Religion, renewal and choice

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  • Created by: ceecw12
  • Created on: 09-06-18 10:47

New forms of religion:

  • Religions no longer imposed but more a matter of choice
  • Isn't declining BUT takin a different privatised form - some increasingly reluctant to belong to organisations - still hold beliefs

'VICARIOUS RELIGION' - practised by an active minority on behalf of great majoirty who experience religion second hand 

DAVIE = churches are like the NHS - everyone use whenever

'MULTIPLE MODERNITIES' - secularisation theory assumes modernisation affects every society in the same way, cause decline of religion instead of a single version of modern society

  • VOAS AND CROCKETT - 5750 respondents shows both church attendance and belief in God are declining together - would expect higher levels of beliefs
  • BRUCE - aren't willing to invest time to go to church - reflects the declining strengths of beliefs
  • Not religious - way of saying they belonged to a 'White English' ethnic group 
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Spiritual shopping:

  • CULTURAL AMNESIA = loss of collective memory - children used to be taught relgiion in extended family and parish church - fewer are now

HERVIEU-LEGER = undermined traditional power of church to impose religion on people from above - no longer fixed religious identity imposed through socialisation

  • Religion = individualised - develop 'do-it-yourself' belief that give meaning to lives/fit with interests/aspirations
  • PILGRIMS = follow indivivudal path in search for self-discovery e.g. exploring new age spirituality by joining groups/ 'therapy' - demand created by personal develpment 
  • CONVERTS = join religious groups that offer strong sense of belonging based on shared background/religious doctrine - recreate sense of community that has loss traditions
  • Equality values/human rights have roots in religion - shared cultural identity/social solidarity
  • Notion accelerated - explains weakening traditionsl institutions as well as growing importance of individual choice in matters of religion
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Postmodern religion:

Globalisation - increased importance of media/communications; growth of consumerism

Media lift ideas out of physical churches and move them to different place/time

  • De-institutionalised - detached from its place un religious institutions, floating in cyberspace
  • Religion online - top-down communication - address members/potential converts online - no feedback/dialogue - electronic hierarchy
  • ONLINE RELIGION = 'cyber-religion' = non-hierarchal relationships/sense of community 

LYON = people cease to belong to religious organisations they haven't abandoned religion - 'religious consumers' 

  • Exposure to many competing versions of truth makes sceptical that any of them is really/wholly true
  • REJECTS ideas of obligation/obedience to external authority - life journey of discovery personal development 'inner self' 
  • Notion that every individual is free to decide what's true for them
  • Period of re-enchantment with growth of unconventional beliefs, practices adn spirituality 
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A spiritual revolution?

  • Traditional christianity is giving way to 'holistic spirituality'/ NA spiritual beliefs/practices that emphasise personal development/subjective experience
  • Life as discovery; personal development; autonomy
  • Congregational domain - traditional and Evangelical Christianity
  • Holistic milieu - spirituality and the NA
  • Kendal Study - NA spirituality grown - subjectove turn in today's culture - shift away from idea of doing your dutty/obeying external authoirty; traditional religions declining as a result; evangelical churches are more successful than tradition
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Weakness of the New Age:

  • Problem of Scale - individualised religion would have to be much larger scale to fill gap left by the decline of traditional institutionalised religions
  • Socialisation of the next generation  - 32% parents involved in NA said children shared same beliefs; women in holistic milieu more likely ot be childless - 3/4 husbands don't share same beliefs
  • Weak commitment  - serious commitment = very rare - 'spiritual' - very few said practices were important 
  • Structural weakness - lacks external power to extract commitment - can't achieve consensus about beliefs - lacks cohesion as movement 
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Religious market theory:

  • STARK AND BAINBRIDGE = focus on decline of religion in Europe - fails to explain its continuin vitality in USA and elsewhere
  • People naturally religious and religion meets human needs; human nature to seek rewards and avoid costs
  • Perpetual cycle throughout history with some declining/others growing an attracting new members = cycle of renewal
  • Companies selling goods - leads to improvements in quality of religious 'goods' on offer - churhces make it more attractive to gain more 'customers' 
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America vs Europe

  • Religious monopoly leads to decline (without competition) - church has no incentive to provide people with what they want
  • Religion thrives in the USA - no religious monopoly - constitution guarantees freedom
  • Most European countries dominated by an official state church whihc had a religious monopoly 
  • Participation increases when supply of religious groups is ample but declines when supply is restricted 
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Criticisms:

  • BRUCE - rejects view that diversity and competition increase demand for religion - statistics show diverity has been accompanied by religious decline 
  • STARK AND BAINBRIDGE misrepresent secularisation theory - doesn't claim past 'golden age'/everyone will become a theists - calims religion in long-term decline
  • NORRIS AND INGLEHART - high levels of participation exist in Catholic countries (church has never monopoly) - countries pluralism often have lower levels of participation - contradicts STARK AND BAINBRIDGE
  • BECKFORD - unsociological - assumes people are 'naturally' religious and fails to explain why they make choices they do 
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An alternative view: secularisation and security:

  • Religious market theory applies only to USA and fails to explain variations in religiosity between different societies
  • 'Existential society' - feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted
  • POOR SOCIETIES =H+ insecurities and levels of religiousity
  • RICH SOCIETIES = H+ security and L- religiousity
  • Richer societies have lower levels of population growth - more secular - Poorer societies have higher rates and more religious
  • NORRIS AND INGLEHART - America more religious than Europe - most unequal of rich societies with inadequate welfare safety-nat and individualistic 'dog eat dog' values
  • GILL AND LUNDEGAARD - country spend more on welfare have lower levels religious paticipation 
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Criticisms:

  • Only use quantitative data about income levels - don't examine people's own definitions - qualitative data needed
  • Religion = negative response to deprivation - ignores positive response people have for religious participation the appeal that some type of religion have for the wealthy
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