secularisation in america

overview

• study found that 45% of americans attended church on sundays

• however this was an an expression of the american way of life than deeply religious beliefs

• superficial

declining church attendance

• opinion polls asking people about church attendance suggest it had been stable at about 40% masks a decline in actual attendance in the USA

• Evidence suggests that this tendency to exaggerate churchgoing is a recent development.

secularisation from within

• religion has become psychologised - a form of therapy

• American religion has remained popular by becoming less religious - it has become secularised from within.

• Its purpose has changed from seeking salvation in heaven to seeking personal improvement in this world.

ao3

• not declining just changing

• ignores new religions

• believing without belonging

• declining in europe not globally - eurocentric

• diversity increases population

religious diversity and relativism

• Bruce identifies practical relativism among American Christians - i.e. accepting that others are entitled to hold beliefs different to ones own.

• Lynd and Lynd (1929) found in 1924 that 94% of churchgoing young people agreed with the statement Christianity is the one true religion.

• By 1977 only 41% agreed.