Secularisation Debate Flashcards
secularisation
The process in which religious thinking, practice and institutions lose social significance (Wilson, 1966)
secularisation
religous thinking
Refers to the influence of religion on people’s beliefs and values, such as the importance of religion on their lives, whether they see themselves as a religious person, whether they believe in things like God, spirits etc
secularisation
religous practice
Refers to things people do to carry out their religious commitment, such as the extent to which they actively participate in religious worship E.g. attending a Mosque
secularisation
religous institutions
Refer to the extent to which religious institutions have maintained their social influence in wider society, and how far they are involved in the day-to-day running of society
is secularisation occuring
religous participation and beliefs
wilson
Wilson argues that Britain there has been a decline in church attendance: · 1851 40% attended church, in 2010 regular church attendance was 6%. · Average age of church attender is now relatively old, 51. · Ceremonies such as weddings and Baptisms are dropping too. Only 32% of weddings now take place in a church. Under 20% of babies are now baptised. Although, statistics are problematic as different churches may measure participation in different ways, making comparisons difficult to make, and Church membership remains important in some areas e.g. in Northern Ireland 70% attend church; in America 40% attend church There has also been a decline in religious belief: The 2011 census for England and Wales revealed the number of people who say they are Christian has dropped dramatically from 72% to 59%. The number of people who say they have no religion has risen from 15% to 25%. Despite this, there has been a rise in the ‘sacred self’ whereby although people are not attending church, they are still ‘believing without belonging’ according to Davie. This means they are practicing their religion in a more personal, individual way on their own rather than in Church.
is securlisation occurring
religous disagreement
wilson
Wilson argues that religious organisations have seen a decline in their power, wealth, influence and prestige. There has been a decline in the political role of the church especially with regard to control of education and social welfare. These roles have now been taken over by specialist secular parts of the government. Parsons argues that due to this structural differentiation religion has become more specialised losing some functions but maintaining others such as in ceremonies around ‘hatching, matching and dispatching’. Additionally, more recently there has been an increase in faith schools signalling that religion may be growing in influence again with regard to education. Bruce also notes that the Church and State have now become more separate. Although the Queen is still the head of the Church of England, and Bishops still sit in the House of Lords, the Church has less influence over law-making than in the past as evidenced by the Same Sex Marriage Act (2014). Also, it is important to remember that although religion may be less influential in mainstream UK society, in other countries and cultures religion is still important e.g. Islamic states with Sharia law, some states in the US, the Republic of Ireland.
is secularisation occuring
religous puralism
wilson
Wilson argues that religious pluralism means that religion is no longer promoting value consensus or social solidarity, so it has lost its force as an integrating influence and so cannot unite members of society. This means that religion may have lost one of its key functions of bringing people together which is supported by statistics suggesting that Church attendance is in decline. Despite this, Davie suggests that although people may not be worshipping collectively as much as they did in the past, they may instead be believing without belonging and practicing religion in a more personal way. Bruce suggests that having lots of religions to choose from reinforces the idea that beliefs are a personal preference, a choice, an option. Choice leads to religions competing which undermines their credibility (how much we believe them). This is reflected in the growth of NRMs and NAMs, some of which can be seen as being based in consumerism and identity rather than a strong religious belief. Although the fact that there has been a growth in such movements might suggest that religious belief is not in decline, but instead is simply changing and taking new forms. The Kendal Project found that new age spirituality is growing whilst traditional beliefs are declining suggesting that although secularisation may be occurring in regard to traditional religions this is not true of newer religious movements
is securlisation occuring
desacrilisation and rarionalisation
wilson
Wilson suggests that as society is increasingly organised rationally, knowledge becomes based on reason and NOT faith. Religious ideas are not rational and cannot be tested and therefore people prefer rational, scientific explanations for phenomena. ‘Men act less and less in response to religious motivation: they assess the world in empirical and rational terms.’ Bruce agrees, citing the way that scientific discoveries are now used to explain many events such as earthquakes and health problems. However, more recently there has been a growing distrust of science as well i.e. with regard to the problems of GM crops, failure to cure diseases, the creation of health problems such as the Thalidomide scandal. Weber also argued that there is a process of ‘demystification’ (removal of mystery) and predicted there would be a ‘disenchantment of the world’ – this means that the world would increasingly become dominated by rational ideas and not by magic, mystery and the supernatural. Evidence from the Kendal Project disputes this idea though, as it showed that belief in new age spirituality is actually increasing. This suggests that the world is not becoming ‘disenchanted’ but people are believing in new forms of mystical, spiritual and religious beliefs.
