Secularisation

Question 1

How do sociologists define secularisation?

AO1/2

Answer 1

• Wilson: “the process whereby religious thinking, practice, and institutions lose social significance”
• Weber: “the disenchantment” of the world”

Question 2

How can we criticise definitions of secularisation?

AO3

Answer 2

• Lyotard: we are now experiencing the renchantment of the world - religion is not declining just changing form
• Davie: believing without belonging - institutions declining in importance doesn’t mean society is secularising
• Davie: vicarious religion - most religions have an active minority who the majority experience teaching from vicariously

Question 3

How do Glock and Stark criticise secularisation?

AO1/2/3

Answer 3

Secularisation requires a decline of faith in comparison to the past. This is often based on the misguided assumption of a historic ‘Golden Age of Faith’. This can be challenged by:
- Unreliable historical records: data is sparse, has gaps missing, and is often based on church headcounts which is flawed methodology
- Lack of opinion polls: we have no understanding of why people attended church in this time - could have been due to social desirability
- Crockett: 1851 Census - church attendance was only 40%

Question 4

How can we analyse religious beliefs, practices, and institutions losing significance?

AO3

Answer 4

BELIEF:
- General Social Survey: The amount of people who claim to not believe in God and never have has doubled between 1998 and 2018
- General Social Survey: 1/3 of the population consider themself “very or extremely non-religious”
- BUT laws still reflect the values of the C of E

PRACTICE:
- Only 49% of the population claim to pray
- For the past 20 years, weekly church attendance has remained at a low 11% of the population
- BUT Abrahamic religions are still taught in many schools as part of the Religious Studies Curriculum

INSTITUTIONS:
- In 2024 only 17% of weddings were in a church
- Around a third of the population feel religious insititutions have too much power or far too much power
- BUT there are 26 Bishops in the House of Lords

Question 5

Why does Weber believe society is becoming secular?

AO1

Answer 5

• Enlightenment period: saw the beginning of the decline of religious thinking and growth of scientific thought
• Rationalisation: society has undergone rationalisation and rational ways of thinking have begun to replace religious ones - desacrilisation of consciousness
• Before society lived in an enchanted garden e.g. midieval belief in superstition
• Disenchantment of the world: society is now disillusioned with religion. Belief in God has become more transcendent as people no longer believe God is directly involved in our lives and works in ways we can explain

Question 6

What is Bruce’s example of secularisation?

AO2

Answer 6

Technological Worldview:
- People now look to technology to explain events rather than religion
- e.g. if a plane crashed we’d check the black box rather than explain it as punishment from God

Question 7

How can we analyse Weber and Bruce?

AO3

Answer 7

Temmpleton Charity Foundation 2009:
- In the UK only 32% of scientists characterised science vs faith as being in conflict
- In Hong Kong only 20% of the population is religious but 39% of scientists are

• Rise in spiritual healing methods e.g. crystals, mediatation

Question 8

How can we evaluate Weber?

AO3

Answer 8

• Thompson: are humans really rational? Many people are skeptical of science e.g. flat-earthers, anti-vaxxers
• Stark and Bainbridge: religion is a rational choice -humans naturally seek rewards e.g. afterlife and avoid costs e.g. hell
• Beck: science has created risks e.g. nuclear war, global warming - people may turn to religion for comfort from these risks

Question 9

What does Parsons say about secularisation?

AO1/2

Answer 9

Structural Differentiation: different institutions have now taken over the roles of others
- Disengagement: more specialised institutions carry out the functions other institutions used to perform
- Privatisation: religion has now been relegated to the private sphere and is a personal choice rather than a need
- e.g. churches used to provide welfare e.g. care for the sick, orphanages, shelter for the homeless but now we have a welfare state that provides this

Question 10

How can we analyse Parsons?

AO3

Answer 10

• Only happening in the western world - Islam is still the fastest growing religion
• Bruce: the media are the primary source of morals in contemporary society
• People still often turn to religion as a source of comfort when tragedies happen e.g. Princess Diana’s funeral - Davie: spiritual health service

Question 11

What is Berger’s view?

AO1/2

Answer 11

• Society was once covered by a sacred canopy that was formed in the Middle Ages
• This was a single belief system with a monopoly of truth
• Protestant reformation started the break of the sacred canopy
• Increased migration in the modern day has also contributed to religious pluralism
• There is now too much choice - this plurality of life worlds has undermined the plausibility structure of religion

Question 12

How can we evaluate Berger?

AO3

Answer 12

• Stark and Bainbridge: religious market theory - religious pluralism actually increases religiosity
• Eurocentric: many countries still have a sacred canopy e.g. Somalia, UAE. Some countries never even had a sacred canopy but are highly religious e.g. the divide between Catholics and Protestants has been ongoing but there is still high levels of Christianity

Question 13

What scholars talk about secularisation from within?

AO1

Answer 13

• Herberg: churches are watering down their beliefs to remain compatible with members e.g. allowing cohabitation, downplaying hell
• Bruce: American churches have remained more popular as Americans use services as a form of therapy - they use church to focus on this worldly issues rather than ultimate salvation. A lot of the churchgoers were less strict about their morality
• Wilson: Americans have not abandoned going to churches but religion has become superficial

Question 14

What research evidence is there for secularisation from within?

AO2

Answer 14

• US Church attendance has been stable at 40% since 1940 - churches should be full but they are not
• Hadaway: interviews in Ohio suggested church attendance was 83% higher than headcounts had found - people were lying due to social desirability
• 2010 PEW: 90% of Americans claim to believe in some form of God. The majority of Americans find atheists less trustworthy than rapists
• Dawkins 2011: 60% of American churchgoers have never read any part of the Bible

Question 15

What scholars speak about religious diversity leading to secularisation?

AO1

Answer 15

• Bruce: practical relativism - people accept that there is religious diversity
• Lynd and Lynd: in 1924 94% of churchgoers agreed that ‘Christianity is the one true religion and all people should be converted to it’. In 1977 only 41% agreed

Question 16

What is Lyon’s theory?

AO1/2

Answer 16

The Disneyfication of Religion:
- In secular, consumerist PM society, religion struggles to stay relevant
- Religions merge religious beliefs with popculture to stay relevant
- Religion is packaged like a commodity which keeps it relevant but makes people take it less seriously
e.g. Harvest Day Crusade in Disneyland:
- ‘Bring God’s Kingdom to the magic Kingdom’
- rides, food, 10,000 Christian performers