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Religion og Samfunn: En Innføring - Chapter 1 Summary

Livssynsbegrepet

  • Livssyn is frequently mentioned alongside religion in Norwegian academic and political contexts.
  • Livssynskunnskap (knowledge of worldviews) is a relatively new academic field.
  • Anders Jeffner, a theology professor at Uppsala University, pioneered the field in 1968, calling it "tros- og livsåskådningsvetenskap" (science of faith and worldviews).
  • In Norway, livssynskunnskap gained relevance with the 1974 Mønsterplanen (curriculum).
  • School instruction in religion and worldviews was divided into kristendomskunnskap (Christianity studies) and livssynsorientering (worldview orientation).
  • The Human-Etisk Forbund (Norwegian Humanist Association) advocated for livssynsorientering as an alternative to Christianity studies for children of non-State Church members.

Per Magne Aadnanes on Livssyn

  • Per Magne Aadnanes describes livssyn as having vague boundaries in everyday language.
  • The term can include both religions and ideologies.
  • Not everyone who claims to have a livssyn identifies as religious.
  • Most religious individuals agree that their livssyn aligns with their religious beliefs.
  • There are both secular and religious worldviews.

Comparing Livssyn and Religion

  • Aadnanes argues that livssyn is broader than religion, as all religions express a worldview, but not all worldviews are religious.
  • Secular humanism, as advocated by the Human-Etisk Forbund, is an example of a non-religious worldview.
  • Aadnanes views livssyn as a cognitive entity.
  • Religions encompass more than just the cognitive aspects of worldviews, extending to the experiential, ritualistic, and social dimensions.
  • The concept of livssyn is both narrower and broader than religion.

Elements of Livssyn

  • Virkelighetsoppfatning: Perception of reality, including beliefs about the existence of God.
  • Menneskesyn: Views on human nature, afterlife, and the meaning of human existence.
  • Verdi- og moraloppfatning: Understanding of good, right, and beautiful.
  • Everyone has a livssyn, which may be consistent, coherent, reflected upon, and articulated to varying degrees.
  • Livssyn can be a collective concept, associated with a tradition and institution.
  • Catholicism, for example, is closely linked to the Catholic Church.

Religion at Three Societal Levels

  • Social science uses models to simplify and analyze society.
  • A basic model identifies three levels:
    • Storsamfunnsnivået (macro level): the larger societal level.
    • Individnivået (micro level): the individual level.
    • Organisasjons- og samfunnsgruppenivået (meso level): the level of organizations and social groups.
  • This model aids in understanding religious complexity.
  • A storsamfunn (societal formation) is a self-producing and self-recruiting arrangement among people.
  • Hegel viewed society as a whole comprising family, economic, political, and cultural relations.
  • The storsamfunnsnivået often relates to the nation-state.
  • The nation-state includes a cultural framework evident in its laws and their enforcement.
  • The Opplæringsloven (Education Act) and barnehageloven (kindergarten act) exemplify this.

International Influences

  • International bodies like the UN have some legal influence.
  • The European Court of Human Rights has impacted Norwegian education policy, as seen in the KRL-faget case.
  • Norwegian education policy is primarily shaped nationally.

Individual Level

  • The individnivået consists of individual members of society.
  • "Individ" comes from the Latin "individuum," meaning indivisible.
  • Norwegian society comprises social relations and structures.
  • Individuals share a common Norwegian culture while also having diverse cultural affiliations based on ethnicity and religion.

Organizational Level

  • The organisasjons- og samfunnsgruppenivået captures society's religious diversity.
  • This level includes religious organizations, such as those affiliated with the Church of Norway.

Sekularisering (Secularization)

  • A central theme in the sociology of religion.
  • Peter L. Berger defines secularization as the process where societal and cultural sectors become independent of religious institutions and symbols.
  • Examples include the separation of church and state and the detachment of education from religious authority.

Subjective Secularization

  • Berger states that modern Western societies have produced many individuals who view the world and their lives without religious interpretations.
  • Berger believed that modernization and secularization were connected.
  • He thought religion's societal functions would gradually give way to enlightenment and scientific development.
  • Religion would retreat to the private sphere.
  • Berger's views align with Max Weber, who attributed religion's decline to rationalization in modern society.

