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Secularisation
Durkheim
• Religion helps to maintain social
cohesion
• Collective worship brings people
together
• As societies develop, religion loses
this role
Secularisation
Marx
• Religion ‘is the opium of the people’
• A tool of the ruling class
• Helps provide false consciousness
• It promises a better life after death for
those who suffer
• No role for religion in communism
Secularisation
Freud
• Religion is an illusion
• God takes the place of parents
• Rationality replaces religion
Secularisation
Weber
• Religion answers important questions
• Why am I here? Etc
• Science & rationality replace religion
• Religion has been a force for social
change
Secularisation
One of the best working
definitions is given by Wilson…
"the process whereby religious
thinking, practice and
institutions lose social
significance"
Secularisation
• The key issues here are..
1. What do religious practice and
thinking actually involve
2. How can you measure significance?
3. Any account of the secularisation
process depends on the definition of
religion adopted in the first place
Secularisation
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Shiner (1967), showed six different versions of secularisation
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used by sociologists in empirical work:
1. Decline of religion - where religious symbols, doctrines and
institutions lose their social significance.
2. Conformity with the world - where religious movements
become orientated to the goals of 'this world' rather than the
'next'.
3. Disengagement - where the church loses functions to other
institutions, and becomes less significant in moral and political
terms.
4. Transposition of religious beliefs and institutions - where
what were previously regarded as grounded in divine power
become seen as 'human creations'.
5. Desacralisation of the world - scientific and rational
explanations take precedence over religious faith.
6. From sacred to secular society - religion moves from its
central position and takes its place in a 'market' of other
possible philosophies.
Secularisation
'Perhaps the most important attribute
of those who perceive secularisation
to be going on is their commitment
to a particular view of what religion
means.' Glock and Stark
Secularisation
•
There are 2 main approaches to the study
of secularisation
1. The Institutional approach, - which
looks at religious institutions and
how important they are in peoples
lives
2. The Societal approach - which
studies the role and impact of
religion on society and the individual.
Secularisation
Four areas are examined:
1. Participation.
2. Disengagement and differentiation.
3. Religious pluralism.
4. Secularisation of religious
institutions.
Secularisation
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Participation
Going to church, getting married in
church and church christenings have
all declined
• But most people have church
funerals
• Do attendance figures really measure
religiosity?
• It is important to ask why people
attended church.
Secularisation
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Participation
• attendance in the past was based on
social rather than religious reasons.
• Thus, a decline in church-related
• does not necessarily provide evidence
of secularisation.
• Church membership stats can be a
problem too
Secularisation
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RC and C of E tend to include all those on a
Parish register as members while Baptist and
Methodist Churches require members to
‘sign up’
Many Christian churches have a high
percentage of regular attenders over 65yrs
Brierley suggests that many congregations
will disappear altogether
Secularisation
• Hamilton (1988) suggests that although
many in the UK may not go to church
most still do believe in God (though
what/who God is varies)
• The British Attitudes Survey carried out
the following research in 1998
Secularisation
Respondents were asked which statement came
closest to their belief about God
1998
I know God really exists and I have no doubt about it
21
While I have doubts, I feel that I do believe in God
23
I find myself believing in God some of the time, but not at others
14
I dont believe in a personal God, but I do believe in a Higher Power
of some kind
14
I dont know whether there is a God and I dont believe there is any
way to find out
15
I dont believe in God
10
Not answered
All
3
100
Secularisation
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Disengagement and Differentiation
the church seems to have little
influence in society as specialised state
agencies have taken over many
activities formerly carried out by the
church.
• Wilson, (How Religious are We? 1977)
points out how - except for the
occasional ancient ceremony, such as a
coronation - the church has ceased to
preside over national life.
Secularisation
• the church today is merely involved
in symbolic rites of passage hatching, matching and dispatching,
and has become disengaged from
wider society.
• Media, Education, Welfare State and
the Family have all taken over many
of the functions of the church
Secularisation
• Parsons and Martin argue that in a
structurally differentiated society
religious institutions may become
more specialised, but this does not
mean less important.
• Stark and Bainbridge – says it
ignores the equally constant cycle of
birth and growth of new movements.
Secularisation
• Princess Diana’s funeral – merely a
symbolic rite of passage?
Secularisation
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Religious Pluralism
• Again the evidence here is used both to
support the secularisation thesis and
refute it
• Some believe that the more religions
there are the more watered down the
message becomes
• Wilson - The competition between
religions undermines their credibility
Secularisation
• religion does not reinforce the values of
society as a whole and similarly cannot
promote 'social solidarity'.
• Credibility is lost as religions compete
for ‘spiritual shoppers
• Particularly he sees sects as the ‘last
outposts of religion’
• However others see pluralism as a
symbol of strong religiosity
Secularisation
• Greeley sees evidence of resacrilisation – more interest in spiritual
things
• Glock and Bellah, see NRM’s as
demonstrating a new spiritual
sensitivity and search for meaning:
• they have provided a stable social
setting and coherent set of symbols for
young people disorientated by the drug
culture or disillusioned with radical
politics.
Secularisation
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Secularisation of religious institutions/civil religion
• This approach suggests that
secularizing tendencies exist within the
church itself.
• Herberg - Church membership
provides a sense of belonging, and
demonstrates a commitment to the
'American way of life'.
Secularisation
• emphasis is on religious practice not
belief -a kind of religion without god.
• Churches place little emphasis on
theology (belief) but stress the values
of democracy, freedom, attainment and
success.
• There are, however, problems with this
argument:
Secularisation
1. This view of secularisation is
dependent on a particular view of what
religion 'is' - an emphasis on the
supernatural, for example.
