4 Strength of Religion in Society

1. 4 Strength of Religion in Society

2. The Secularization of Culture • Sociologists use the term secularization of culture to refer to a culture that, once heavily influenced by religion, has lost much of its religious influence • The only sphere of influence that religion retains in advanced societies is the family • It is no longer the primary cohesive force in societies, having been replaced by nationalism and other secular and political ideologies

3. Secularisation • Is religion becoming less important? • Religious participation is declining • Growth in some religions • Overall: Religion is changing rather than disappearing

4. Evidence FOR Secularisation • Within the church • Attendance & membership figures decline • Church less involved in immediate society • No longer a single religion • New Age seems to have a lack of commitment and depth • Sociologist for: • Wilson (1976) & Bruce (1995;2002)

5. Evidence AGAINST Secularisation • Reliability of statistical evidence? • Rise of non-Christian religions (non-traditional Christian) • Growth of new religious movements and New Age religions • Sociologists against: • Martin (1978), Davie (1994;2000) Stark (1999) Heelas (a996;2005)

6. Religious Affiliation • Declining trend (chiefly, Anglicanism) • Church congregations are often made up of older members • What happens if churches do not attract younger members? Source: British Social Attitudes Survey http://bsa-30.natcen.ac.uk/media/37580/bsa30_full_report.pdf

7. But … Statistics Are a Social Construction • Various potential issues: • Methods of collection have changed, affecting responses • e.g. face-to-face inhibition, online disinhibition • Norms about stating religion have changed • Used to be conventional to state “C of E”, regardless • People may state religion as proxy for ethnic identity • etc. • Consider: • Reliability • Validity • Representativeness

8. Modernisation • How does religion affect today’s society? • Rational thought based on science replaces religious thought (religious decline -Weber) • Thus secularisation is inevitable • Structural and social differentiation • Technology = more control • No longer reliant on superstition • Modernisation = economic growth • where religion previously supported the poor

9. Church and Society Today • Modern society – geographical and social mobility (Bruce ‘95) • Structural changes - loss of education • Structural changes - reduced care in community, health care • Social life no longer centred on the church • Community-based activities decreased

10. Is there religious disengagement? • People still turn to the church to explain meaningless events, early death, illness • Church still has a voice in key debates in society • e.g. age of consent, contraception, abortions, homosexuality • Employment Forum UK – supports employment and regeneration initiatives

11. Religious Pluralism • No longer a single faith • Religion no longer unifies people (Wilson ’76 • Growth of sects (Bruce ‘02) • Cultural transition • Cultural defence • New Age movement

12. Attendance • Historically attendance was an expression of upper/middle-class respectability • Need to be ‘seen’ at church • Can religion be on the decline if it was not actually stronger in the first place?

13. Attendance • Attending means there is belief? • Believing without belonging (secular) • Religious without attending church • 71% claim to be religious but only 7% attend church on a Sunday • Tragedies bring people out • Pilgrimages

14. Types of Christians (Day 2007) • Adherent – believe in God and attend church • Natal – Christian due to families, place of birth, baptised • Ethnic – way to differential themselves • Aspirational – to be good and respectable • NRM – will disappear (Wilson ‘76) • NAM – provides a spiritual need