secularisation - religious practice Flashcards
what is secularisation?
decline in the influence of religion in a society
how should secularisation can be examined according to wilson?
secularisation can be examined in terms of:
- religious thinking (influence of religion on beliefs and values)
- religious practice (in terms of church membership and attendance)
- religious institutions and the extent to which churches have maintained their social influence and wealth
what does wilson argue regarding religion?
there has been a decline in church attendance, weddings and baptisms
supporting evidence for a decline in religious practice - membership to the church
there is declining membership in all major christian denominations. this decline is progressive: as many existing members grow older and they die off, they are not being replaced by younger recruits
supporting evidence for a decline in religious practice - church attendance
there is declining church attendance. compared to about 40% in 1851, in 2007 2% of the population attended religious services on most sundays, and these are mainly older people. there is declining attendances at christmas and easter - the most important events in the christian calendar.
supporting evidence for a decline in religious practice - marriage and baptism
fewer than half of all marriages now involve a religious ceremony. less than 1/4 of all english babies are baptised/ compared to 2/3 in 1950
evidence against a decline in religious practice - purpose of attending religious services
does not necessarily mean believing in god. in the past many people attended church regularly to achieve respectability in the community. so there has only been a decline in social pressure to attend church
evidence against a decline in religious practice - believing in god & not attending church
believing in god does not necessarily mean having to attend religious services. davie argues that declining religious attendance has not been accompanied by declining religious belief. people have simply become ‘unchurched’ - they don’t attend or belong to churches, but claim to hold religious beliefs
evidence against a decline in religious practice - increase in other religions
there has been an increase in membership of other christian groupings (jehovah witnesses, mormons) and religions (islam, sikhism, hinduism). new sects and cults are emerging. people continue to make use of religious ceremonies for the ‘rites of passage’
criticisms of statistics
- church attendance stats collected in different ways by different churches and religions - not reliable
- census - people respond to social desirability - claim to be religious when they aren’t