2. Others with a different definition
suggest that rather than 'selling out' the
churches have simply adapted
themselves to the needs of their
members.
Secularisation
• In Europe, beliefs have not been
compromised so much and the churches
are empty.
• In the USA, the church has adapted
itself to a changing society and the
churches are full.
Secularisation
The Societal Approach
• This approach is concerned with the
decline in the influence of religious
belief on social norms, values and
attitudes.
• There are two main areas:
1. Transformation versus generalisation.
2. De-sacrilisation versus individuation.
Secularisation
Transformation
• This approach argues that religious
belief has become transformed into
secular guides for action.
• While social values may have had
religious origins, that connection has
now been broken.
• Problem – difficult to know if beliefs
have been transformed or generalised .
Secularisation
Generalisation
religious ideas are still important in society,
although the link to religion is latent rather
than manifest.
Religious values have become generalised
because social values are grounded in
Christian principles
10 commandments – many people don’t know
them but our legal system is based on the
key ones.e.g. Thou shalt not kill!
The problem with generalisation is that it is a
very vague thesis with little supporting
evidence
Secularisation
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generalisation argues that religious beliefs
are still important as guides to moral
behaviour (hence, secularisation is not taking
place):
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transformation suggests that social values
have cut their connection with religion
(hence, secularisation is occurring).
Secularisation
De-Sacrilisation
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This is the idea that the sacred has little or no
place in contemporary western society
Our consciousness has been secularised.
The growth of rational or scientific thinking is
seen as a clear indicator of secularisation
Weber, saw de-sacrilisation as the
'disenchantment of the world' - the world
loses its mystery and magic.
Wilson argues that the rational view of the
world is the enemy of religion.
Secularisation
Individuation
‘A number of sociologists have argued
that while institutional religion is in
decline, this is only one form of
religion, and that other aspects of
religion (for example, the search for
some meaning in life) continue in a
variety of forms in modern society’
(source www.s-cool.co.uk)
Secularisation
Individuation
• Individuation, is the idea of religion as
an individual search for meaning.
• religion has not declined, but its form of
expression has changed.
• Bellah - the decline of institutional
religion is not a sign of secularisation,
but shows that the individual must work
out his/her own ultimate solutions
Secularisation
• Luckmann - people make sense of their
experiences by selecting from a wide
range of sources, e.g. Christianity,
astrology etc religion becomes
individual and private.
• Post – Modernists agree with this line
of thinking and see the increase in New
Age style beliefs as a turning away from
science and modernity
Secularisation
Criticisms
• How do we 'know' that people are
involved in a quest for meaning?
• Additionally, if any such quest is seen
as religious, then perhaps the concept
has been stretched so wide as to be
meaningless.
Secularisation
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Believing Without Belonging
Davie - in the UK we have developed a
‘believing without belonging‘ approach to
religion
Many people do have religious beliefs but
don’t practice them on a regular basis.
For many religion has become a new
‘vicarious’ activity, in other words we like the
fact that some people somewhere are doing it
‘properly’ by attending religious services etc
Secularisation
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Believing Without Belonging
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the non partaking majority approve of the
partaking active minority and join in with
them only at certain times when there is the
need for a public ritual to mark some
significant event
e.g. services after the 7/7 bombings. Princess
Diana’s funeral etc
Also this non active majority believe that
churches etc must meet other demands at
certain times e.g. to ‘do’ weddings and
funerals
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Secularisation
Surrogate Religions
Religion in our society competes with other
belief systems and activities - more people
can be found in the supermarket on Sunday
than in church.
Bellah 1970 argues that in the US there is a
form of civil religion, which includes ideas
on freedom, justice and quality. This unites
people and acts to maintain social solidarity
within groups.
Secularisation
Football is
the new
religion!
Secularisation
Science
• Many believe that science has replaced
religion
• It gives the facts!
• However many others argue that
science has failed to deliver
• BSE, AIDS etc have shown the fallibility
of science
• Many have become disillusioned and
seek enlightenment elsewhere
Secularisation
Medicine
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Turner (1983) – more people turn to
medicine than religion when ill
• In tribal socs the medical and spiritual
are often combined – hence witchdoctors
• Medicine struggles with areas like
cancer, AIDS etc
• Many pray when medicine offers no
hope
Secularisation
Psychotherapy
Lasch (1980) & Gellner (1985) see
psychotherapy as having taken over the
role of curing the inner self
Secularisation
Fundamentalism
In recent times much has been made of
fundamentalist beliefs, particularly with
regard to Islam and terrorism. However
this ignores the fact that most religions
have supporters who would describe
themselves as fundamentalists.
Secularisation
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism - refers to a belief
in the need to subscribe to or return
to traditional values and practices,
usually involving the literal translation
and belief in a religious text
Secularisation
Bauman 1992
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a rise in fundamentalism (e.g. amongst Jews
in Israel, Islamic groups in Iran, and the
Christian Right in the USA) in the last 30
years
is a response to Globalisation and the need
to preserve cultural identity
Globalisation is a process where economic
and social change affects many countries
without regard for national boundaries
Secularisation
Holden 2002
• Says that in such times of insecurity and
moral decline fundamentalist beliefs offer
‘hope direction and certainty’.
Secularisation
Stereotypical fundamentalist images
Secularisation
..and some non-typical fundamentalist images
Bibleman: A God-fearing
Superhero as he appears
on US TV
Alabama 1998 – 1
person killed in
bombing of an abortion
clinic by an extremist
pro-life supporter