Secularisation

1. Secularisation Durkheim • Religion helps to maintain social cohesion • Collective worship brings people together • As societies develop, religion loses this role

2. 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

3. Secularisation Freud • Religion is an illusion • God takes the place of parents • Rationality replaces religion

4. Secularisation Weber • Religion answers important questions • Why am I here? Etc • Science & rationality replace religion • Religion has been a force for social change

5. Secularisation One of the best working definitions is given by Wilson… "the process whereby religious thinking, practice and institutions lose social significance"

6. Secularisation • The key issues here are.. • What do religious practice and thinking actually involve • How can you measure significance? • Any account of the secularisation process depends on the definition of religion adopted in the first place

7. Secularisation • Shiner (1967), showed six different versions of secularisation 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.

8. 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

9. Secularisation • There are 2 main approaches to the study of secularisation • The Institutional approach, - which looks at religious institutions and how important they are in peoples lives • The Societal approach - which studies the role and impact of religion on society and the individual.

10. Secularisation Four areas are examined: • Participation. • Disengagement and differentiation. • Religious pluralism. • Secularisation of religious institutions.

11. Secularisation • 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.

12. Secularisation • 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

13. Secularisation • 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

14. 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

15. Secularisation

16. Secularisation • 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. 

17. 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 

18. 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.

19. Secularisation • Princess Diana’s funeral – merely a symbolic rite of passage?

20. Secularisation • 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

21. 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

22. Secularisation • Greeley sees evidence of re-sacrilisation – 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. 

23. Secularisation • 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'.

24. 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:

25. Secularisation • This view of secularisation is dependent on a particular view of what religion 'is' - an emphasis on the supernatural, for example. • Others with a different definition suggest that rather than 'selling out' the churches have simply adapted themselves to the needs of their members.

26. 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.

27. 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: • Transformation versus generalisation. • De-sacrilisation versus individuation.

28. 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 .

29. 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

30. Secularisation • generalisation argues that religious beliefs are still important as guides to moral behaviour (hence, secularisation is not taking place): • transformation suggests that social values have cut their connection with religion (hence, secularisation is occurring).

31. Secularisation De-Sacrilisation • 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.

32. 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)

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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.

36. Secularisation • 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

37. Secularisation • Believing Without Belonging • 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

38. 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.

39. Secularisation Football is the new religion!

40. 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

41. Secularisation Medicine • Turner (1983) – more people turn to medicine than religion when ill • In tribal socs the medical and spiritual are often combined – hence witch-doctors • Medicine struggles with areas like cancer, AIDS etc • Many pray when medicine offers no hope

42. Secularisation Psychotherapy Lasch (1980) & Gellner (1985) see psychotherapy as having taken over the role of curing the inner self

43. 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.

44. 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

45. Secularisation Bauman 1992 • 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 Globalisationand the need to preserve cultural identity • Globalisation is a process where economic and social change affects many countries without regard for national boundaries

46. Secularisation Holden 2002 • Says that in such times of insecurity and moral decline fundamentalist beliefs offer ‘hope direction and certainty’.

47. Secularisation Stereotypical fundamentalist images

48. Secularisation ..and some non-typical fundamentalist images Alabama 1998 – 1 person killed in bombing of an abortion clinic by an extremist pro-life supporter Bibleman: A God-fearing Superhero as he appears on US TV