[3.1] Explanations of secularisation Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in [3.1] Explanations of secularisation Deck (39)
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1
Q

What is a common theme used to explain secularisation?

A

Modernisation, where religion is being replaced by rational and scientific theory.

2
Q

What led to the break-up of small communities that used to be held together by strong religious beliefs?

A

Industrialisation.

3
Q

The growth of what is mentioned in explanations of secularisation?

A

Social diversity and religious diversity.

4
Q

What has the growth of diversity done?

A

Undermined authority of religious institutions.

5
Q

How did Wilson (1966) define secularisation?

A

The process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose social significance.

6
Q

Who developed the concept of rationalisation and what is it?

A

Weber (1905) developed rationalisation, and it is the process by which religious ways of thinking and acting are replaced by rational ones.

7
Q

What does Weber (1905) say started the process of rationalisation?

A

The Protest Reformation in the 16th century.

8
Q

How did the medieval Catholic worldview see the world?

A

It saw the world as an enchanted garden, where God and other spiritual beings could change the course of events through their supernatural powers.

9
Q

What kind of worldview did the Protestant Reformation bring?

A

It saw God as a transcendent being rather than an interventionist God, he exists now above and beyond this world.

10
Q

What does the idea of a transcendent God mean?

A

Events could no longer be explained ass the workings of supernatural beings but as the predictable workings of natural and understandable forces.

11
Q

Is there any need for a religious explanation of the world now and why?

A

No, because the world is no longer seen as an enchanted garden.

12
Q

What does Bruce (1990) argue has replaced religious and supernatural explanations of the world?

A

A technological worldview.

13
Q

Give an example of the technological worldview in action.

A

When a plane crashes, we do not blame evil spirits but instead examine the machinery to discover the cause of the misfortune.

14
Q

Where are religious explanations useful nowadays?

A

Where science is ineffective, such as where one is ill and there is no cure.

15
Q

How does Parsons (1951) define structural differentiation?

A

A process of specialisation which occurs with the development of industrial society.

16
Q

What happens in structural differentiation?

A

Separate institutions carry out the functions that a single institution used to do.

17
Q

How did religion dominate pre-industrial society?

A

By performing lots of functions.

18
Q

What does structural differentiation lead to?

A

Disengagement and isolation of religion.

19
Q

What is the status of religious beliefs now?

A

They are a matter of personal choice, and are kept within the sphere of the home and family.

20
Q

Even if religion does continue to perform some of it’s functions, what must it conform to?

A

Regulations set by the state.

21
Q

How were shared values expressed in pre-industrial society?

A

Through collective religious worship that integrated individuals and regulated their behaviour.

22
Q

How does Bruce (1993) see industrialisation?

A

As undermining the consensus of religious beliefs that held small communities together.

23
Q

What else undermines religion?

A

Diversity of occupations, lifestyles and cultures.

24
Q

What is the plausibility of beliefs undermined by?

A

The availability and knowledge of alternatives.

25
Q

How does Aldridge criticise secularisation?

A

Religion can be a source of identity on a worldwide scale, some groups interact through the media, and some groups flourish in impersonal urban areas.

26
Q

What does Berger (1969) suggest is another cause of secularisation?

A

Religious diversity, where there is more than one interpretation of the faith.

27
Q

In the Middle Ages, what did the Catholic church have and what did believers live under?

A

An absolute monopoly of the truth, believers lived under a ‘sacred canopy’.

28
Q

What can no religion claim now?

A

A monopoly of the truth.

29
Q

What does Berger (1969) argue creates a crisis of credibility for religion?

A

A plurality of life worlds, where people’s perceptions of the world vary and there are different interpretations of the truth.

30
Q

What have religious beliefs become?

A

Relative rather than absolute.

31
Q

Which counter-trends does Bruce (1993) identify that go against secularisation theory?

A

Cultural defence and cultural transition.

32
Q

What is cultural defence?

A

Religion provides a focal point for the defence of national, ethnic, local or group identity in a struggle against an external force.

33
Q

What is cultural transition?

A

Religion provides support and a sense of community for those who believe in it, helping them to adapt to the new standards and morals expected when they move country.

34
Q

Criticise secularisation theories in three points.

A
  1. Berger (1969) now argues that diversity and choice actually stimulate interest in religion.
  2. The growth of religion such as evangelicalism points to growth, not decline.
  3. Beckford (2003) argues that opposing views can strengthen beliefs rather than weaken them.
35
Q

What do some sociologists argue is taking place?

A

A spiritual revolution.

36
Q

Where can increased interest in spirituality be seen?

A

In the growth of the spiritual marketplace.

37
Q

What did Heelas and Woodhead (2008) study?

A

Kendal, where they found that 7.9% of the population attended church and 1.6% of the population took part in activities of the holistic milieu.

38
Q

What do Heelas and Woodhead (2008) suggest as reasons for the trends they saw in Kendal?

A
  • There has been a subjective turn in today’s society, so people are free to choose their own path rather than following a single religion.
  • Traditional religion is declining because it demands duty and obedience, which people are opposed to nowadays.
  • Evangelical churches are more successful than traditional ones as they emphasise spiritual healing and other such activities.
39
Q

What do Heelas and Woodhead (2008) argue with regards to the spiritual revolution?

A

A spiritual revolution has not taken place.