Topic 4 - Religion, Renewal and Choice

Question 1

Why do some sociologist reject the secularization thesis?

Answer 1

• Because they instead argue that while some aspects of religion are in decline, new forms are emerging often as a result of changes in wider society such as greater choice and individualism

Question 2

What does Davie argue?

Answer 2

• That in today’s late modern society , we are seeing a major change in religion away from obligation and towards more choice
• For eg, churches in the past such as the Church of England and the Catholic Church could impose religious obligations to believe certain things
• Today however religion is no longer inherited or imposed but a matter of personal choice

Question 3

What are critics of Davie?

Answer 3

• Does not apply to other regions such as Africa or the Middle east
• assumes that increased personal choice leads to continued religious relevance , but critics may argue that decline in obligation signifies a weakening of religious influence

Question 4

What does Davie argue about believing and belonging ?

Answer 4

• Argues that religion is not declining but simply taking a different, privatised form.
• People are increasingly reluctant to belong to organisations, whether these are churches or political parties.
• But despite this people still hold religious beliefs
• a situation Davie calls believin without belonging

Question 5

What are criticisms of believing without belonging ?

Answer 5

• Voas and Crockett do not accept Davie’s claim that there is more believing than belonging, as they had evidence that showed that both church attendance and belief in God was declining together
• Bruce also critics and says that if people are not willing to invest time in going to church, this just reflects the declining strengths of their beliefs, as when people no longer believe, they no longer wish to belong, as a result their involvement in religion deminishes

Question 6

What does Davie argue about Vicarious religion ?

Answer 6

• Davie notes a trend towards Vicarious religion which is religion practiced by an active minority such as regular churchgoers and they pray on behalf of the majority who as a result experience religion second hand
• Davie argues that people in Europe see Churches as a sort of spiritual health service like the NHS
• Where people only use it when they need to and only in times of major occasions such as weddings and funerals
• ## Davie sees vicarious religion as evidence of believing without belonging , as most people may not normally go to church or pray but still remain attached to the church when they need it for spiritual support

Question 7

What does Hervieu-Leger argue ?

Answer 7

• Argues that religion has become a matter of individual choice rather than inherited tradition
• and agrees that there is fewer and fewer people attending church in most countries,
• partially because of something she calls cultural amnesia. For many years, children used to be taught religion in the extended family , however nowadays we have lost the religion that used to be passed down from generation to generation because few parents teach their children about religion and let them decide for themselves

Question 8

What does Hervieu-Leger say about spiritual shoppers?

Answer 8

• argues that traditional religion has declined but religion itself has not disappeared
• instead people nowadays have more choice as consumers of religion & they have no become spiritual shoppers
• Religion has become individualised, and we now develop do it yourself beliefs that give meaning to our lives and fit in with our aspirations

Question 9

What does Hervieu-Leger say is emerging due to spiritual shopping?

Answer 9

• Pilgrims who follow an individual path in a search for self discovery
• Converts who join religious groups that offer a sense of belonging

Question 10

What does Lyon argue ?

Answer 10

• agrees with Davie that believing without belonging is increasingly popular & and that religion is changing rather than disappearing
• argues that traditional religion is giving way to various new religious forms
• as a post modernist he believes that there is a number of features of post modern society that change the nature of society such as globalisation, the increased importance of the media and communications and the growth of consumerism

Question 11

What is religion online and online religion ?

Answer 11

• Helland distinguishes between two kinds of internet activity which he calls religion online and online religion
• Religion online refers to a top down approach where religious institutions use the internet to communicate their teachings and spread them
• Online religion is a form of cyber religion that may have no existence outside the internet and it allows people to create their own spiritual experiences

Question 12

What does Hervieu-Leger state about spiritual shoppers?

Answer 12

• Says we act as spiritual shoppers, choosing religious beliefs and practices to meet our individual needs
• we are no longer required to sign up to any specific religious tradition instead we can pick and mix elements of different faiths to suit our tastes

Question 13

What is an example of a pick and mix religion?

Answer 13

• American Christian Fundamentalists which made use of a number of Churches without giving strong loyalty to any of them

Question 14

What is an effect of having a great variety of religious products to choose from?

Answer 14

• A loss in meta narratives, which are theories that claim to have the absolute truth
• People now have access to a wider range of different religious beliefs, Berger notes this weakens traditional religions that claim a monopoly of the truth

Question 15

What is critic of religious consumerism ?

