The Secularisation Debate

wilson 1966

the “classic” definition. The process by which religious thinking + practices lose social significance

• difficult to operationalise

bruce 2002

secularisation - a social condition manifest in:

• the declining imp of religion in non-religious institutions

• decline in social standing of religious organizations

• decline in the extent to which people engage in religious practices, display engagement in religion

Jose Casanova

macro: secularisation of societal structures/decline in the social significance of religion - how much power does religion hold over instititutions?

micro: secularisation in personal life/beliefs - how many ppl attend church?

Weber

argued that rel declined in importance due to rationalization and modernization -modern societies are incompatible w religion, ppl turn to science instead

• ppl act less in terms of emotion/tradition and mire in terms of the rational pursuit of goals (what in the corporate nonsense)

• evaluation: modern society is swinging towards fundamentalism

bruce (2011)

protestanism contributed to secularisation (like weber)

• structural differentiation - social inst. separate themselves from each other, become more specialised.

• social differentiation - social classes became distinct

• socialisation

• schisms

bainbridge

the secularisation process countered by constant regrowth of religion - will never be complete

religious participation

church attendance dropped from 11.1% to 5.4% - mayreflect a rise in denominations and immigrations

religious membership

church in england has lost power: 20% say no official religion, 5% say they are hostile to religion