Secularisation Flashcards
‘Golden age of religiosity’
1851 - census of religious worship 40% of adult population attended church
How has church attendance changed in the ‘golden age of religiosity’?
It has decreased (6.3% in 2005)
When asked ‘would you describe yourself as being of any religion or denomination’? 1950 - 23% said no
1996 - 43% sad no
Rationalisation - ‘enchanted garden’
Weber argued the medieval world view was of an ‘enchanted garden’ with angels and devils
Rationalisation - Protestant Reformation
Ideas were challenged by a more rational view. They saw God as transcendent rather than interventionist - began to consider a more scientific way
Rationalisation - Example
Disease could be explained scientifically and cured by applying our knowledge of the human body and the way it works.
No longer need to [ray for healing
more technology = less need for God
(disenchantment)
Rationalisation - Bruce
Supernatural explanations have been replaced with technological worldview - e.g. if a ship sinks its not evil spirits, but probably unusual weather patterns
Structural Differentiation
Parsons - large institutions (church) have been replaced with small ones (wedding planners) = no longer need church
Leads to disengagement of religion - privatized
Social and Cultural Diversity
Bruce - now live in large urban communities = diverse groups which each have their own different values and beliefs
Social and Cultural Diversity - how it undermines religion
We recognise alternative values to those we have been taught = begin to question whether our beliefs are right
Religious Diversity
Berger - middle ages only the catholic church and it was never questioned. The protestant reformation encouraged people to think for themselves = formed their own types of churches
Undermines the plausibility of religion
Cultural Transition
Bruce - religion provides support and a sense of community amongst migrants
E.g. catholic churches are meeting points for eastern European migrants in the UK
Cultural Defence
Provides a focal point for the defence of a group identity - e.g. the importance of church to slaves or the civil rights movement
Berger - diversity can cause interest
Diversity can stimulate interest and participation in religion - e.g. New Christian Right in US united people in fear of Islam
Meeting someone with opposing views can strengthen their own beliefs
New Age beliefs
It doesn’t really reverse the trend of secularisation as its about people finding themselves and no about their ‘duty’ to God and conforming to traditional values
Exclusivist and inclusivist interpretation of religion
exclusivist - it is in decline
inclusivist - many people still look for a spiritual meaning, even though its not through religious channels
Methodological problems
Problems assessing data - e.g. the way questions are asked can change the information obtained = comparing surveys are unreliable
Methodological problems - census
the main householder will probably fill in data on behalf of young people, and list them as ‘Christian’ but they may not be
Methodological problems - cultural
Difficult to decide whether a survey can represent the country as a whole - e.g. deprived inner city London may receive different results to a similar area in another city, because of the high numbers if immigrants
Methodological problems - history
Historical records aren’t reliable - e.g. few people could read or write, so the few records that do exist were based on the views of the privileged minority
