POSTMODERNITY AND RELIGION sociology a2

POSTMODERNITY AND RELIGION

Believing without belonging
Grace Davie (2007)
Argues against secularisation theory.
Religion is taking a more privatised form. Such people hold religious belief without going to Church. Traditional Religion is marched by the growth of a new religion.
No longer obligated to go to Church
Vicarious Religion A small number of professional clergy practice Religion on behalf of much larger number of people, who experience it at second hand.
People still use Church for rites of passages, rituals that mark a change in status.
Bibby’s (1993)- only 25% Canadians said they attended Church regularly
80% said they had a religious belief
People are drawn to Church at times of national tragedy - Princess Diana in 1997.
Attached to the Church as an institution for providing ritual and support.
There are multiple modernities, Britain and America are both modern societies but with different patterns of Religion.
Church attendance is high in America and low in Britain. Her view that it will continue to coexist.
- Crockett (2005)- British Social Attitude surveys (1983-2000)
Church attendance and belief in God are declining.
- Bruce- Not willing to go Church shows loss of strength in belief.
They no longer wish to belong, so involvement in Religion diminishes.Spiritual shoppingLeger (2000:2006)
Cultural amnesia (loss of collective memory)
Parents let their children decide for themselves what they want to believe and do not really pass on their beliefs anymore.
Trend towards greater social equality has undermined traditional power of Church to impose Religion on people from above.
Children are now ignorant of traditional Religion.
Individual consumerism has replaced collective tradition. People believe that they have a choice as consumers of Religion and thus became spiritual shoppers.
Religion has now become a personal spiritual journey and choose which group they want to explore:
　
　
- Pilgrims
Follow an individual path in search for self- discovery. New age spirituality by joining groups, or through individual therapy.
Demand on today on personal development.
- Converts
Join religious groups that offer a strong sense of belonging.
Recreate a sense of community in a society that has lost many of its religious traditions.
Religion no longer act as the source of collective identity they once did.
Leger- Religion does continue to have some influence on society’s values.
Values such as human rights in Religion can be a source of shared cultural identity and social solidarity even those not involved in Religion.
Leger’s view can be relocated to late modernity. Some of the trends within modern society have begun to accelerate such as decline of tradition and increasing individualism.
Lyon: ‘Jesus in Disneyland’Postmodernity society has a number of features that are changing the nature of Religion. Importance of the media and communication and growth of consumerism.
The relocation of ReligionGlobalisation to the growing interconnections if societies, led to increased movements of ideas and beliefs across national boundaries. Globalisation, increased importance of the media and communication and the growth of consumerism.
Giving us immediate access to the ideas and beliefs of previously remote Religions and regions.
Ideas become ‘disembodied’ the media lifts them out of original contexts and move them to a different place and time- ‘electronic Church and televangalism’ dissembled Religion from real local Churches and relocate them it into interior, allowing people to express their faith without physically attending Church.
Religion becomes de-institutionalised its signs and images become deinstitutionalised its signs and images become detached from their place.
Religious consumerism Consumerism- that we construct our identities through what we choose to consume.
We choose our individual needs, from a vast range available in the market place. We can pick and mix elements of different faiths to suit out tastes and make them part of our identity until something attractive comes along an example of an individualised Religion.
Lyon- Religion is not abandoned but people are making conscious choices about which elements of Religion they find useful.
Loss of faith in meta- narratives theories or world wide beliefs that claim to have absolute authorative truth. Now that people have access to a wide range of contradictory religious beliefs and ideas, it makes people sceptical that any one of them is true. Thus previously dominant religious organisations and traditions use their authority and decline. Now religious movements sprung up so now consumers can sample.
Re- enchantment of the worldLyon sees that last three or four decades a period of re- enchantment , with the growth of unconventional beliefs, practices and spirituality. Lyon points to the growing vitality of non-traditional religion in the West and its resurgence elsewhere in the world.
CriticismsResearch shows people choose to view programmes that confirm their existing beliefs -
not new converts
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Continuing vitality of Religion
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

