are now poorly paid
3 - the church has much less political influence than before - government do not listen to advice of scientists
4 - the church has been replaced by the media as providers of information to the masses
Criticisms of Bruce and church losing its power
Employment by the church does still hold some status and furthermore the church does influence politics which can be seen in the growth of influence of the New Christian Right in the US
Evidence for secularisation - decline in religious beliefs
The decline of religious beliefs is visible in a variety of ways. Sociologists like Wilson suggest that a large portion of of societys thoughts were preoccupied with the supernatural and superstition eg Salem witch trials. Today the majority of evidence suggests that people have moved away from this thinking and science has replaced religion for many aspects of peoples belief system (Bruce)
Evidence for secularisation - opinion polls
Opinion polls suggest there is a general decline in religious belief. In 2005 a UK survey showed 38% people still believed there was a god compared with between 60 and 70% in the 1980s
Criticism of using opinion polls
Problems of measurement. Social desirability bias, open lying and also problems with the interpretation
Evidence of secularisation - decline of religious practices
Some sociologists suggest one of the strongest pieces of evidence is decline of religious practices. Rapid decline in membership of the church organisation, marriages, funerals and sunday schools.
Brierley says the high point for churches in the UK was the 20th century with 28% of adult members and by 2015 this had dropped to 10% with only 2% going to church on a Sunday
Criticism of decline of religious practices
Majority of evidence suggesting that church attendance is in decline is based on official stats which may not be valid or reliable
Evidence for secularisation - growth of new religious movements
Wilson says this is evidence for secularisation as they are only superficially religious. NRMs are commerical, self centered and manipulationist concerns of post industrial society. They are secular pretending to be religious
Criticism of growth of NRMs
Eldridge says not all NRMs are self centred and indulgent and that Wilson is overly dismissive of NRMs
Postmodernist view of secularisation
Lyotard suggests that in a post modernist era, grand narratives provided by science and religion have collapsed so religion and its universal claim to the truth has been undermined
Evidence against secularisation - agreement on definition and measurement
Sociologists can not agree on how to define or measure secularisation. If we cannot agree on how to measure it then how can we say that it is happening
Two versions of secularisation
Woodhead and Heelas
Disappearance thesis - modernity has brought about a reduced significance of religion for the individual and for society, and religion is in decline and eventually will disappear
Differentiation thesis - religion is no longer of significance to society as a whole, but continues to have some significance in peoples lives
Evidence against secularisation - golden age
What if there was never a golden age of religion, religion might never have been that important in society eg evidence that ruling classes were religious but no evidence for the working classes
Evidence against secularisation - ethnic minorities actually increasing in religion
Ethnic migration religious participations is actually increasing in Britain. Maybe due to immigration. eg on 2011 census the number of muslims had grown by 1.5 mil people in just 10 years
Evidence against secularisation - growth of NRMs
Religion is not declining but changing
Evidence against secularisation - believing but not belonging
It could be that religion has changed to become a private rather than public matter. For example Davie in a survey between 1980-2000 found 60% said they were religious so clearly they are religious but dont engage in public practices
Evidence against secularisation - Bruce says secularisation is confined to Europe, but Australasia is flourishing
1 - Christian and Islamic Fundamentalism is on the rise globally
2 - USA and internal secularisation - Hunt says 90% of Americans believe in God and 40% attend a religious institution
3 - Religious market theory - rational choice way up whether cost vs benefit
4 - Existential security theory
