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Nanda (2008) - religion is still growing
She found that religiosity was growing - 30% of ppl in india said that they have grown more religious.
Religion still has a great social power in countries like....
Iran and Saudia Arabia - the law is rooted in Muslims teaching and religious teachers have a significant amount of state power
Davie ( Fundamentalism)
She links fundamentalism's unshakable confidence in their own answers to search for certaintity in a world of social chaos
Giddens ( Religious Fundementalism)
Argues that we are in a late-modern society characterised by choice, uncertainity and risk.= Where a set of universal beliefs can be quite attractive
Bruce ( New Christian right )
Fundamentalism in the West - New Christian right developed in response to acceptance of divorce, abortions and sexual permissiveness
Fundamnetalism in the third world
Fundamentalism in 3rd world tended to be reactions against ideologies thrust upon the country from outside sources
3rd world example
Iran didnt like western secular values as it was seen as immoral and Western views on consumerism and individualism can be signs of selfishness ect
Poland : That Catholic Church and the Solidarity movement
Catholicism in Poland was against communism and an act of cultural defence showing that religion is still important as Priests gave anti- communist sermons and staged an 8 daye pilgrame which caused the communist government to vanish
Iran : The Iranian revolution
Cause: Western Secularism and Authoritarian monarchy
Globally It brought about profound change at great speed as they used their islamic identity as cultural defence
Globalisation and the spread of Religions
It removed the sacred canopy that the church held over Western Europe
As people migrate around the world - religion acts as a strong cultural marker (cultural defence)
Hervieu-Leger ( globalisation)
Greater religious diversity lead to greater spiritual shopping
Misleading Church attendance data
40% of Americans attend church on Sundays
Secularisation in the USA
Misleading church attendance
Secularisation from within
Resurgence of Prosperity Gospel
Practical relativism
Hadaway (1993)
They found that church attendance was an 83% exaggeration when compared to headcounts at services in Ohio
Secularisation from within (bruce)
Religious market theory suggests religious organisations will adapt to attract the greatest number of people
Bruce suggests that the emphasis in American churches have become psychologised and more like therapy
The resurgence of 'Prosperity Gospel'
Emphasises the role of personal posessions and feelings rather that of a focus on core Christianity
Practical relativism (Bruce)
He suggests that though Americans call themselves Christians, the functionally live as of they were secular
Lynd and Lynds study
1929 - 94% agreed that ' christianity is the one true religion' but by 1977 only 41% agreed
Davie (secular fundamentalism)
Non- secular worldviews have been surpressed by secular governments
eg of secular fundamentalism
France bannes pupils from wearing realigious symbols in school and in 2010 made it illegal for women to wear the veil
Ansell (2000)- secular fundamentalism
Secular fundamentalism as a form of cultural racism
Norris and Inglehart (2011)- Existential security
they suggest that different levels of religiousity in different countries is due to different levels of existential security
(the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted
Gill and Lundegaarde(2004- Existential security theory)
Found that more a country spends on welfare, the lower the level of religious participation which explains why man european countries spend more on welfare and are more secular than USA
Weber ( Protestant work ethic)
He identified an unexpected consequence of the protestant reformation that chnaged most of wester civilisation -Calvinism led to Capitalism
(Increased productivity + Asceticism = Capitalism
In protestantism = work is spiritual
Protestants saw everything in the wolrd as being by God and for God = Your earthly world is your spiritual world
Asceticism
Live a frugal lifestyle w/o indulging in lifes pleasures= Calvinists were more likely to read the bible and take its commands seriously such as calvinists were less likely to waste their money on immoral practices such as excessive drinking
Worldly Asceticism
Self discipline and avoidance of indulgence
Capitalism
Protestants were earning more money but not spending it on alcohol so it was reinvested back into business, in turn making them more profitable
Only Calvinism has both Productivity and Asceticism
Weber - Hinduism in India as another ascetic religion but bc it rejected the material world- followers never aqcquired great wealth
Webers view on 'Salvation Panic'
1. Calvinism teaches that God chose before the dawn of time the people who would be saved
2. There is nothing someone can do to make them be saved
3. Calvinits who worked hard and were productive would find themeselves more prosperous
Eval of Webers suggestion that Calvinism created Capitalism
Weber argues that Calvinism created capitalism but Marx argues that it was the other way round
Tawney- It wasnt religion that created capitalism but technological changes eg printing press
American Civil Rights movement (Bruce)
American civil rights movement as religion can be driver for great changes - christianity acted as an ideaological rescource to provide beliefs and practices
Four main reasons why American Civil rights movement was succesful
They took the moral high ground - using religious ideas to promote the idea of equality
The challanged dissent- through the use of church buildings as meeting places
They acted as honest brokers - Church was respected by both sides and 'above politics'
They mobilised public opinion - and campaigned for public support across the whole of USA
Liberation theology
Led by Oscar Romero (movement within Catholic Church ) - They focused on Christianity as a preferential option for the poor and challenged authorities
Neo-Marxist view on liberation theory
Religion as a dual character
1.Religion is a conservative force - supprts capitalism
2, religion as a force for change - religion should be used to preach freedom from oppression
Gramsci
Capitalists maintain hegemony through controlling ideas to which the proleteriat are exposed to (capitalists rule with consent of the people.
