Topic 3 - secularisation

Secularisation in Britain

Crockett estimates that in 1851, 40% or more of the adult population of Britain attendee church on Sundays. This is a much higher figure than today and it is certainly the case that there have been some major changes in religion in the uk since then.

For example:

• A decline in the proportion of the population going to church or belonging to one

• Fewer baptisms and church weddings

• Greater diversity, including more non Christian religions

What did Wilson argue about secularisation?

Wilson argued that western societies had been undergoing a long term process of secularisation. He defined secularisation as ‘ the process whereby religious practises and institutions lose social significance

For example: church attendance in England and wales had fallen from 40% of the population in the mid 19th century to 10-15% by the 1960s. Church weddings, baptisms and Sunday school attendance had also declined

Church attendance today

Wilson identified have continued. By 2020 about 4% of adult population attended church on Sundays. Churchgoing in Britain has therefore more than halved since Wilson research in the 1960s

Attendance at large organisations such as the Church of England have declined more than small organisations some of which have remained stable. The growth of these small organisations has nit made up for the decline of large ones.

While church weddings and baptisms remain more popular than attendance at Sunday services here too the trend is downwards. In 1971, 59% of weddings were in church but by 2018 the proportion was only 20 %

religious affiliation today

• A persons religious affiliation refers to their membership of or identification with a religion

• Evidence indicates a continuing decline in the number of people who are affiliated to a religion

• For example between 1983 and 2018 the proportion of adults with no religion rose from under third to just over half

Religious institutions today

• The state has taken over many of the functions that the church used to perform

• Thus whereas religion once pervaded every aspect of life it has increasingly been confined to the private sphere of the individual and the family

• For example churches provided education but since then it has been provide

Max Weber; rationalisation

In relation to securitisation rationalisation refers to the process by which rational ways of thinking and acting come to replace religious ones

He argued that the Protestant reformation begun by martin Luther in the west. This process undermined the religious worldview of the Middle Ages and replaced it with the rational scientific outlook found in modern society

For Weber the medieval catholic worldview that dominated Europe saw the world as a ‘enchanted garden’. God and other spiritual beings and forces such as angels the devil and so on were believed too be present and active in this world

Humans could try to influence these beings and forces by magical means such as prayers and spells fasts and pilgrimages

What is disenchantment

Protestantism saw god as transcendent as existing above and beyond or outside this world. Although god had created the world he did not intervene in it but instead left it to run according to its own laws of nature

This meant that events were no longer to be explained as the work of unpredictable supernatural beings but as the predictable workings of natural forces

A technological worldwide view

Bruce argues that the growth of a technological worldview has largely replaced religious or supernatural explanations of why things happen

A technological worldview thus leaves little room for religious explanations in everyday life which only survive in areas where technology is least effective for example we might pray when we are suffering

Bruce concludes that although scientific explanations do not challenge religion directly they have greatly reduced the scope for religious explanations

Structural differences

Parsons defines structural differentiation as a process of Specialisation that occurs with the development of industrial society. Separate, specialised institutions develop to carry out functions that were previously performed by a single institution

What is disengagement

This is a impact of structural differentiation

According to parsons structural differentiation leads to disengagement of religion its functions are transferred to other institutions such as the state and it becomes disconnected from wider society

What is privatisation

This is a impact of structural differentiation

Bruce agrees that religion has become separated from wider society and lost many of its former functions. It has become privatised confined to the private sphere of the home and family. Religious beliefs are now largely a matter of personal choice and religious institutions have lost much of their influence on wider society

Social and cultural diversity - decline of community

Wilson argues that in preindustrial communities shared values were expressed through religious rituals that intergrated individuals and regulated their bvr. How ever in industrial society religion lost its basis in stable communities and its hold over individuals

Evidence of secularisation in the uk

Crockett - in 1851 40% of adults regularly attended church. Wilson 1960s only 10-15% of adults attended church regularly. Church, weddings, baptisms and Sunday school have all declined

The trend in attendance to church services has continued to decline. CoE in 1960s had 1.6 m regular attendees in 2013 that had dropped to 0.8m. However smaller denominations are seeing less of a decline

Arguments against secularisation

Hellend - developed the ideas that people could be religious without having to attend a place of worship. The growth of the internet has changed the way people can interact with the religious community. Hellend suggested two ways that the internet has changed religious practises

1. Religion online - when religious movements use the internet to communicate message to followers

2. Online religion - where like minded people interact in forms and discuss their beliefs in a unstructured format

Why is America secular

Wilson believes America has become secular

Bruce tries to prove that america has become secular by looking at 3 things

1. Declining church attendance

2. Secularisation from within

3. Religious diversity and relativism

What is cultural defence?

The use of cultural practises, particularly religion by minority groups to protect their identity and heritage when facing hostility or discrimination from the majority population

For and against secularisation

For;

Individualism

Technology

Modern views

Rationalisation

Against;

Bruce- cultural transition

Davie - various religion

Stark and bainbridge - religious market theory

Giddens - fundamentalism