Postmodernity and religion

• religion is changing and becoming more privatised
  • explains the decreasing church attendance in the UK
• New religious forms grow and traditional religious organisations decline
• vicarous religion becomes the norm 
  • religion is only used when needed 
  • the active minority who attend church pray/act/practice on behalf of the majority 

Day - belonging not believing

• people may still be attending church but do not believe due to this being the expectation in society of what is right/normal
  • e.g in America church is seen as a part of life but many people may not believe
• Social aspects of religion such as the elderly going to socialise and see others may increase the figures but not show belief 

• Individual consumerism has replaced collectivist traditions in religion 
  • more people are seeking personal fulfilment rather than engaging in organised religions
• Due to cultural amnesia collective memory is lost and religious identities are not inherited from parents/family 
• due to increased globalisation and media/communications a pick and mix approach to religio is now available
  • can research and experiment with different practices and beliefs to see what suits ones individual beliefs and lifestyle 
    • e.g many UK teenagers seem to be drawn to Islam 

Globalisation, media and consumerism are changing the nature of religion:

• relocation of religion 
  • religious media and content can be consumers anywhere due to it being published online and easily accessible at all times - "Jesus at Disneyland"
• Religious consumerism 
  • religious identity is constructed by choices 
  • religion has not been abandoned - we are now just consuming religion differently to in the past 

• The demand for religion and religious support remains constant over time but the form this support needs to take is different depending on time and circumstance  
• Religion then changes in order to fit these changing needs
• they desire to seek reward for a little cost
• Religion provides meaning to the universe and provides benefits to support 
  • life after death
• This means that because demand will never reduce the cycle continues and will not cease 

the decline in traditional religious organisations means that sects and cults become more prevalent and compete for 'business' in the form of followers/believers and this competition improves the quality of faith. Religions and organisations that do not change lose membership and die out (True in faiths with monopoly of religious truth)

Religion is in decline in the UK because there is low supply due to low demand. 

Religion in the USA is changing because there is a high supply due to high demand. 

• This theory is critical of religious market theory and argues that religion helps people feel secure in their difficult times. 
  • E.g war, poverty, famine, injustice, high unemployment etc
  • therefore wealthy or stable societies have less need for religion 
• Religious demand is not constant; population growth is the cause for increased religious demand 
  • poor countries (e.g parts of Africa + India, Eastern Europe, South America etc) have high population growth
  • rich countries (Canada, UK, Australia and NZ, majority of Europe etc) have low population growth 
• The USA is more religious than Europe due to inequalities such as low welfare And expensive healthcare so turn to religion to protect then. 

Norris and Inglehart concluded that religion is a response to deprivation and insecurity which ignores the personal reasons why someone may practice. It also fails to explain why the middle class in the UK have higher belief rates.