The rest of beliefs Flashcards
explanations of secularisation
rationalisation= weber
structural differentiation= parsons
religious diversion= Berger
Weber’s explanation of secularisation
rational way of thinking replace religious beliefs in magic
protestant reformation started process of rationalisation
decline of the “enchanted gate”
disenchantment due to science+ technology
How does Bruce support rationalisation
there is a technological world view that shows a belief in technology + science becoming more important than religion
Parsons explanation of secularisation
structural differentiation
church has lost its influence due to the other institutions takes roles away from church e.g. school
religion= less important to function church losing its functions means that religion declines
Berger’s explanation of secularisation
religious diversity increasing- society no longer unified under one sacred canopy as there are a plurality of life worlds. This means people question their religion that were prev. dom.
means plausibility structures are questioned+ religion decreases as people dont have one dom. religion
Berger evaluation of secularisation
Berger evaluates himself in 1999
changes his views = now argues that diversity+ choice actually stimulate interests and participation in religion
what is secularisation
declining power and influence of religion
Bruce= high point 1860- 1910 28% of adults vs 2005 12% of British adults
What is fundamentalism according to Giddens?
fundamentalists are traditionalists who seek return to basics
believe unquestioningly in literal sacred scriptures
believe in the only truth
intolerant+ rely on guardians of religion
Giddens fundamentalism+ modernity
late modernity
both a product + reaction to modernity
choice+ uncertainty and risk
attract to fundamentalism is certainty of beliefs
gay marriage, divorce etc. are a threat to how religious people
cosmopolitanism
Castells= post-modernity produces 2 types responses
resistant identity- a defensive reaction and retreat into fundamentalist communities
project identity- the response of those who are forward looking + engage with social movements e.g. feminism
cosmopolitanism + Giddens
is a product of globalisation
opens us to new ideas
it requires that we think reflexively and makes choices about what we believe in Contemporary beliefs+ spirituality are more personal journey than collective worship
Lyon and religion renewal and choice
globalisation= religion online
disneyfication of religion= disembedded- no longer linked to structures e.g. church
people no longer have to attend church therefore secularisation is not significant= people part of religion in different format
Davie+ religion renewal and choice
believing without belonging
people no longer feel obliged to go to church
no longer an obligation and more personal choice
adult baptisms are rising= people still making the choice to be religious
vicarious religion= a couple of professional clergy practice religion on behalf of a larger number
Davie+ the NHS
the spiritual health service
in Europe= major national churches seen as public utilities like a “ spiritual health service” like the NHS
used when needed e.g. for rites of passage as well as major national occasions e.g. Princess Diana’s funeral
Voas and Crockett criticise Davie
Neither believing nor belonging
evidence = 5750 respondents both belief and church attendance is down
Hervieu-Leger
spiritual shopping
cultural amnesia= kids not having religion imposed on them
not being handed down generations
parents let kids choose religion
people as individual shoppers and is no longer a collective identity
S+B criticise secularisation
Stark and Bainbridge
critical of secularisation theories for being Eurocentric- continuing strength in America and elsewhere
distorted view of the past- there was never a golden age of religion
religious market theory
based on 2 assumptions ]people are naturally religious + religion meets peoples needs- the demand for religion is constant
weigh up pros and cons
religions are like businesses that compete in a spiritual market place
secularisation in America
Wilson found that 45% of americans attended church on sunday
an expression of the american way of life than religious beliefs
america is secularised as religion has become superficial
Declining church attendance+ Bruce
opinion poll research= suggested is at 40% of US population
Hadaway= to test this= carried out headcount+ interviews
levels were exaggerated and that it was 83% higher than the researcher estimated
people lying on their surveys
Bruce- the decline in religion
religion become more like therapy
america= religion has been psychologised
helps it to fit with a secular society
changed to seek personal improvement NAM= crystals
the Kendal project
