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CHALLENGES TO SECULARISATION THEORY (Theories of late modernity and post…
CHALLENGES TO SECULARISATION THEORY
Theories of late modernity and post-modernity
Believing without belonging
:silhouette: Davie ( 2007)
Vicarious religion, small minority practice religion on behalf of a larger number of people
Vicarious religion
Spiritual shopping
:silhouette: Hervieu-Leger (2000)
Supports personal choice and believing without belonging
Cultural amnesia
Converts
join religious groups that offer a strong sense of belonging, recreates sense of community.
Pilgrams
Follow an individual path in a search for self-discovery
Globalisation
Consumerism
Religious market theory
:silhouette: Stark and Bainbridge
Criticise secularisation for 'distorted view' of the past and the future, no 'golden age'
Two assumptions:
People are natually religious and religion meets human needs
People make rational choices based on the costs and benefits of the available religious options
Religion is attractive because it provides us with supernatural compensators
Historical cycle
:silhouette: S&B suggest a historical cycle of religious decline, revival and renewal
Competition
Competition leads to improvements in the quality of the religious 'goods' on offer.
America vs Europe
Demand for religion increases with choice
Consumers can find one that meets their needs
Church of England - lack of choice has led to decline
Existential Security Theory
:silhouette: Norris and Inglehart
Reject religious market theory on the grounds that it only applies to America and fails to explain the variations in religiosity between societies
The reason for such variations is not different degrees of religious choice, but different degrees of existential security
Religion meets a need for security
Explains why poor Third World countries remain religious
Europe vs America
Western Europe becoming more secular because relatively equal and secure
:silhouette: Gill and Lundegaarde (2004)
The more a country spends on welfare, the lower its level of religious participation