Secularisation And Declining Religiosity

Question 1

It’s been found that more ______ attend ________ than _______ attend ________ in the U.K

Answer 1

Muslims, Mosque
Christians, Church
, this is Bierly’s research

Question 2

However, there’s been a rise in late…

Answer 2

Baptisms, perhaps to get kids in schools

Question 3

1/3 of Church of England priests are

Answer 3

Women

Question 4

Christian Church membership has dropped from the 19__s to 20__s by

Answer 4

1930s to 2010s
By 5 million

Question 5

There’ is however a symbolic role of the church in the U.K

Answer 5

Songs of praise, the house of Lords, the monarch’s affairs.
Is this worship of convention (or society itself) rather than faith.

Question 6

Spiritual shopping theory is by

Answer 6

Glock and Bellah

Question 7

There’s possibly a new spiritual revolution (Kendall project) expand on this, and who is responsible for the theory of consumerist religion

Answer 7

This comes from the comodifacation of religious rituals, tied to ‘spiritual shopping’
Practices are often mixed and self serving.
Davie: Religion is no longer an obligation but it gives people a sense of community, it means other practices outside of it are more palletable.

Question 8

“Spiritual health service” said by

Answer 8

Davie: In times of tragedy, celebrations and disunity, the church steps in and sees numbers rise.
Eg: Public mourning of Princess Diana, and the presence at weddings of priests.

Question 9

Postmodern religion is the idea of

Answer 9

Believing without belonging because of suspicion of the church, more accepted trust in science and the availability of alternative spiritual belonging.
Eg: because of globalisation, the sacred canopy (Berger) has confidence in it undemined, people are fragmented and cynical.

Question 10

This idea of a spiritual journey being consumerist might come from the globalised culture of ….

Answer 10

Individualism and capitalism

Question 11

Nancy Ammerman found what?

Answer 11

In her study in 1987, the Christian fundamentalists in America studied, reported being less specific about the church they attended, mixing them depending on their needs. Eg,
. Childcare
. Confessions
. Sermons

Question 13

Stark and Bainbridge state that religion’s power works in a cycle because sometimes there’s an

Answer 13

Appetite for answers no one has yet, so it revives and declines.

Question 14

The idea of the revival of religion being because of a lack of answers
(Eg: Stark and Bainbridge, the cyclical lifecycle of religious influences)
is undermined by the theory of civil religions by Bellah. How?

Answer 14

Conspiracy theory groups differ very little often to cults, which are in fact often just smaller religions.
The national institute of health in the U.S reported a massive Spike in conspiracy theories during the Covid 19 pandemic, of which governments made a point of explaining to the public.
In practice, conspiracy theory cultures and NAM are often intertwined.
For example, the theology and puesdohistory of Aliens influencing history is similar to the faith that guided ‘Heaven’s gate’.

Question 15

Examples of happenings in the world to refute the argument of secularisation

Answer 15

• Hindu nationalism and belief in cultural superiority. ‘Hindu sciences’ like astrology, are being taught in Indian universities.
• Iran and the rule of Sharia law after the 1979 Iranian revolution
• The New right in the U.S
• NAM,
  pick and mix, spiritual shopping theory, eg: Davie, the spiritual health service.

Question 16

What is the cycle of secularisation?

According to who?

Answer 16

Stark and Bainbridge.

Secularisation > Decline > Revival > Decline ⁸

Question 17

What is the example of poor research, that might bring into question statistics in relating to secularisation.

Explain the problem.

Answer 17

Hadaway et al

Tried to study church attendance rates by just counting the cars in the carpark, of which he would have had no clue why the cars were their and how many were in them.

Question 18

It’s estimated that today __% of young people are not religious, abstaining from practicing faith.

Answer 18

65%

Question 19

Half of all churches have no one under ___ attending

Answer 19

Under 20

Question 20

What are the 3 base reasons for a decline in religiosity in recent generations?

Explain them.

