Secularisation

Question 1

Secularisation - Intro + stats

Answer 1

• Is the Declining importance of Religion
• Religion in UK is on a decline
- Christianity 46.2%
- No Religion 37.2%

Question 2

Secularisation - Attendance - Crockett + Wilson

Answer 2

• Way to measure religion
• Crockett –>
- 1851 - 40%, 1960 - 10%, 2015 - 5%
• Wilson –>
- Declining baptism - 2016 = 120,000, 2017 = 106,000
• Bogus baptism - children baptised yo get into Catholic (better) school
- Christian marriages - 2016 = 45,000, 2017 = 41,000

Question 3

Secularisation - Religious Affiliation

Answer 3

• Refers to persons membership/identification with Religion
• Trend is downwards
- 1983 - Christian = 68% ,Atheist 30%
- 2018 - Christian= 38%, Atheist = 64%

Question 4

Secularisation - Religious Institutions - Influence, pi
privatisation, clergy + Bruce

Answer 4

• Social influence has declined
- Despite church of England still being involved in laws
• Religion has been privatised
- functions taken over by politicians (laws, Ed + welfare)
- religion is confined to indiv + family
• Declining Clergy (bishops, priests)
- 45k to 34k across 20th century
- 12% of clergy are under 40
• Bruce –> Methodist Church will fold in 2080 + will merely hold property

Question 5

Secularisation - Problems with Secularisation data

Answer 5

• How can sociologists measure belief –> loss of function, level of Secularisation mindset?
• Problems with quantitative measurements
- church attendance - under + over estimates
• Problems with self-collexted data - different definitions of attendance (every week/month?)

Question 6

Secularisation - Sociological Perspectives - Rationalisation - Weber + Bruce

Answer 6

•Weber –>People have dev logical ways of thinking, replacing religious
- Protestant reformation = disenchanted people from view world is enchanting garden
• God doesn’t intervene
• Reason + Science helps understanding
• Bruce –> Technological view of world - look for science to explain

Question 7

Secularisation - Sociological Perspectives - Structural Differentiation - Parsons

Answer 7

• Disengagement of religion –> states taken over functions
- welfare, morality, judgement
- where religion does provide functions (food banks) has to follow state rules

Question 8

Secularisation - Sociological Perspectives - Bruce - Privatisation

Answer 8

• Privatisation
- religion is confined to family + indiv
- traditions + rituals have lost meaning

Question 9

Secularisation - Sociological Perspectives - Social + Cultural Diversity - Wilson - Declining community

Answer 9

• Declining community
- in pre-industrial communities, shared values expressed through collective religious rituals
- religion lost basis in stable local communities

Question 10

Secularisation - Sociological Perspectives - Social + Cultural Diversity - Bruce - Industrialisation

Answer 10

• Industrialisation
- Undermines consensus of religious beliefs holding communities together
- small-rural communities decline + loose-knit City communities increase
- Social + geographical mobility breaks up community

Question 11

Secularisation - Social + Cultural Diversity - Diverse occupations, cultures + lifestyles undermine religion

Answer 11

• Aware of differing views around us
• Bruce –> believability of beliefs undermined by alternatives

Question 12

Secularisation - Sociolocial Perspectives - Social + Cultural Diversity - Evaluation - Aldridge

Answer 12

• Communty doesn’t need to be in particular area
- can be source of identity on worldwide scale (Jews, Muslim)
- Some communities interact through global media

Question 13

Secularisation - Religious Diversity - Berger - Sacred Canopy + Plausibility structure

Answer 13

• The Sacred Canopy –> Catholic Church had an absolute monopoly- no comp
- everyone had same beliefs
• Plausibility structure –> Crisis of religions credibility - diversity undermines believability

Question 14

Secularisation - Religious Diversity Evaluation - Berger + Beckford

Answer 14

• Berger –> Diversity + choice stimulates interest + participation
- growth of new Christian Right shows its vitality not Declining
• Beckford –> Not inevitable
- opposing views can strengthen commitment

Question 15

Secularisation - Against secularisation - Cultural Defence + Transition - Bruce

Answer 15

• Cultural Defence –> religion provides focal point for defence of national + ethnic identity in struggle against external force (racism)

• Cultural Transition –> Religion provides support + community for ethnicities (migrants)

Question 16

Secularisation - Evaluating Cultural Defence + Transition against Secularisation - Bruce

Answer 16

• Religion survives because it is a focus for group identity
- examples don’t disporve Secularisation but show its more likely to survive

Question 17

Secularisation - Secularisation from within - Bruce

Answer 17

• Religions have become more Secular to maintain relevant in modern world –> watered down their message
• 2021 Pope Francis claimed evolution + big bang is true

Question 18

Secularisation - Evaluating Secularisation from within

Answer 18

• Religion isn’t Declining its changing (New Age Movements)
• Secularisation is one sided, ignores growth of new religions
• Measuring church attendance ignores people who believe but don’t attend
• Religion has declined in Europe but not globally
- Berger –> theory is ethnocentrix
• Religious Diversity has increased participation in Religion