is securlisation occurring
securlisation of religous institutions
wilson
Herberg suggests that internal secularisation has occurred particularly in the US where the church is seen to have abandoned its original religious aims and there has been a decline in authentic religion. In other words, religion has become a ‘way of life’ and church attendance has become a way of expressing American identity/way of life. This is similar to Bellah’s idea of ‘civil religion’ whereby Americans engage in a national form of religion or ‘Americanism’ rather than a particular religious belief. While this may suggest a decline in the spiritual, it could be argued that this is another example of religion taking new forms rather than declining. If we use the functional definition of religion, focusing on what religion does, then it might appear that religion is not in decline but changing. Bruce also argues that in the UK religious ideas and beliefs have been watered down to make religion more palatable and compatible with other beliefs e.g. ideas about the virgin birth and heaven/hell. In Catholicism, the Pope presided over the marriage of multiple couples who had been previously married, divorced, cohabited and had children outside of wedlock. This shows that some religious organisations are watering down their beliefs in order to adapt to a changing and more diverse society. In response to this though, there has been a growth of Fundamentalist groups who desire a return to literal interpretations of religious texts, beliefs and practices. Additionally, these changes may make religion more attractive to younger members of society as their views are becoming more liberal.
eveluation of wilsons measures
It is very hard to operationalise (measure) religiosity (the extent to which people are religious). How you measure religion depends on how you define it:
Substantive/exclusive definitions
· If religion is defined in a narrow or exclusive way e.g. in terms of the Christian Church, then there may be some evidence for a decline in religion (although even this is problematic due to the nature of statistics)
Functional/inclusive definitions
· A greater range of what is considered religious may mean that more religious beliefs and practices might be included, meaning religion appears to be still important or even growing rather than declining. This may include a growth in civil religion and new age movements.
glock and stark core dimensions of relogouisly
belief
Religious person will accept beliefs of a religion E.g. Christianity – Virgin birth, resurrection & ascension + life after death. Davie argues that people believe without belonging, and therefore using this measure we might suggest that secularisation is not occurring despite what Church attendance figures might tell us.
Glock and Stark’s 5 core dimensions of religiosity
practice
Religious person will put their commitment into practice. E.g. pray, go to communion/mass + services. Communal practices such as attending Church seem to be in decline, although this is not true of all religions e.g. Islam.
Glock and Stark’s 5 core dimensions of religiosity
experiance
Religious person will feel they have a direct experience with supernatural force e.g. will feel they have felt presence of God/supernatural influence in their life. This is very difficult to measure as it relies on gaining information from individuals regarding very personal experiences.
Glock and Stark’s 5 core dimensions of religiosity
knowledge
Religious person has knowledge & understanding of the basis of their religion E.g. David & Goliath, Adam & Eve, Moses and the Last Supper (NB: not linked to belief because may have knowledge BUT not believe). There has been a decline in religious teachings within the education system, but more recently the growth of faith schools suggests children will be taught about religion again.
Glock and Stark’s 5 core dimensions of religiosity
consequences
Religious person’s behaviour will be affected (because of their beliefs) day to day. In their life they act & think differently due to their religious beliefs. This is very difficult to measure as it relies on reports from individuals about their own behaviour.
