SECULARISATION IN BRITAIN
1851 census of Religious worship,Crocket (1998) 40% of adult population attended Church on Sunday.
Led some sociologists to believe that the 19th century was a ‘golden age’ of religiosity:
- Decline in proportion of population attending Church
- An increase in age of Church goers
- Fewer baptism and Church weddings
- Greater Religious diversity
Due to the reasons above Wilson believes that Britain has become a secular society.
CHURCH ATTENDANCE TODAY63% of adult population attend Church on Sunday (2005)
Half of Wilson’s research in 1960
Expected to fall by 47% in 2015
English Church census (2006)
Attendance of large organisations such as Church of England and Catholic Church have declined.
Small organisations have either been stable or grown but it does not outweigh the decline.
- Other services .I.e. weddings, baptisms have decreased
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS TODAYReligious beliefs from over 60 years of opinion polls and attitude surveys
- More people claim Christian belief than belonging to a Church
- Religious belief is declining within line of Church attendance and membership.
Robin Gill et al (1998)- 100 natural surveys on Religious belief 1939-1996
23% in 1950 described themselves of not belonging to any Religion or domination.
43% in 1996.
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS TODAY‘Disengagement’
State has taken over many of the functions that the Church used to perform.
Increasingly been relegates to the private sphere of the individual and family.
‘Faith schools’ are mostly state funded and therefore conform to the state’s regulation such as teaching national curriculum.
A lack of clergy on the ground in the local communities mean day to day influence of the Church is reduced.
Steve Bruce (2002) agrees with Wilson that all evidence on secularisation has been pointing on the same direction for years.
EXPLANATIONS FOR SECULARISATION- Modernisation
Decline of tradition and replacement with scientific/ rational thought
- Social change
Industrialisation leads to break up of small communities that were held
Together with common religious beliefd
- Growth of social and religious diversity
MAX WEBER: RATIONALISATIONRefers to the process by ways of thinking and acting have come to replace Religious ones.
process of rationalisation in the West.
- Saw Catholic worldview as their view was an ‘enchanted or magical garden’
Supernatural beliefs could change course of action and humans could change
and influence this by power of prayer etc.
DISENCHANTMENT Protestantism saw God as above and beyond and had no influence on world therefore events were by own laws of nature.
Rationality and power of reason were bought since there was no longer an ‘enchanted
Garden’.
This enables science to thrive and provide the basis for technological advances that gave humans more power to control force.
A TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD VIEWBruce- growth of technological worldview has largely replaced religious or supernatural explanations of why things happen. Scientific explanations do not challenge Religious diversity they have though reduced the scope for Religious explanations. Results in people taking Religion less seriously.
STRUCTURAL DIFFERENTATIONTalcott Parsons (1951)
Structural differentiation as a process of specialisation that occurs with the development of the industrial society. Religion has become smaller and more specialised institution. Lost functions such as Church, education, social welfare and law.
Bruce- privatised confined to home and family, as a result traditional rituals and symbols have lost meaning. Even in faith schools they must conform to requirements of a secular state.
SOCIAL AND STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY (PLURAISM)Wilson-
- Pre industrial communities shared values expressed through integrated individuals
- Industrialisation, breaks up communities through social and geographical mobility but brings people together from more different backgrounds
- Diversity allows people to know more about other Religions
- Individualism, not collective Religion practices so tend to
Aldridge-
- Religion can be worldwide (Islam)
- Imagined communities- global media
- Pentecostal religious groups flourish in impersonal urban areas.RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY Berger (1969)
Catholic Church has no competition so was unchallenged.
Protestant reformation, number of religious organisation with different versions of the truth, no Church then was left unchallenged.
Religious diversity creates a ‘plurality of life worlds’ were people’s perceptions of the world vary and there are different interpretations.
Diversity questions all of Religions and beliefs have become relative rather than absolute.
CULTURAL DEFENCE AND TRANSITIONBruce-
- Cultural defence-
Religion provides focal point of a defence of national, ethnic, of local or group identity against eternal power ‘foreign force’.
- Cultural transition-
Religion provides support and sense of community for ethnic groups such as migrants to a different culture and country.
Religion survives as it is a focus for group identity.
Church going declined after fall of communism in Poland suggesting Religion loses importance for migrants once they are integrated into society.
