Religion, renewal and choice
New Forms of Religion
Key idea: Some sociologists argue religion is changing, not disappearing. In late modern society, people have more choice, individualism and consumerism, so religion becomes more personal.
Grace Davie (2007) – Believing Without Belonging
Religion is becoming more private.
People still have religious beliefs but are less likely to attend church regularly.
This is called “believing without belonging.”
Church attendance has fallen because attending is now a personal choice, not a social obligation.
Many people still use churches for baptisms, weddings and funerals.
Davie calls this “vicarious religion” – a small number of people practise religion on behalf of many others.
She argues there are multiple modernities: modern societies do not all become secular in the same way.
Example: Britain = low church attendance.
Example: United States = relatively high church attendance.
Danielle Hervieu-Léger (2000) – Spiritual Shopping
Modern society has experienced cultural amnesia (loss of shared religious traditions).
Religion is no longer automatically passed down through families and churches.
Traditional churches have lost power to impose religious beliefs.
People now act as “spiritual shoppers”:
Choosing beliefs that suit them.
Mixing ideas from different religions and spiritual traditions.
Religion becomes individualised and DIY (do-it-yourself) religion.
Evaluation
Strengths: Explains why religious belief can remain even when church attendance falls.
Recognises growing interest in spirituality and alternative beliefs.
Weaknesses: Secularisation theorists argue that even private belief is declining over time.
Evidence shows younger generations may be less religious overall.
Hervieu-Léger: New Religious Types
Hervieu-Léger argues that religion has not disappeared but has changed form in modern society. As traditional religious authority declines, people increasingly choose their own spiritual paths.
Pilgrims
Pilgrims are individuals who follow a personal spiritual journey in search of self-discovery and meaning. They do not necessarily belong to a single religious organisation and may move between different beliefs and practices.
Examples include:
New Age spirituality
Meditation
Alternative therapies
Individual spiritual exploration
Converts
Converts seek a strong sense of belonging and community. They join religious groups that offer clear beliefs, support and shared identity.
Examples include:
Evangelical Christian movements
Minority ethnic churches
Religious revival groups
Lyon: Postmodern Religion
David Lyon argues that religion is changing because of the influence of globalisation, media and consumer culture. Rather than disappearing, religion is taking new forms.
The Relocation of Religion
Globalisation has increased the movement of religious ideas across national boundaries. Modern technology allows people to access religious beliefs from around the world instantly.
Religion has become disembedded, meaning religious beliefs are removed from their original settings and spread through media such as television and the internet.
Examples:
Online worship
Televangelism
Religious social media content
As a result, religion becomes de-institutionalised. People can practise religion without regularly attending traditional religious institutions.
Religious Consumerism
In postmodern society, people construct their identities through what they consume. Lyon argues that this also applies to religion.
Individuals act as religious consumers, selecting beliefs and practices that suit their personal needs and lifestyles.
People may:
Pick and mix different religious beliefs
Combine elements from several faiths
Reject beliefs they disagree with
Religion therefore becomes a matter of personal choice rather than obligation.
Decline of Meta-Narratives
A meta-narrative is a belief system that claims to possess the absolute truth.
Examples include:
Christianity
Islam
Marxism
Because people are exposed to many different belief systems, they become more sceptical of any one religion claiming to be completely true.
As a result:
Traditional religions lose authority
Religious diversity increases
New spiritual movements emerge
Re-enchantment of the World
Lyon argues that society is experiencing re-enchantment rather than secularisation.
Although traditional religious participation has declined in some countries, interest in spirituality and alternative beliefs has grown.
Examples include:
Astrology
Meditation
Crystal healing
Holistic spirituality
New Age practices
Religion is therefore evolving rather than disappearing.
Self-Religions and the New Age
Many new religious movements fall under the New Age umbrella. These beliefs reject the authority and obligations found in traditional religions.
Instead, they focus on:
Personal development
Self-discovery
Individual freedom
Spiritual growth
The key idea is that each person decides what is true for themselves. For this reason, New Age beliefs are often called self-spirituality or self-religions.
Key Thinkers Summary
Hervieu-Léger
Pilgrims seek individual spiritual fulfilment.
Converts seek community and belonging.
