Secularisation In America

In 1962, what did Wilson find?

That 45% of Americans attended church on Sundays.

What did Wilson argue?

That churchgoing in America was more an expression of the ‘American way of life‘ than of deeply held religious beliefs. Wilson claimed that America was a secular society, not because people had abandoned the churches, but because religion there had become superficial.

What view does Bruce share?

Wilson’s; he uses three sources of evidence to support his claim that America is becoming increasingly secular.

What are the three sources of evidence Bruce used to support Wilson’s claim that America is becoming increasingly secular?

• Declining church attendance.

• ‘Secularisation from within‘.

• A trend towards religious diversity and relativism.

What does opinion poll research asking people about church attendance suggest?

That it has been stable at about 40% of the population since 1940.

What did Hadaway find?

That the figure of 40 % of the population going to church did not match the churches’ own attendance statistics. If 40% of Americans were going to church, they would be full - but they were not.

What did hadaway et al. study?

Church attendance in Ohio. To estimate attendance, they carried out head counts at services. Then in interviews, they asked people if they attended church.

What did Hadaway et al. find?

That the level of attendance claimed by the interviewees was 83% higher than the researchers’ estimates of church attendance in the county.

What is the findings of Hadaway et al. evidence of?

The fact that the tendency to exaggerate churchgoing is a recent development. Until the 1970s, the findings of opinions matched the churches’ own estimates, but since then the ‘attendance gap‘ has widened.

What does Bruce argue?

That a stable rate of self-reported attendance of about 40% has masked a decline in actual attendance in the US. The widening gap may be due to the fact that it is still seen as socially desirable or normative to go to church, so people who have stopped going will still say they attend if asked in a survey.

What does Bruce argue about the way American religion has adjusted to the modern world?

That it amounts to secularisation from within. The emphasis on traditional Christian beliefs and glorifying God has declined and religion in America has become ‘psychologised‘ or turned into a form of therapy. This change has enabled it to fit in with a secular society. In short, American religion has remained popular by becoming less religious.

In America, what has the purpose of religion changed from?

Seeking validation in heaven to seeking personal improvement in this world. This decline in commitment to traditional beliefs can be seen in people’s attitudes. Churchgoers are now much less strict than previously in their adherence to traditional religious morality.

What has the growth of religious diversity also contributed to?

Secularisation from within. Churchgoers are becoming less dogmatic in their views.

What does Bruce identify a trend towards?

Practical relativism among American Christians, involving acceptance of the view that others are entitled to hold beliefs that are different to one’s own.

What did Lynd and Lynd’s study find?

That in 1924, 94% of churchgoing young people agreed with the statement ‘Christianity is the one true religion and all people should be converted to it‘. However, by 1977, only 41% agreed.

What is the counterpart to practical relativism?

The erosion od absolutism - we now live in a society where many people hold views that are completely different to ours, which undermines out assumption that our own views are absolutely true.

What are the different points on which secularisation theory has been criticised?

• Religion is not declining but simply changing its form.

• Secularisation theory is one-sided. It focuses on decline and ignores religious revivals and the growth of new religions.

• Evidence of falling church attendance ignores people who believe but don't go to church.

• Religion may have declined in Europe but not globally, so secularisation is not universal.

• The past was not a 'golden age' of faith from which we have declined, and the future will not be an age of atheism.

• Far from causing decline, religious diversity increases participation because it offers choice. There is no overall downward trend. Religious trends point in different directions and people make use of religion in all sorts of different ways.