secularisation

Definition: Wilson - “religious thinking, practices & institutions lose social significance”

Measuring secularisation

Church attendance:

  • 2015 about 5% of the adult population attended church on Sundays

  • 1960 - 1.6 million attended church

  • 2013 - 0.8 million attended church

Civil & religious marriages:

  • 1971 - 60% of weddings took place in a church

  • 2012 - 30% of weddings took place in a church

Religious affiliation:

  • Divorce Reform Act 1969

  • Contraceptive pill 1970’s

  • Same-sex marriage 2013

  • The influence of religious institutions has changed with the state taking over many of the functions that the church use to perform

Why secularisation is occurring

Scientific explanations

  • Bruce

The growth of scientific explanations for why things happen & the application of technology have undermined religious beliefs, meaning they become marginalised & only used as a last resort in distressing times e.g. illness, death

  • Weber

Disenchantment

Pre-modern societies - enchantment was common & people gave meaning to various natural & social phenomena through religious beliefs

Modern societies - because of the rise of science there has been a shift towards more rational and predictable understanding of the world rather than the work of unpredictable supernatural beings

Religious diversity explanations

  • Berger

The sacred canopy - set of beliefs

The Catholic Church use to hold a monopoly of truth, having no competition → everyone lived under a sacred canopy

This gave a greater plausibility structure because they have no challengers & their beliefs went unquestioned

Due to globalisation there has been an increase in religious diversity, which created a plurality of truth where peoples perceptions of the world vary & they begin to feel lost/confused in what they should believe - we are no longer under a shared sacred canopy

Institutional changes explanations

  • Parsons

Structural differentiation - religious institutions have disengaged & withdrawn from society

Past - churches were the focal point for family life, education, healthcare, economic support, making them fundamental to most people’s lives

Now - we have introduced institutions that have taken over those functions e.g. NHS, state schools, benefits, meaning religion has lost significance to peoples lives

  • Herberg

Secularisation from within - in order to survive in a secular society religious institutions have been forced to move away from traditional doctrines & concern with supernatural and have watered down their beliefs - too weak to set trends, so they have to follow them

E.g. acceptance of cohabitation, divorce, contraception, same sex marriage

  • Lyon

Disneyfication of Religion - the transformation of something into a diluted version of its original form to create an attractive product

Discovered while attending Harvest Day at Disneyland

Found: enabled people to interact with the artificial fantasy world of Disneyland with Christian performers & figures replacing other attractions. This blend of religion with consumerism makes religion into a packaged commodity & creates shallow superficial spirituality, not religious beliefs

Evaluations

  • Berger

Now he argues that diversity & choice can stimulate increased interest & participation in religion

Shown by the grown of religious movements like cults & fundamentalism which suggests a growing demand for religious & spiritual beliefs

  • Davie

Believing without belonging - declining church attendance does not mean a decline in religiosity, but a search for more immediate & personal religious experiences. May not want to attend due to feeling uncomfortable or too busy, or cannot attend due to a disability or a lack of accessible places of worship