Heelas and Woodhead
the growth of NAMs
use of technology+ growing individualisation
changes to mainstream religion
The clash of Civilisations
Huntington
pre 1989- conflict was political
post 1989- conflicts are religious
globalisation has rendered nationality as meaningless
conflict between religion e.g. 9/11 has increased since the collapse of communism in 1989
Huntington’s reason for the clash of civilisations
1) communism fall= political differences between nations less important as a source of identity
2) globalisation has made nation states less significant- a gap that religion filled
3) globalisation makes contact between civilisations easier and more frequent, increasing likelihood of old conflicts re-emerging
evaluation of Huntington
Polemas- pick+ mix identities- no singular way of defining identities- not just religion
Cultural defence Iran
Islam became the the focus for opposition of corrupt, western-backed monarchy led by the Shah
modernisation= gap between rich and poor grew
Cleric Khomeini= returned to Islamic religious values = inspired revolution led to the Islamic republic
Cultural Defence Poland
the catholic church symbolised resistance to the communist regime backed by the soviet union 1945-1989
served as a rallying point for oppression e.g. the trade union solidarity= pope+ St Paul = encouraged revolution against discrimination of soviet union
Existential Security Theory
Norris+ Inglehart
critical of the religious market theory
religion promote a sense of security where there are low levels of existential security
secularisation is happening but not everywhere
Religion in a global context
India
gdp increasing- development of technology or globalisation hasn’t led to a decline in religion
nationalism closely tied to hinduism
Nanda
India’s fastest growing economy but despite modernisation religion is growing just as fast
Hindu ultra nationalism
reasons=
Hindu has a this worldly orientation
religion is fashionable with with m/c
increasing interest in low status gods
modern Hinduism legitimates wealth
Latin America
Berger-Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism in Latin America acts as a ‘functional equivalent’ to Weber’s protestant ethic
encourages development of capitalism
increasing globalisation as it increases capitalism
Marxist views of ideology
Gramsci hegemony
maintain false class consciousness e.g. through education
w/c accept bourgeoisie hegemony cuz the ideologu makes it difficult to see any other alternative
Fisher
supports Gramsci
it is impossible to imagine a non capitalist society
can imagine the end of the world but not the end of capitalism
evaluation of Marxist views of ideology
Karl Popper
creating a theory resisting capitalist ideology is actually imposing another ideology
impossible to test = everything is dismissed as capitalist propaganda
falsifiability
feminist views on ideology
patriarchal ideology that men dominate society culturally and economically- reflect their views on religion- stained glass ceiling
Oakley and ideology
believes ideologies promote patriarchy for generations e.g. blocking women from positions of power
science in Bowlby’s study of maternal deprivation= mothers spend time away from baby- baby is damaged
justifies gender inequality
evaluation of Oakley’s views
Marxist feminist- Barett
women’s oppression due to capitalism
reserve army of labour
liberal feminists= march of progress
Post modernist views of ideology
scientists produce truth about natural world
Rorty- science just replaced priests as the source of truth
Lyotard- science doesn’t stand apart from the natural world
language shapes the way we think while scientific language opens our eyes to some truth but closes our eyes to others everything is a meta-narrative
Comte
scientific belief is different from other beliefs
does not rely on peoples faith but rather evidence
can be tested
a move towards a scientific belief system represents progress for society
scientism
science+ religion are seen as competing scientism is ideology that scientific method= true knowledge of the world religion cannot be proven
projecting and justifying the interests of scientists
Darwin
Kuhn and paradigms
challenges falsifiability
scientists work through paradigms= a particular set of accepted ideas about the way things are
scientists do nothing to falsify themselves- they hold to the dominant paradigm until it is Overturned
sociology not a science as it hasn’t found one unifying paradigm
Mannheim
the free floating intelligentsia
solution is to detach intellectuals from social groups and create a non- aligned or free floating intelligentsia
an objective group of people who have no ideology work in the interests of everyone
able to synthesise elements from different ideologies and arrive at a total world view
