Download Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion?

Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject
Religion? What is Secularism?
By Vexen Crabtree 2008 Nov 30
1. What do Secular, Secularisation, and Secularisation Theory
Mean?
“...the ongoing, growing, and powerful movement called secularism, a way of understanding and
living that is indifferent to religion -- in fact, not even concerned enough to pay it any attention,
much less oppose it.”
National Council of Churches1
Secular means without religion. Non-religious people lead secular lives. Secular
government runs along rational and humanistic lines. This is the norm in democratic
countries. The individuals that make up the government are rightly free to have whatever
religion they want, as are the populace. Because of this freedom, in a multicultural world,
there is a requirement for governments not to cause resentment or divisions by
identifying itself with a particular religion. The most well-known phrase proposing secular
democracy as an ideal is Jefferson's "wall of separation between church and state"
[paraphrased].
Secularism, promoted by secularists, is the belief that religion should be a private,
personal, voluntary affair that does not impose upon other people. Public spaces and
officialdom should therefore be religion-neutral. Secularism ensures that religions are
treated fairly and that no bias exists for a particular religion, and also that non-religious
folk such as Humanists are treated with equal respect. It is the only democratic way to
proceed in a globalized world where populations are free to choose their own, varied,
religions.
Secularisation is the process of things becoming more secular. Most of the Western
world has seen this paradigm come to dominate politics and civil life, starting from the
time of the Enlightenment. Religion, because it causes issues, retreats from the public
sphere as people prefer to meet on neutral terms, in peace.
Secularisation Theory is the theory in sociology that as society advances in modernity,
religion retreats. Intellectual and scientific developments have undermined the spiritual,
supernatural, superstitious and paranormal ideas on which religion relies for its
legitimacy. Therefore, religion becomes more and more "hollow", surviving for a while on
empty until loss of active membership forces them into obscurity. The evidences and
shortcomings of this theory are discussed later in this text.
Some take the process of secularisation as a personal affront, and think that mere lack
of bias from government implies an active attack. They see any reduction in (their own)
public religion to be bad, and apparently they do not understand the causes or reasons
behind the secularisation of officialdom. Hopefully this page will address this.
2. Secularisation Theory
Secularisation theory explains that as modern society advances it will become
increasingly secular, and religion will become increasingly hollow. Since the rise of
science in the 17th Century, sociological commentators have realised that religion may
be in a permanent decline, and some have proposed the science and intelligence, both
rooted in the Enlightenment, are anathema to religious faith. Karl Marx (1818-1883),
Durkheim (1857-1917), Max Weber (1864-1920), the founders of sociology, and William
James (lectures from 1901-1902) are four eminent men who all noted this decline. My
page Religion in the United Kingdom: Diversity, Trends and Decline page show
examples and charts of what this long-term decline looks like, in terms of memberships,
attendance and beliefs, etc.
“The three 'classical' sociological theorists, Marx, Durkheim and Weber [all] thought that
the significance of religion would decrease in modern times. Each believed that religion
is in a fundamental sense an illusion. The advocates of different faiths may be wholly
persuaded of the validity of the beliefs they hold and the rituals in which they participate,
yet the very diversity of religions and their obvious connections to different types of
society, the three thinkers held, make these claims inherently implausible.”
"Sociology" by Anthony Giddens (1997)2
Moojan Momen (1999) says there are five ways of looking at secularisation:
1. "Decline of popular involvement in institutionalized religion. This can be seen in
the decline in church attendance, with fewer marriages, baptisms and funerals
being performed under religious auspices."
2. "The loss of prestige of religious institutions and symbols" and the decline in
influence of religious organisations.
3. "The separation of society from the religious world, so that religion becomes
purely personal matter."
4. The loss of the idea of the sacred. "As science increases our understanding of
humanity and of the world, the area of 'mystery' and the supernatural decrease."
5. "Religious groups themselves become increasingly concerned with the things of
this world rather than the spiritual world."
2.1. The Dalai Lama Defends Secularism as a Way to Respect All
Religion
The Dalai Lama proved himself to have a good understanding of what secularism is
when he defended it, in 2006, as a route to respect all religions through its doctrines of
non-interference and non-promotion of any particular religions:
“DALAI LAMA SAYS SECULARISM IS THE TRUE ROUTE TO HAPPINESS
The Dalai Lama has come out in defence of secularism. Speaking in Tokyo, the Tibetan
spiritual figurehead said: "Secularism does not mean rejection of all religions. It means
respect for all religions and human beings including non-believers. I am talking to you
not as a Tibetan or a Buddhist but as a human being having a friendly discussion and
sharing my experiences on the benefits of cultivating basic human values."
In a lecture on "A Good Heart - The key to Health and Happiness" the Dalai Lama
emphasises that cultivating secular ethics - which he said has nothing to do with religion
- benefits all human beings. He said strengthening inner values of warm-heartedness
and compassion benefits both believers and non-believers in leading a happy and
meaningful life. He said, "Love and compassion attracts, hatred and anger repels. [...]
Peace does not mean absence of conflicts. Differences will always be there. Peace
means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education,
knowledge; through humane ways," the Dalai Lama said amidst a thunderous applause.
Terry Sanderson, vice president of the National Secular Society, said: "It is not often that
we can raise a cheer for a religious leader, but the Dalai Lama is sensible to say that a
universal ethic is better than one based on religion. Secularism asks us to keep our
religion to ourselves, which enables us as human beings to share what unites us rather
than what divides us."”
National Secular Society (2006)9
2.2. S. Bruce Defends Secularisation Theory (1996)
Steve Bruce (1996)10 looks at the major comments made by those who do not believe
that increasing secularisation is causing a decline in religious belief. "Despite the fuss
made by a few sociologists keen to challenge the secularisation thesis, that consensus
is very clear: our medieval past was considerably more religious than our modern
present.". He looks at the assertion that although modern Church membership is
plummeting "religious belief" is still just as strong and refutes it by showing the relevant
stats, sociology and history.
The "trend is clear. Those marks of an enduring interest in religion that persist outside
the churches are themselves becoming weaker and more rare. If one wants to call those
residues 'implicit religion', then one has to recognize that the implicit is decaying in the
same way as the explicit. It is not a compensating alternative"
He continues: "Secondly, it should be no surprise that, though there are more avowed
atheists than there were twenty years ago, they remain rare. Self-conscious atheism and
agnosticism are features of religious cultures and were at their height in the Victorian
era. They are postures adopted in a world where people are keenly interested in
religion".
Some also say that secularisation is limited to highly Protestant countries where
individual choices came to be viewed as more important than communal worship. But
Brian Wilson points out that although, "it is perhaps no accident that the world's first
secular societies as generally recognized, should be societies in the Christian Protestant
tradition, but it is increasingly clear that in societies outside that tradition, of which
perhaps Japan is the outstanding example [...] similar processes of secularization are in
progress."11.
5. The Defiers of Secularisation
The world is not secularizing evenly. Some of the exceptions (even in the developed
world) are so pronounced that some question the entire Secularisation Theory; some
(errornously) believe it is only a European phenomenon14. It is these critics that Steve
Bruce had responded to above, pointing to Japan as an example of a non-Christian
country that has also secularized extensively.

The USA still has a very high religiosity rate, as high as third-world countries, and
is, with the possible exception of parts of Scandinavia the most advanced country
in the world. So this is a serious exception that needs explaining. Most
explanation have concentrated on the high level of immigration, something which
tends to harden people's religions.

The developing world is highly religious; there are countries and cultures that can
hardly imagine what life without religion is like.

Sections of society within secular countries remain highly religious..
See Ms. Pennell for References if you need them.