Secularisation in America

Norris and Inglehart

• existential security theory

Existential security theory - Norris and Inglehart

Levels of secularisation are related to wealth and security. Higher levels of participation in LICs than HICS. This is because in LICs people don't take living for granted.

Bogus Baptisms

Parents undergo the ceremony for the purpose of their children gaining entry to a faith school. a significant number of the 55,000 baptisms in 2021 are thought to be bogus baptisms.

Declining Church Attendance - Bruce

Used Hadaway’s research, found an attendance gap when he was looking at church attendance in Ohio. Interviews were more optimistic about church attendance, church head counts showed the opposite.

Hadaway

• exaggerated church attendance figures in USA, church head counts vs interviews had a huge difference - found that 83% interviewees claimed higher attendances meaning answers were affected by social desirability bias therefore there is a DECLINING church attendance

Evaluation of Hadaway/Bruce

• Social desirability bias affected results. (interviewees claimed 83% higher attendance) but it means it’s still SOCIALLY DESIRABLE to be religious. (people lie about religion due to social desirability bias)

• Validity wasn’t high as you can’t measure how religious an area is through one particular method.

Secularisation from Within - Bruce

America’s religion is now ‘less religious’

• traditional religious ideas have declined

• religion is now a form of therapy

• churchgoers are less strict with attendance/actions

Secularisation from Within: Supporting Research - Wilson

45% of Americans attended church but religion has become superficial, churchgoers are becoming less dogmatic.

Practical Relativism - Postmodernist argument

There is less practical relativism as in today’s society we have to accept other people’s views, resulting in an erosion of absolutism, therefore undermining our own values.

Erosion of absolutism

Breaking down of being 100% sure of something

Practical relativism: Supporting research - Lynd and Lynd

Asked young churchgoers how true this statement was: ‘christianity is the one true religion and all people should be converted to it’

• longitudinal study

• 1924, 94% agreed (1920s)

• 1977, 41% agreed (late 1970s)

Critique of Secularisation in America

• Religious Market Theory, Stark and Bainbridge

Religious Market Theory - Stark & Bainbridge

• Argues that secularisation is eurocentric, as it’s not happening in america.

• rates of secularisation differ due to supply rather than demand

• demand for religion will always exist as it meets people’s spiritual needs (science cant)

• traditional religions weren’t supplied for this society

Criticism of Religious Market Theory (Stark & Bainbridge) - Bruce

• Bruce rejects the view that: diversity and competition increase the demand for religion.

• As statistics show that diversity has been accompanied by religious decline in both Europe & America.

Davie

• vicarious religion

• believing without belonging

Vicarious religion - Davie

Experiencing the religion through the participation of others. "Believing without belonging" as there's no longer an expectation of compliance in institutional religion but comfort knowing traditions still remain.