secularisation

Question 1

what does secularisation mean

Answer 1

refers to the decline in importance of religion

Question 2

what does religiosity mean

Answer 2

how religious a person is

Question 3

what evidence is there to suggest secularisation in Britain is occurring

Answer 3

• the number of catholic priests fell by third between 1965 and 2011
• ‘bogus baptisms’ - a number of baptisms that take place today are not for religious reasons may be to get into school
• number of clergy

Question 4

what arguments are there that religion is not declining

Answer 4

you could argue that religion is not declining today as new Christian religious movements are growing. Even though some religious movements are declining not all such as Pentecostal churches

Question 5

what did Crockett say about secularisation in Britain

Answer 5

huge decline of worshippers in church on a sunday in the uk

Question 6

what does an increase in the average age of churchgoers suggest

Answer 6

new generation is secularised . There is a generation effect: people become more religious near the end of their life

Question 7

what does holistic millieu

Answer 7

millennium new practice eg yoga, crystal healing

Question 8

what is said about secularisation

Answer 8

• there is a huge decline in the number of worshippers in Church on Sunday in the UK since 1988(Crockett)
• there are fewer baptisms and church weddings
• Wilson 1966 argues that western societies had been undergoing a long term process secularisation

Question 9

what is the evidence to favour secularisation in the UK

Answer 9

• Beliefs in God declined since 1991, as the belief in Jesus as the son of God and Christian teachings about the afterlife
• proportion of people who identify themselves as Anglican dropped sharply from 65%-20% a fall from 10%-2% of their population
• Huge increase of numbers who say they have no religion (1400% increase)

Question 10

what church does religious institutions have

Answer 10

the role of the church has dramatically changed since the 19th century. Whilst it used to have a very influential role of society nowadays many of the church’s functions are carried out by the state. eg education

Question 11

what are the four main explanations of secularisation

Answer 11

• rationalisation
• structural differentiation
• social diversity
• religious diversity

Question 12

what is modernisation

Answer 12

a common theme of in explaining secularisation. The decline of tradition and its replacement with more rational and scientific ways of thinking tend to undermine religion

Question 13

How is rationalisation an explanation of secularisation

Answer 13

Weber - refers to the process by which rational ways of thinking and acting come to replace religious ones. Weber also argues that the protenant reformation begun to Martin Luther in the 16th century started a process of rationalisation of life in the west. catholic view was spiritual and included angels and daemons

Question 14

what is the A03 for rationalisation

Answer 14

technological changes have had more of an impact. Brought about more rational ways of thinking

Question 15

what is argued about disenchantment in terms of secularisation

Answer 15

Protestantism saw God as being transcendent (exists beyond this world) whereas Catholics saw God as being interventionists God ( able to act in this world)
saw God as being a watch maker who created the watch ie the world and did not intervene but left it to its own devices

Question 16

How is structural differentiation an explanation for secularisation

Answer 16

parsons argues the process of specialisation that occurs with the development of an industrial society or industrialisation. This means religion became less significant as society became more industrial. Parsons argues that SD leads to disengagement of religion. Bruce argues that religion has become privatised and separate from society

Question 17

How is social + cultural diversity an explanation of secularisation

Answer 17

1. decline of community- pre industrial to industrial society brought about a decline in the community
2. industrialisation- Bruce says it undermines consensus of of religious beliefs
3. diversity of occupations, cultures and lifestyles undermines religion - plausibility of religion is undermined by diversity of beliefs

Question 18

what is the A03 for social and cultural diversity

Answer 18

some religious communities are imagined communities ie online global communities
religion can be a source of identity

Question 19

what is cultural defence and transition

Answer 19

Bruce identifies 2 counter trends that against secularisation theory

• cultural defence= religion acts as a focal point of defence of national ethnic .. struggle against external force
• cultural transition= provides support for those who live in a different country on their own.

Question 20

what are the criticisms of secularisation

Answer 20

• berger has changed his views and now argues that diversity + choice can actually stimulate participation in religion
• Beckford: opposing views can have the effect of strengthening a religious groups commitment to its existing beliefs rather than undermining it

Question 21

what is secularisation like in America

Answer 21

one society that appears to contradict the secularisation theory is the USA

• 40% of adult population regularly attend church
• 90% claim to believe in God
• only 2% claim to be atheists

Question 22

what is argued about religiosity in America and social desirability

Answer 22

opinion poll research suggests that attendance at church as been stable of about 40% since the 1940. Hadaway found that attendance did not match statistics. Bruce argued that this may be due to social desirability

Question 23

what did Bruce argue about secularisation from within

Answer 23

He argues that American religion has adjusted to the modern world by secularising from within. This means that the traditional Christian beliefs have declined and religion has been turned into a type of therpy or has become psychologised. The purpose of religion has changed from seeking salvation and to seeking personal improvement

Question 24

what is religious diversity

Answer 24

The growth of religious diversity has also contributed to secularisation from within. Churchgoers are becoming is dogmatic in their views Bruce identifies a trend towards practical relativism among American Christians ( a view where others are entitled to hold other beliefs that different to ones own)

Question 25

what is the counterpart to practical relativism

Answer 25

PR is a view where others are entitled to hold their own beliefs different to ones own. Erosion of absolutism is when we now live in a society where many people hold beliefs different to our own and undermines our assumption that our owns views are absolutely true

Question 26

what are the criticisms of secularisation theory

Answer 26

• religion is not declining its changing form
• secularisation theory ignores the growth of new religions
• ignores people who believe but dont go to church
• religion has not declined globally maybe just in Europe
• the past was not a golden age of religion and the future will not be the age of atheism