Answer 15

• Ignores the fact that religious institutions themselves adapt to consumerist trends
• Overgeneralises by assuming all religious individuals adopt a consumerist approach, many still follow the structured traditional religious traditions

Question 16

What is New age movements?

Answer 16

• they reject the idea of obligation and obedience to external authority found in traditional religion and promote individual spirituality and self development

Question 17

What does Lyon further criticise about the secularisation theory?

Answer 17

• that it assumes religion is declining and that it is being replaced by new scientific thinking
• Lyon disagrees and says we are in a period of re enchantment with the growth of new beliefs

Question 18

What do some sociologists argue about a spiritual revolution?

Answer 18

• they argue that it is taking place today, where there is a shift from traditional Christianity to new age beliefs and practices
• it is argued that there has been a growth in a spiritual market with a boost in books and courses focusing on self development & therapy such as meditation

Question 19

What example do sociologists use to prove that there has been a spiritual revolution?

Answer 19

• Heelas and Woodhead in their study of Kendal in Cumbria
• distinguished between 2 groups, the congregational domain ( traditional religion) and the holistic milieu ( new age spirituality)
• found that in 2000, 7.9% of population attended church and 1.6% took part in activities of the holistic milieu
• However in the congregational domain, the traditional church was losing support, while evangelical churches were still doing fine because they emphasised on the importance of spiritual healing and personal growth through being born again

Question 20

What is weakness of the Kendal study ?

Answer 20

• New age beliefs struggle to be passed down to generation to generation because they are individualistic
• Many people participate in new age practices without abandoning traditional religion
• New age spirituality lacks an external power structure and cannot achieve consensus about its beliefs because everyone is free to believe whatever they wish so it lacks cohesion making it weaker than traditional religion

Question 21

What is the religious market theory?

Answer 21

• It is also known as the rational choice theory and it is argued by Stark and Bainbridge , who are very critical of the secularisation theory and believe that it is eurocentric ( focuses on the decline of religion in europe and fails to explain the strong religious presence in countries like the US
• they argue that religion remains vital in society

Question 22

What 2 assumptions is the religious market theory based on?

Answer 22

• That people are naturally religious and religion meets human needs, therefore the demand for religion remains constant
• People always seek rewards and avoid costs

Question 23

Why is religion attractive according to S and B?

Answer 23

• Because it provides us with compensators, promising supernatural rewards when real rewards are unobtainable
• for example immortality is unobtainable but religion promises life after death
• as an alternative to the secularisation theory, they say that religion follow a pattern of decline, revival and renewal.
• they also say that religion operates like a market, where competition between religious groups strengthens religion rather than weakens it as suggested by secularisation theory

Question 24

What do S and B say about religion in the US compared to Europe?

Answer 24

• they argue that religion strives in the US because there has never been a religious monopoly there, meaning the demand for religion increasers as consumers want to find one that meets their needs
• they say this contrasts with europe as it has a religious monopoly such as the church of England, thus competition has been held back and the lack of choice has led to a decline

Question 25

What studies help to support S and B view that the demand for religion is influenced by the variety religion has to offer?

Answer 25

- Hadden and Shupe argue that the growth in televangelism in the US led to increased religious participation - Finke argues that the removal of state restrictions led to religious expansion

Question 26

What are criticisms of the religious market theory?

Answer 26

- Bruce rejects the view that diversity and competition increase the demand for religion. As statistics show that diversity has been accompanied by religious decline both in Europe and the US - Norris and Inglehart show that high levels of religious participation still exist in Catholic Churches where the church has a near monopoly - Beckford argues that religious market theory is unsociological because it assumes people are naturally religious and fails to explain why they make the choices they do

Question 27

Why do Norris and Inglehart argue?

Answer 27

- Reject the religious market theory as they believe it only applies to America - argue that the reason for variations in religiosity is because of differences of existential security ( the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted) - believe that religion meets a need for security and therefore societies where people already feel secure have low demand for religion - poor societies where people face life threatening risks have high level of insecurity and thus have high religiosity - rich societies where people have high standard of living and are at less risk have a greater sense of security and thus lower levels of religiosity

Question 28

What is a evaluation of Norris and Inglehart?

Answer 28

- Norris and Inglehart only see religion as a negative response to deprivation and they ignore positive reasons for people participating in religious activity