secularisation

Question 1

Crockett (1998)

Answer 1

there has been an huge decline in the number of worshippers in church on a Sunday in the UK since 1988.

Question 2

what evidence is there to suggest secularisation in the UK.

Answer 2

• A decline in proportion of the population going to church or belonging to one.
• An increase in the average age of churchgoers
• fewer baptism and church weddings.
• number of clergy

Question 3

secularisation

Answer 3

refers to the decline in the importance of religion.

Question 4

Wilson

Answer 4

argued that western societies had been undergoing a long-term process of secularisation. he defined secularisation as “the process whereby religious beliefs, practises and institutions lose social significance.

Question 5

church attendance today

Answer 5

By 2015 5% of the adult population attended church on Sundays. churchgoing in Britain has therefore more than halved since Wilson’s since Wilson’s research in the 1960s.

Question 6

The English Census (2006)

Answer 6

shows that attendances at large organisations such as the church of England and the catholic church have declined more than small organisations

Question 7

church weddings

Answer 7

In 1971, 60% of weddings where in church, by 2012 the proportion was only 30%. the number weddings in catholic churches fell by threequarters between 1965 and 2011.

Question 8

Bogus baptisms

Answer 8

while infant baptisms have declined, those of older children have increased in recent years. research indicates that this is because of faith schools, which tend to be higher-performing schools, will only take baptised children. this means that baptism thus becomes an entry ticket to a good school rather than a sign of Christian commitment.

Question 9

religious affiliation

Answer 9

refers to the membership of or identification with a religion.

Question 10

the clergy

Answer 10

during the 29th century, this fell from 45,000 to 34,000. Had it kept pace with population growth, the clergy would be now number over 80,000. the number of catholic priests fell by a third between 1965 and 2011.

Question 11

What are the processes of secularisation

Answer 11

rationalisation, structural differentiation ,social diversity and religious diversity.

Question 12

what does Bruce predict will happen to the Methodist church and the church of England

Answer 12

the church will fold around 2030 and by then the church of England will be merely a small voluntary organisation with a large amount of heritage property

Question 13

processes to explain secularisation

Answer 13

rationalisation, structural differentiation, social diversity and religious diversity

Question 14

rationalisation

Answer 14

refers to the process by which rational ways of thinking replace religious ones.

Question 15

weber- rationalisation

Answer 15

he argued the protestant reformation begun by martin Luther in the 16th century started a process of rationalisation.

Question 16

how did rationalisation undermine religion

Answer 16

this process undermined the religious worldview of the middle ages and replaced it with rational scientific outlook in modern society

Question 17

How did weber believe the medieval catholic see the world

Answer 17

as an enchanted garden.

Question 18

what did Catholics believed existed in the world with humans.

Answer 18

God and other spiritual beings and forces such as angels and the devil were believed to be present and active in this world changing the course of events through their powers.

Question 19

AO3 for rationalisation:

Answer 19

technology has had more of an impact.

Question 20

disenchantment

Answer 20

protestants saw God as transcendent (existing above and beyond) who lives and exists beyond this world whereas Catholics saw God as being an interventionist God.

Question 21

interventionist God

Answer 21

this means that God created the world but then allowed the natural world to exist independently.

Question 22

God is a watchmaker

Answer 22

who created the watch or the world but left it to run on its own forces. people where left to work out how the watch world works through scientific methods to find out how the world operated- this then les to rational explanations of the world.

Question 23

structural differentiation

Answer 23

parsons defines this as the process of specialisation that occurs when the development of the industrialisation- this means religion became less significant as society became more industrialised

Question 24

what does parsons argue that structural differentiation leads to

Answer 24

leads to disagreement of religion .

Question 25

what does Bruce believe has happened to religion

Answer 25

religion has become separate from wider society and lost many of its former functions.as religion is a personal choice-rituals and symbols have lost meaning

Question 26

decline of community

Answer 26

decline in community from pre-industrial to industrial society brings about the decline of community and this contributes to the decline of religion.

Question 27

what does Wilson argue about the decline of community?

Answer 27

Wilson argues that pre- industrial communities, share values were expressed through collective conscience rituals that integrated individuals and regulated their behaviour

Question 28

A03 for structural differentiation

Answer 28

technological worldview may be more significant or important in contributing and explaining secularisation

Question 29

religious diversity

Answer 29

Berger- in the middle ages the catholic church had no competition. As a result, everyone lived under a set of beliefs. after industrialisation there was more diversity of belief this means that people began to question the plausibility of religion and moved away from religion.

Question 30

A03 of religious diversity

Answer 30

people may have been conformists and forced into being religious

Question 31

Beckford

Answer 31

argues that religious diversity will lead to question or even abandon their religious beliefs

Question 32

what counter trends does Bruce identify which go against the secularisation theory.

Answer 32

1. going to religion for cultural defence

2. cultural transition different ethnic group religion helps group identity

Question 33

Hadaway

Answer 33

if 40% of Americans were going to church they would be completely full but they are not

Question 34

secularisation from within

Answer 34

Bruce argues that American religion has adjusted to the modern world by secularising from within. this means the traditional Christian beliefs have declined and religion has been turned into a type of therapy or has become psychologised.

Question 35

religious diversity

Answer 35

church goers are becoming less dogmatic (strict) in their view. Bruce identified a trend towards practical relativism-different view among American Christians, a view where others are entitled to hold beliefs that are different to one’s own

Question 36

criticisms of secularisation theory

Answer 36

• religion is not declining it is changing form
• secularisation theory ignores the growth of new religion
• religion may have declined in Europe but not globally