Who are organic intellectuals
Priests and Bishops as they arent controlled by the ruling class as they are controlled by religious world view
Bloch 1959 - Principle of hope
which expresses dreams of a better world and inspires protests and revolutions
Eval of religion as a force for change (Bruce )
Religion can be a force for change but only if they are supporting a more general and secular social movement eg civil rights gained momentum in non-religious groups
Church (basic Info)
long standing-centuries, mainstream,connected to the wider society eg church of england and catholic church
Sect (basic info)
Breakaway group from the church, often over teaching eg Calvary Chapel, mormons,jevohas witness
Denomination
evolve from a sect which has cooled down and become more established and lasted the test of time(national/international) eg methodists, pentecostal
Cult (basic info- Stark and Bainbridge)
New mystical movements that focus on individual experience - seeking an ultimte truth and not a group to 'join'
three types of cults
audience cult, client cult, cultic movements
audience cult
self-help therapies- little face to face interaction - usually contacted via mass media - a series of ideas ppl use to improve their lives eg astrology
Client Cults
Offer a particular service- face to face therapies focusing on wellbeing and personal improvement eg tarot
Cultic movements
High demand - meet all your needs- organised and demanding and set apart from wider society eg heavens gate
The new age movements
The hollistic milieu (the environment of new age movement)- focus on individual spirituality , love and coming age of harmony- no collective worship eg reiki
Wallis - New Religious Movements ( new way of classification)
World rejecting norms
world affirming norms
world accomodating norms
World affirming norms
life positive, individualistic and aiming to release 'human potential'- more like theraoy group that accepts the world as it is
world rejecting norms
highly critical of the outside world- split from mainstream and req followers to break away from their old life ans seperate from the world
world accommodating norms
want more clarity/ certainty on teachings and expectatioms that leads to higher demands eg mormons
Crockett 1851
40% of population attend church on a sunday
Berger - sacred canopy
in the past the church influenced nearly every part of a persons life
Divine right of Kings
The church had te power to decide who would be in charge and gave legitimacy to their rule
rites
the church performed important rites at important life events eg baptism, wedding
Structural differentiation (Parsons)
There is no longer a sacred canopy - as many people can go their entire life w/o interacting with the church as other institutions do the functions of the church
secularised from within
sects and cults have grown in membership as people have found that churches have secularised from within
Sects- death or denominations
Somtimes sects can die out when the first memeers die or move on but sometimes sects grow beyond and become a denomination
cults -spirituality w/o religion (stark and bainbridge)
cults allow individuals to take part in spiritual practices w/o structured orgnisations
The growth of new age movements
They focus on spirituality and personal experience rather than collective workship of a God or diety
Drane (1999) - growth of new age movements
NAM hve grown bc they fit well into our postmodern world of pick and mix religion and identities
Define secularization
The decline in religious thinking, institutions and practice (loses social significance )
Desacralization of conciousness (Bruce)
people dont think in terms of religion anymore (religious thinking declines) - religion has minimal impact on someones life
data for desacralization of conciousness
2021 census - 49% of britons say they belive in God in comparison to 75% in the 1981
Cultural Christian (Bruce)
Many people describe themeselves as religious/christian but dont know much about the life of Jesus or the Bible
Decline in religious practice
1851 - 40% of the population went to church on sunday but now only 5% attend (CofE have seen a 15% drop in attendance)
Declining influence of religious institutions
Berger suggests Catholic Church has a sacred canopy over the world (Hegemony) -
Hegemony
Everyone holds the sames ideas which was set by the church
Structural differentiation (Parsons)
The idea that the functions of the church are being done by a different institutions eg the secular state - church loses significance
The rise of scientific ideologies and rationalism
