Secularization ( Theme 2 - Extent of worship today) Flashcards
What is Secularization according to Wilson?
Refers to the process in which religious insitutions, practices, beliefs lose their social significance or importance.
What are 2 ways religion can be defined?
Excluvist model of religion
Incluvist religion
What is Excluvist model of religion?
narrow definition of what constitutes to religion ( e.g. orthodox = jews.
What is Incluvist religion?
much broader including political movements and value systems like humanism.
Wilson identifies 3 aspects of secularisation which are?
Religious beliefs
Religious pratice
Religious insitutions
What is Religious beliefs ?
the influence of religion on people’s beliefs and values, such as the importance of religion in their lives,
What is Religious Pratice?
he things people do to carry out their religious commitment, such as the extent to which they take part in acts of religious worship
What is Religious insitutions?
the extent to which religious institutions have maintained their social influence in wider society,
What are 2 main approaches to Secularization ?
The institutional approach? ( which focuses on the church and attendance. The assumption is that if this is falling then religion is declining) . A03: different forms of religion)
The societal approach ( studies the role and impact of religion on society and individual. ( They would say secularization isn’t occurring. Religion is in a different form)
Why is the issue of defining secularisation so important?
It affects the outcome of the research
societies may experience the process of secularization in different ways.
Church attendance in Britain has been declining so according to what sociologist what was the 19th century?
Crockett ( 1998) estimates that in 1851, 40% or more of the adult population of britian attended church on a Sunday, which led some to claim that the 19th century was a ‘golden age of religiosity’
Since the 19th century which is described as the ‘golden age’ from Crockett what changes in religion in the UK today? 3 changes
1) A decline in the proportion of people going to church
2) Fewer baptisms and church services
3) Greater religious diversity, including non-christian religions.
Sociologists have put forward what?
different explanations of these trends and reached different conclusions about whether, and how far, religion is declining.
Who argues that Western societies have been undergoing a long term process of secularrisation?
Wilson ( 1966)
What does Wilson ( 1966) argue?
Argues that western societies have been undergoing a long term process of secularization, where ‘religious beliefs, religious institutions and practices loses social significance’
What is example of showing that western societies have been undergoing long term process of secularisation?
Church attendance in England and wales had fallen from 40% of the populationn in the mid-19th century to 10-15% by the 1960s. Wilson concludes that Britain had become a secular society.
What is an A03 evaluation against Wilson’s view western societies have been undergoing a long term process of secularization?
Religion may have declined in Europe but not necessarily in America or elsewhere, so secularization may not be universal.
What are some interesting facts about church attendance?
Only 6% of the adult population attended church on sundays in 2005, halving since 1960s and likely to fall further.
Sunday school attendance, church weddings and bapitsms are declining.
3) Religious affiliation ( membership) is declining. Since the 1983, adults with no religion has risen from a third to a half.
Have small organisations grown?
Some organisations have grown. The number of Catholics has increased slightly due to East european immigration ( although membership of small religious organisations has grown, this has not made up for the decline in the large ones, so overall trend still declining. )
From Guardian ‘Attendance at Church of England’s Sunday services falls again’ what is the decline in the Church of England attendance? 2018
The number of people attending the Church of England’s Sunday services fell again last year, to 722,000 – 18,000 fewer than in 2016 – continuing a trend seen over recent decades.
However from the ‘Attendance at Church of England’s Sunday services falls again’ what has increased and suggests what?
attendance at Christmas services in 2017 was the highest in a decade, at 2.68 million, suggesting that services are increasingly seen as an element of festivities rather than regular religious worship
What statistic shows that Religious belief is in decline?
Evidence from 80 years of surveys shows a decline in belief in God
On the Guardian article ‘UK secularism on rise as more than half say they have no religion’ how many young people between 18-24 idenitfy which Church of England and what abour over 75s?
Only 1% of people aged 18-24 identify as Church of England, according to the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey for 2018. Even among over-75s, the most religious age group, only one in three people describe themselves as C of E.
What sociologists talks about Religious institutions and agrees with Wilson?
Bruce (2002) agrees with Wilson that all evidence on secularisation has show that ‘there is a steady and unremiiting decline’
What does Bruce claim about religious institutions?
The influence of religion as a social insitution is declining. Religion once affected every aspect of life, but now is relegated to the private sphere of individual and family.
What has the state taken over from religion?
The state has taken over many of the functions the church used to perform e,g, schooling.
Although the state has taken over from religion what has been increasing?
Although there is an increase in faith schools in the Uk - implying continued religious involvement in education - they are mainly state funded and must conform to the state.
What does Bruce predict by 2030?
The Methodist church will fold and the Church of England will be a small voluntary organisation with a large amount of heritage poverty.