Lyon
Religion is changing, not disappearing.
Globalisation and media relocate religion.
Individuals become religious consumers.
Traditional religions lose authority as meta-narratives.
New Age spirituality reflects growing individualism.
Society is becoming re-enchanted through new forms of spirituality.
A Spiritual Revolution?
Some sociologists argue that a spiritual revolution is taking place. Traditional Christianity is declining, while New Age spirituality, which focuses on personal growth and experience, is becoming more popular.
Examples include:
Meditation
Crystal healing
Self-help books
Alternative therapies
Heelas and Woodhead
Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead studied religion in Kendal.
They identified two areas:
Congregational domain – traditional and evangelical churches.
Holistic milieu – New Age and spiritual activities focused on self-development.
Findings
In a typical week:
7.9% attended church.
1.6% took part in spiritual activities.
Traditional churches were declining, evangelical churches remained stable, and the holistic milieu was growing.
Subjective Turn
Heelas and Woodhead argue that society has experienced a subjective turn. People now focus more on their own feelings, experiences and personal fulfilment.
As a result, traditional religions based on duty and obedience are declining, while spirituality is growing.
Evangelical Churches
Evangelical churches are more successful because they focus on personal experiences such as spiritual healing and being “born again”.
Spiritual Marketplace
People choose beliefs that suit their needs, like consumers choosing products. The most successful religions are those that offer personal meaning and fulfilment.
Bruce: Criticisms
Steve Bruce argues that New Age spirituality is too weak to replace traditional religion.
Scale: The number of New Age followers is too small to make up for declining church attendance.
Socialisation: Few New Agers pass their beliefs on to their children, making long-term growth unlikely.
Weak Commitment: Many people only participate occasionally and do not show strong commitment.
Structural Weakness: New Age spirituality is highly individualistic. There are no shared beliefs or authority figures, making it fragmented and lacking cohesion.
Religious Market Theory
Stark and Bainbridge developed religious market theory (also known as rational choice theory). They criticise secularisation theory, arguing that there was no past “golden age” of religion and that religion is unlikely to disappear in the future.
They argue that people are naturally religious and that religion meets important human needs. People make rational choices about religion by weighing up the costs and benefits of the options available to them.
Religion is attractive because it offers supernatural compensators. These are rewards that cannot be obtained in real life, such as immortality. Religion compensates for this by promising rewards such as life after death, something only religion can provide.
Stark and Bainbridge also argue that religion goes through a historical cycle of decline, revival and renewal. As established churches lose followers, new sects and cults emerge to fill the gap in the religious market.
They believe that competition between religious organisations benefits religion because it improves the quality of the religious “goods” on offer. Religious groups that make their beliefs and practices attractive are more likely to gain followers.
This helps explain why religion remains strong in the USA. There is a wide variety of religious groups competing for followers, giving people more choice. In contrast, many European countries have traditionally been dominated by one established church, resulting in less competition and lower levels of religious participation.
Existential Security Theory (Norris & Inglehart, 2004)
Main idea: People are more likely to be religious when they feel insecure about their lives. Religion provides comfort, meaning, and a sense of security.
Existential security = the feeling that your survival and wellbeing are secure and can be taken for granted.
Key points
Religion helps people cope with uncertainty and insecurity.
Poorer people and poorer societies tend to be more religious because they face greater risks such as poverty, illness, unemployment, and conflict.
Wealthier societies tend to be less religious because people feel more secure.
Europe vs America
Western Europe has become more secular because it has: Higher levels of economic security, More equality Strong welfare states that support people when they are unemployed, sick, or elderly
USA remains relatively religious despite being wealthy because: It has greater inequality, Weaker welfare provision compared to many European countries, More people experience insecurity
Supporting evidence
Gill and Lundegaarde (2004) found that:
The more a country spends on welfare, the lower its level of religious participation.
Welfare provision reduces people’s need to rely on religion for security.
Evaluation
✅ Explains why religion remains strong in many poorer countries.
✅ Explains differences in religiosity between countries better than religious market theory.
❌ Some wealthy countries (e.g. United States) are still quite religious.
❌ Not everyone who feels insecure becomes religious; some may turn to other sources of support instead.