Weber - protestant reformation brought new ideas of rationalism -as god acted consistently ppl felt that they could explore the world through scientific methods
Disenchantment of the world
Bruce - as people look for scientific and naturalistic explanations for phenomena rather than supernatural explanation
Privatisation of religion
Structural differentation - which means people have less contact with religious institutions and so people dont know what religion teaches
virtual collapse of religious socialisation
Arweck and Beck - secularisation of RE in schools - as students are not learning from religion itself and this leads to RE in schools being incredibly poor
why is RE in school incredibly poor
Many Re teachers are not subject-specialists and likely non-religious - will teach secular views
RE syllabus is more like sociology / cultural studies
Secularised from within
Herberg - religious have watered down teachingt to remarket themselves and be more attractive ( religious market theory)
Disneyization of religion
Bryman - people's experiences of religion is nowadays considered irrelevant and commercialised and that religious ideas that secular ppl are aware of have been diluted/simplified
Rise of postmodern ideologies; globalisation
Globalisation - more accesible to people bc of international media and migration
International media
People are aware of religions from around the world
Migration
Increased cultural diversity in British society so people are more accepting of different religions in order to be inclusive
What undermined the sacred canopy of the Catholic Church
Protestant reformation = plurality of religions have been tolerated in western world
Plausability crisis
Berger - where there are multiple opinions about religion so people start to they are all wrong
Individualisation and rejection of metanarratives
Lyotard - suggests that contemporary consumer - driven society ppl now chose their own 'pick and mix religions' ( centered around themselves and their own identity
Belief without belonging
Davie - secularisation isnt taking place its just that ppl are doing religion differently bc in the past ppl attended church bc of strong cultural norms
belief w/o belonging Hellend
Churches operate online to reach wider society - sermons online/ podcast ect
Vicarious religion
Davie - that people expect someone to do religion on their behalf
Spiritual health service
Davie- Church is where people can dip in-and-out when they need it
What did hervieu-leger say about society
Individualistic and Consumeristic
Spiritual pilgrims
Hervieu leger argues that one way people can fufill their spirituality is to become spiritual pilgrim (these people follow an individual path of personal self discovery.
Spiritual converts
Hervieu- leger -argues that another way to fufil their spirituality is to become a spiritual convert - thsi offers a strong sense of belonging
Lyon (2000)
argues that today postmodern society rejects all meta narrative claims
Postmodern religion
People may feel that religions might hold some truth and postmodernists are willing to pick-and-mix religion
Bellah
Sheilaism- 'I believe in God. Im not a religious fanatic'
Heelas and Woodhead
argue tha people have moved on from religion to spirituality
What did Heelas and Woodhead suggest
1. The holistic milieu was growing - new age spirituality is growing
2. The traditional churches were in decline
3. Evangelical churches are fairly stable
Cultural transition (Bruce)
Second and third generation immigrants lose their religious identities as they have transitioned into a new culture and secularisation follows
Cultural defence (Bruce)
Migrants feel uncertain in a new environemnet so revert back to religion to feel better
Religious market theory suggests two ways in which religion can show renewal of society
1. Times in a persons life when they feel out of control or start considering an ultimate questions
2. religions will rebrand themselves to be more appealing to society
= more religious ideas will enter the maretplace - growth of NAM and sects
Religion as a conservatice force (Functionalist perspective)
Parsons- shared norms and values - goal of religion is to produce value consensus that can produce social order like teachings such as do not murder
Durkheim : Totemism and Society worship
religion has been a major way by which society has been held together - religious ideologies seperate the world into the scared and profane
Totem represents the group idenity and so worship of the totem is worship of social group= strong level of social cohesion