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Theories supporting secularisation thesis - Coggle Diagram
Theories supporting secularisation thesis
Weber - enlightenment and rationalisation
Disenchantment of the world, turning to science rather than religion for answers
AO2
Explaining things through technology rather than superstition
For example, a plane crash is due to the engine failing rather than a punishment from God
Bruce - technological world view
Prior to enlightenment, we lived in an enchanted garden, with a medieval Catholic world view, supernatural powers, prayers, spells, and pilgrimage
Analysis (AO3)
39% of scientist in Hong Kong identity as religious, compared to 20% of Hong Kong's general population
In the UK, only 32% of scientists characterised science verses faith as a conflict, with 29% in the US
Templeton Charity Foundation
Rationalisation - rational ways of thinking replace religious ones 'desacrilisation of consciousness'
Evaluation (AO3)
Stark and Bainbridge - religion is a rational choice, as humans seek rewards and avoid costs
Beck - science has created manufactured risks, so people may turn to religion if science is causing risk
Thompson - humans are not rational, and religions can provide them with supernatural compensation and rewards
Enlightenment - during 1700s, growth in scientific thought and decline in religious thinking
Structural differentiation
Hamilton - religions try to maintain members by presenting events as allegorical rather than factual (eg. the virgin birth)
AO2
Cardinal Law resigns / Archbishop of Canterbury resigned
Lack of trust as public figures
Labour 2015 manifesto - removal of Bishops in House of Lords
Legislation of same sex marriage / secular values being supported
26 Bishops in the House of Lords
Faith schools are still existing
NHS provides welfare
Privatisation - religion is relegated to the private sphere, and is more of a personal choice
Disengagement - functions previously performed by one institution taken by more specialised institutions (eg. religion provides education, morality, law, socialisation)
Process of specialisation that occurs within the development of industrial society
Evaluation (AO3)
Parsons - structural differentiation allows religion to focus on the core questions of human existence and providing moral values
Woodhead - observes that religion has an influence over the establishment in the UK, for example state funded faith schools show that religious communities still get privileges
While structural differentiation is happening in the Western world, it has not led to a decline of all religions, for example Islam
Churches play a major role during national celebrations and mourning rituals, for example Princess Diana
The media continues to show interests in religious issues, for example the Anglican Church attitudes to LGBT community presented as big stories in the news
Bruce - media is the primary source of giving people morals in society, overtaking religion
Social and cultural diversity
Industrialisation - geographically mobile, diverse / fragmented, individualised, declining beliefs
Diversity undermines religion - plausibility is undermined, with different beliefs, isolated nuclear families
Decline of community - before, there was a communal unit of production, with high levels of religiosity
Evaluation (AO3)
Stark and Bainbridge - religious market theory / supply led religion with increased diversity
Islam is still growing, despite general secularisation
Postmodernism - creates more choice for the individual
Imagined communities, religion online, televangelism
Religion is not declining, but changing forms
Secularisation from within (USA)
90% of Americans claim to believe in God (2010)
Also found that they believe atheists are less trustworthy than rapists
Declining Church attendance - stable at around 40% since 1940
Hadaway - headcounts and interviews in Ohio, and found than attendance claims were 83% higher than headcounts, due to social desirability
Wilson - secular society as religion has become superficial
Attendance gap has widened - study of Catholic mass in San Francisco found exaggerations by 47% in 1972 and 10.1% in 1996
Herberg
Bruce - American Churches have remained more popular as they use Church services as a form of therapy, focusing on worldly issues rather than supernatural issues
Churchgoers were less strict in terms of morality
Dawkins - 60% of Churchgoers never read any of the Bible (2011)
Traditional religions compromising beliefs in order to survive, for example abolishing Latin in services, cohabitation is allowed, downplay of hell, making to more compatible withe members
Despite attending Church, they are not there for the right / traditional reasons
Religious diversity
Lynd and Lynd - in 1924, 94% of Churchgoers agreed 'Christianity is the one true religion and all people should convert to it'', compared to 41% in 1977
Despite being Churchgoers, they still believe in multiple truths
Religious diversity has become more accepted in society
Berger - religious pluralism
Evaluation (AO3)
Beckford - decline of sacred canopy may increase belief in your own religion rather than secularism
Stark and Bainbridge - religious market theory, where more options lead to more religious participation
Eurocentric as some countries still have a sacred canopy, for example Somalia
Unsure of the truth, leading to secularisation
Crisis of credibility - diversity undermined plausibility of religion due to competing versions of the truth (plurality of life world)
Sacred canopy - formed in the middle ages, monopoly of truth, until Protestant reformation led to religious pluralism with globalisation, migration, and identity
Lyon - Disneyfication of religion
Harvest Day Crusade - bringing God's kingdom to the magic kingdom
Only way for it to stay relevant - rides, 10,000 Christian performers, costumes, merchandise
Merging religion and popular culture to stay relevant