Secularisation debate (for) Flashcards
Wilson defined secularisation
‘the process whereby religious beliefs, practices, institutions lose social significance’
Example of secularisation
Church attendance in England and Wales had fallen from 40% of the population in the mid 19th century to 10-15% by the 60s
Church weddings, baptisms and Sunday school attendance had also declined
Possible ways to measure secularisation/ evidence FOR secularisation
- Popularity- religious participation/ attendance
- Plausibility- religiosity/ religious belief
- Power- disengagement and differentiation- loss of functions and changing role of religion
Popularity AO1 (evidence for secularisation)
1851 census approx 40% of the population attended church, by 2005 this dropped to 6.3% according to 2006 English Church Census
Religion only has symbolic meaning today, with people only entering church for ‘hatching, matching and dispatching’ ceremonies
However attendance at religious ceremonies such as baptisms, communion and confirmation has also fallen
Decline in church marriages- down to 33% in 2005
Popularity AO3 (evidence for secularisation)
Stats from previous century are probably unreliable because sophisticated data collection practices weren’t in place
Contemporary stats may also be unreliable because different religious organisations employ different counting methods
People who attend church are not necessarily practicing religious belief and those who believe my not see the need to attend
BELONGING WITHOUT BELIEVING OR BELIEVING WITHOUT BELONGING
Religion is a private experience for many and consequently cannot be reliably or scientifically measured, individual belief cannot be quantified.
Plausibility AO1 (evidence for secularisation)
Over the last 60 years more people claim they hold religious beliefs than actually go to Church
However, religious belief is declining, in line with Church attendance and membership declining
Gill et al reviewed almost 100 national surveys on religious belief from 1939 to 1996
This showed significant decline in belief in a personal God and in traditional teachings about afterlife
Plausibility AO3 (evidence for secularisation)
This is Christocentric- while those who descended from White Christians are becoming less religious, EMs retain strong belief
Power AO1(evidence for secularisation)
Wilson- the church is no longer involved in important areas of life such as politics
Politicians do not now ensure that their policies meet with the approval of religious leaders
Wilson- church occupies a marginal status in modern society
Laws eg Gay marriage, divorce and abortion undermine the church
Bruce- Troeltsch’s idea of churches having religious monopoly only applied to the Catholic Church in the 16th century, before the Reformation.
Since then religious diversity has become the norm, in todays society churches are no longer churches in Troeltsch’s sense as they have lost their monopoly
Power AO3 (evidence for secularisation)
Religion is still a a major provider of education and there has been a growth in faith schools since 1997
Media still shows a great interest in religious issues such as women bishops
Rationalisation AO1 (explanations for secularisation)
Rationalisation refers to the process by which logical, evidence based ways of thinking have come to replace religious ones
Weber – disenchantment
· ‘Magical’ element of religion disappeared; people have stopped believing in ‘magical’ figures like angels.
Bruce – technological worldview
· Science and technology have replaced the religious/supernatural
explanations of why things happen
For example, when a plane crashes with the loss of many lives, we are unlikely to regard it as the work of God, or God’s punishment of the wicked.
Instead, we look for scientific and technological explanations.
Rationalisation AO3 (explanations for secularisation)
Religious explanations survive in areas where scientific explanations are less effective
For example, we may pray if we are suffering from an illness for which scientific medicine has no cure.
People’s belief in science also depends on irrational faith. People don’t often see the empirical evidence for science or understand it but accept it without question because scientists have been elevated to high-priest status in society.
Structural differentiation AO1 (explanations for secularisation)
Parsons defines structural differentiation as a process of specialisation that occurs with the development of industrial society.
Specialised institutions develop to carry out functions that were previously performed by a single institution
Parsons- this happened to religion – it dominated pre-industrial society, with industrialisation it has become a smaller and more specialised institution.
Parsons- structural differentiation leads to the disengagement of religion from the running of society.
Eg-church has lost the influence it once had on education, social welfare and the law.
Bruce- agrees, religion has become privatised
· Even where religion continues to perform functions such as education or social welfare, it must conform to the requirements of the secular state.
Eg Teachers in faith schools must have state recognised qualifications
Structural differentiation AO3 (explanations for secularisation)
Although the church has become less powerful, there are still 26 Church of England bishops in the House of Lords, influencing government policy decisions.
The rise of faith schools since 1997 undermines this
Social and cultural diversity AO1(explanations for secularisation)
Diversity of occupations, cultures and lifestyles undermines religion.
Wilson- in pre-industrial society, local communities shared religious rituals that expressed their shared values, but industrialisation destroys these stable local communities and so destroys religion’s base.
Bruce -industrialisation creating large, impersonal loose-knit urban centres with diverse beliefs, values and lifestyles.
· This diversity undermines the believability of religion.
· The rise of individualism leads to a decline in community-based religious beliefs and practice
Social and cultural diversity AO3 (explanations for secularisation)
Pentecostalism flourishes in supposedly ‘impersonal’ urban areas, undermining the view that urbanisation undermines religion and leads to secularisation.