RELIGIOUS MARKET THEORY

(Rational choice theory)
Stark and Bainbridge (1985)
Criticises secularisation theory for being Eurocentric- only Religion is in decline in Europe and fails to explain its continuity vitality in America and elsewhere.
Puts distorted view of past and future. There was no golden age of religion, unrealistic to predict a future and paint a future of religion were everyone will be atheists.
Religious market theory
- People are naturally religious and religion meets human needs.
Religion will be constant, even though demand for particular types of religion
May vary.
- When people make choices, they weigh up the costs and benefits of different
Options available.
Religion provides compensatory supernatural rewards that humanism and communism can not. Such as immorality- concept if life after death in religion.]
　
Concept of religious decline, revival and renewal when Churches decline, they leave a gap in the market for sects and cultures to attract new followers. Secularisation ignores revival and growth of religions.
　
Church operates like companies selling goods in a market. Competition leads to improvements of the quality of religious goods on offer. Church that makes it look attractive will succeed whereas the Churches that are not responsive to members will declineAmerica VS Europe
Supply-led religion When there is religious monopoly it leads to decline. When there is no competition a Church has no incentive to provide people with what they want
Stark et al- religion thrives in USA as there is religious monopoly. Guarantees freedom of religion and separation of Church and state. Encouraged a new growth of healthy religious market where religion grows or declines due to consumer demand.
Most European countries may have been dominated by an official state Church which had religious monopoly, such as Church of England. Competition has been held back and lack of choice has led to decline.
Main factor influencing Religion (Stark et al) is supply not demand like secularisation suggests. Religious participation increases when there is ample supply of religious groups to choose from but declines when religion declines. Decline of religion is not an universal trend happening in all societies as secularisation suggest.
Stark et al’s view of religion is greatly influenced by the quality and value of Religion on offer and to the extent to which it responds to people’s needs.
Shupe et al (1988) growth of ‘televangelism’ in America shows that levels of religious participation is supply led.
When commercial funding of religious broadcast began in 1960s it opened up competition in which Evangelical Churches thrived. As a commercial enterprise, televangelism responded to consumer demand by preaching a ‘prosperity bible’.
Finke (1997)- lifting of Asian immigration in America in 1960s led to Asian faiths becoming an option that proved popular which consumers in the religious market such as transcendental meditation.
MegaChurch in US and South Korea and elsewhere- large congregations have lavish recourses and able to offer a vast range gravitates to meet diverse needs of their members. Mill (97) Hypermarkets.
Stark (90)- Japan was shintoism and other religions came. Post war Germany, religion was closely regularly declined as a result Criticisms　
+ Religious market theory is the approach adopted by most American sociologists of
Religion
+ Highlights supply side of religion and consumer choice and can be useful for
understanding the growth of new religion
- Bruce rejects view that diversity and competition increase demand for religion.
Statistics show that diversity has been accompanied by religious decline in both
America and Europe.
- Bruce argues Stark et al’s misinterpret secularisation theory. Theory does not claim
there was a past ‘Golden Age’ or everyone will be atheists. Just claims Religion is in
Decline and its not universal just applies to Europe and America.
- Norris et al- countries with near religious monopoly have higher participation such as
In Ireland. However, countries with religious pluraism such as Australia have lower
Levels of participation.
- Beckford- Religious market theory is unsociological as it assumes people are
naturally religious and fails to explain why they make the choices they do.
　
　
　
　

EXISTENTIAL SECURITY THEORY

Norris and Ingle hart (2004) reject religious market theory on the grounds that it only applies to America and fails to explain variations in religiosity between different societies.
- International studies of religion have found no evidence of the link between
Religious choice and religious participation that Stark and Bainbridge exists.
Norris and Inglehart-
Variations in religion is due to different degrees of existential security
Religion meets a need for security, and therefore societies that are secure and have a low level of demand for religion-
~ Poor societies High levels of religiosity such as famine, disease and environmental disease
~ Rich societies High levels of security and greater sense of security have lower levels of religiosity
Demand for religion is not constant, as Stark et al claim, but varies both within and between societies. Third world countries remain religious, prosperous western countries more secular.
Global population growth undermines trend towards secularisation. Western have low population growth- third world poor, insecure have high population growth.
Rich countries are becoming more secular, majority of the world is becoming more religious.
Europe VS AmericaWestern countries more secular and it is safer and more secure- reduces poverty (health care, benefits etc) and protects those at the bottom from insecurity.
America- religious due to it being the most unequal of the rich societies. Inadequate welfare- safety net and individualistic dog- eat- dog values. Creates high levels of poverty and insecurity so greater needs of religion.
America though is religious in standards of rich countries, less religious compared to poor countries.
State welfare and religiosity Gill and Lundergaurde (2004)
More country spends on welfare, lower levels of religious participation.
In past, religion used to provide welfare for the poor, and still does so in poorer countries. 20^th century- state in the West began to provide welfare and this contributed to religion’s decline.
Religion still exist as it answers ultimate as ‘life after death’ and such. Welfare reduces the need for religion but does not eliminate it completely.
Evaluation+ Vasquez (2007)- Norris and Inglehart offer valuable explanation for different levels
of religious participation in Europe and USA.
- Only quantitative data used about income levels- does not examine people’s
definition of existential security more qualitative data is needed.
- Norris et al only sees Religion as negative response to deprivation- ignore positive
reasons for religious participation and appeal to some types of religion for healthy.
　Consumerist Religion Bruce argues is a weak Religion evidence of secularisation not Church attendance not applicable - electronic Church