Secularization in Norway

  • The Christian hegemony in Norway was formally broken in 2012.
  • Grundloven § 2 was changed from ‘‘Den evangelisk-lutherske Religion forbliver Statens offentlige Religion. De Indvaanere, der bekjende seg til den, ere forpliktede til at oppdrage sine Børn i samme’’ to ‘‘Verdigrunnlaget forblir vår kristne og humanistiske arv. Denne Grunnlov skal sikre demokratiet, rettsstaten og menneskerettighetene.’’
  • Changes were made to the purpose clauses in the barnehageloven and opplæringsloven.
  • Attendance at religious services is decreasing.
  • The kristendomsfag in schools has been replaced by the more pluralistic KRLE-faget.
  • A majority in the government no longer needs to be members of the Church of Norway.
  • Secularization is a normatively charged term, seen as liberating by some and negative by others.
  • Understanding secularization depends on one's definition of religion.
  • Thomas Luckmann's broad definition of religion makes the term secularization meaningless.
  • Discussions on secularization rely on substantial religious definitions.
  • The classic secularization theory views secularization as an inevitable process alongside modernization.

Charles Taylor on Secularization

  • Charles Taylor's book, A Secular Age, explores the conditions for religion amid a dominant secular worldview.
  • Taylor notes that belief in God is no longer taken for granted, and there are alternatives.

Key Concepts

  • Secularization: Religion and religious institutions play a diminishing role in society, impacting collective beliefs, values, and individual identity.
  • Marginalization of religion from public institutions.
  • Religion retreats to the private sphere.
  • Secularization occurs at both the societal and individual levels.

Taylor’s Forms of Secularity

  • Secularity 1: Secularization at the level of societal institutions.
  • Secularity 2: Secularization at the individual level.
  • Secularity 3: Awareness of alternatives to religious and worldview beliefs. This is the new element of Taylor's theory.

Sekularisering and Pluralisering

  • Cultural pluralization occurs alongside secularization.
  • Norwegian society has transitioned from culturally homogeneous to multicultural.
  • A significant portion of the population has roots in non-Western countries.
  • It is hard not to know that there are available alternatives to religious and philosophical beliefs.
  • This awareness can lead to doubt, openness, and curiosity.

Secularity 3 and its effects

  • Secularity 3 and its effects is linked to these changes and operates at the meso level.
  • The title of A Secular Age relates to the understanding that there are other possible religious and philosophical views.
  • Awareness of diversity emphasizes the necessity of shared values for societal integration.

Criticism of Secularization Theories

  • Secularization theories were dominant until the 1980s.
  • Later theories argue for a return or revival of religion, especially in the public sphere.
  • Peter Berger recanted his earlier secularization thesis, stating that the world is as religious as ever.
  • Modernization has had some secularizing effects but has also spurred strong reactions.
  • Religious institutions have lost power in some societies, but religious faith remains important in individuals' lives.
  • The relationship between religion and modernity is complex.
  • Jose Casanova argues for the deprivatization of religion.
  • Religions seek to move from the private sphere to the public sphere.
  • Examples include Catholic liberation theology, political Islam, and the rise of evangelical Protestantism in the USA.
  • Deprivatization is the opposite of the privatization of religion.

Summary of Theories

  • It is important to distinguish between the decline of organized religion and the decline of individual religiosity.
  • Religion has lost power in society, especially in Western Europe.
  • Established religious communities have fewer members.
  • Individual religiosity remains widespread but is less connected to organized religion.

Religious Minorities in Norway

  • Christianity is a diverse majority religion in Norway.
  • Approximately 77% of the population belongs to a Christian faith community.
  • Religious minorities make up a relatively small part of the population.
  • The government provides financial support to registered religious communities based on membership numbers.
  • There are approximately 655,000 members of religious communities outside the Church of Norway.
  • Approximately 200,000 people belong to minority religions.
  • State support was calculated to be 538 per member in 2017 with municipalities contributing approximately the same amount. Making for around 1000 per member.
  • Membership in a religious community does not guarentee religious engagement.

Statistics on Religious Communities

  • The provided table shows the number of registered members in religious communities outside the Church of Norway.
  • "Kristendom" refers to Christian churches outside the former state church.
  • The Catholic Church has the largest number of members thanks to the labor immigration from Eastern Europe.
  • The Catholic Church has 1.3 billion members worldwide, about 17% of the population.
  • Islam is the second largest religion in Norway with around 167,000 members. The highest growth in membership between 2014 and 2018 at 26.3%.
  • Most muslims are immigrants or refugess from the muslim world.
  • Buddhism is the third largest religion in Norway with about 19,000 members.
  • There are an estimated double the registered amount of buddhist in the country.
  • The fourth largest religion is hinduism with around 9,000 members.