Answer 20

Socialisation:
Fewer and fewer people are being socialised with their family’s faith, the fading of religious practices by the 2nd generation of immigrant (which is typical) gives this credence.

Pragmatism:
It is not always feasible with the work loads demanded of people today, to attend and practice regularly.

Relatability:
The church is seen as stuffy, outdated and emblematic of continued bigotry. The more socially aware young people therefore see their sympathy with relatively modern tolerance as incompatable with religious institutions.

Question 21

Roof’s theory of the “___________ ________ _____________”

Is similar to Stark and Bainbridge’s “_________ __________ _______”

Answer 21

Expanding spiritual marketplace.

Religious market theory.

Question 22

According to the theory of the expanding spiritual market place
…

And who’s theory is this?

Answer 22

Religiosity is declining within the population only in terms of consistency, but spirituality has been reduced to trend chasing and self exploration.

Roof’s theory

Question 23

Rankin’s theory suggests what about young people’s relationship to their faith?

This is called by _______,
“_________ ________ ___________”

Answer 23

That young people are reluctant in a world where religion is seen as outdated, to identify as religious even if they’re sympathetic to it.

“Believing without belonging” - Davie

Question 24

What’s cultural defence theory?
By who

Answer 24

By Bruce

The theory that religiosity has not declined so much for minority groups because it both symbolically resists assimulationism and physically welcomes and supports them in countries that are often xenophobic or suspicious.

Question 25

What’s cultural transition theory?
By who?

Answer 25

By Bruce

The theory that religions for ethnic minorities can also be a welcoming assimulator if ‘cultural defence theory’ doesn’t appy instead.

Religious institutions might clothe, feed and make welcome immigrants creating a positive association with that nations faith community.

Question 27

Young people are more likely to view scripture more…

Answer 27

Flexibly.

Question 28

Liogier commentated on the youths interpretation of their faith and cultural practices and came up with a theory called …

This means…

Answer 28

Voluntary individualism theory

Young people express their religion more liberally, tying it mostly to their individual goals and journey of self discovery.
. Think about Mipsters!

Western commentators in particular are wrong in this respect at characterising religions like Islam out of Theocracies as bring dogmatically imposed and internalised by young people.

Question 29

What are the three key factors, that inform theories on why young people are becoming less interested in religion that you should remember?

Answer 29

• Socialisation is different
• Relatability with modern tolerance
• Pragmatism, the work ethic we’re funnelled into often doesn’t leave room for religious dedication

Question 30

Remember Davie’s comments on the young’s engagement in religion?

Answer 30

“Believing without belonging”

Question 31

Remember what Modod et al concluded about young people’s engagement with religion?

Answer 31

That the young viewed religious scripture more flexibly, they were synthesising their progressive attitudes with their typically conservative religious attitudes.

Question 32

Liogier’s theory of ‘_____________ ____________’

Answer 32

Voluntary individualism

Question 34

Remind yourself what are the 3 reasons Bruce gives for the latest generations not adopting religious commitments as much.

Answer 34

• Socialisation: Not being socialised with it, educated by it
• Pragmatism: Not having the time or energy
• Relatability: Not being able to reconcile it with modern sensibilities, or associating religion with the old or the very young.

Question 35

Bruce also comments on fundamentalism.

Remind yourself why this is worth considering in the

Answer 35

Fundamentalism in today’s world both supports and weakens the idea that the world is more secular.

(I) Fundamentalism may be the most extreme expression of religiosity but it is religiosity.

(II) Fundamentalism, as Bruce observed is a reaction to a perceived greater waning of religion (and God by extension) in society. Society has to be more secular to provoke religious fundamentalism being as militant as its proven itself to be in the 21st century.

Question 36

The “re-enchantment” of the world is a term by who?

what does it mean?

Answer 36

Lyon.

Commenting on Weber’s thesis of the increased disenchantment of the world, it refers to the growth of NAM and NRM in Western capitalist society as it becomes more alienating, the meta narrative wanes and people need something to hope for/believe in.