Berger (1999) changed views- diversity and choice actually stimulate interest and participation in Religion.
Beckford (2003)- Opposing views can have strengthening effects on a religious groups commitment of its existing beliefs rather than undermining them.A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTIONNew age beliefs and practices that emphasise personal development and subjective experience.
‘Spiritual market’ growth of spirituality as seen in rise of number of books on self help and therapies.
Heelas and Woodhead investigate whether traditional Religion has declined, if so how far is the growth of spirituality compensating for it.
Distinguishes between two groups:
- Congregational domain (traditional and evangelical Christianity)
- Holistic menu (Spirituality and New Age)
(2000)- In a typical week 7.9% attended Church
1.6% attended holistic menu
In congregational domain, traditional Church’s were losing support whereas Evangelicals were doing quite well.
Although, holistic menu were few but growing.
Heelas and Woodhead’s explanation:
1- New age spirituality has grown because of a massive turn in today’s culture.
Involves shift of the idea of just doing your duty and exploring your inner
Self by following a spiritual faith.
2- As a result traditional Religion’s are declining.
As Woodhead et al’s put it-
‘Religion that tells you what to believe and how to behave is out of tune
With a culture which believes it is up to us to seek out answers for itself’
3- Evangelical Churches are more successful as they both demand discipline and duty but emphasises the importance of spiritual healing and personal
Growth by being ’born again’
In spiritual market winners are those who appeal to personal experience as the only genuine source of meaning and fulfilment then the received teachings and commandments of traditional Religion.
Heelas and Woodhead argue spiritual revolution has not taken place. Although growth of holistic menu since 1970s it has not compensated for decline in traditional Religion. Conclude secularisation is occurring in Britain as it has undermined the basis of traditional Religion.
SECULARISATION IN AMERICA (1962) Wilson- 45% American’s attended Church on Sunday.
Argues it is superficial though as it only expresses American way of life.
Bruce (2002)- 3 sources of evidence America is becoming secular.
-Declining Church attendance
-Secularisation from within
-Trend towards Religious diversity and realism
DECLINING CHURCH ATTENDANCEKirk Hadaway (1993) found that 40% figure on opinion poll on Church attendance did not match Church’s own attendance statistics.
If 40% Americans did then Church’s would be full.
Hadaway- Church attendance in Ashtabula County, Ohio.
Did head count and interviewed attendees.
Found interviewees claimed attendance was 8% higher that estimates of Church attendance in the county.
In 1970- polls matched Church’s
In 1972- opinion polls exaggerated attendance by 47%
1n 1996- Exaggeration doubled up to 101%
Widening gap may be due to the fact that it is still may be seen as desirable or normative to go to Church. So people who have stopped going may say that they still attend if asked in an survey.
SECULARISATION FROM WITHINBruce- American Religion has adjusted to modern world amounts to secularisation from within.
Religion in America has turned into a form of therapy- ‘psychological’ than traditional Christian beliefs.
This has enabled it to fit with secular society, American Religion has remained popular by becoming less religious.
Purpose of Religion has changed from seeking salvation in heaven to personal improvement in this world. This can be seen in people’s attitudes and lifestyles
Young American Evangelicals
In 1951:91% social dancing is wrong 1982:0%
98% Alcohol drinking wrong 1982:17%
RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY Bruce- trend towards ‘practical relativism’ among American Christians.
Acceptance to view that other’s are entitled to hold beliefs that are different to our owns.
Lynd et al’s study- 1924 = 94% In 1997 = 41% agreed
‘Christianity is one true Religion and all people should be converted to it’
Counterpart to ‘practical relativism’ is ‘eroding absolutism’ that is we live in a society where people hold views that are different to ours which undermines our assumption that are views are absolutely true.
CRITICISMS OF SECULARISATION THEORY
Theory puts forward strong arguments and evidence that support their claim that Religious beliefs, practices and institutions have declined both in Britain and in America.
Church attendance statistics ignore people who believe but do not attend Church
Religion has declined in Britain but not in America, secularisation is not universal
Past was not a ‘Golden Age’ of faith to which Religion has declined and future will not be an age of atheism.
Religious diversity increases participation because it offers choice. No overall downward trend. Religious trends point in different directions and people make use of Religion in all sorts of different ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment