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SECULARISATION PT.2 - Coggle Diagram
SECULARISATION PT.2
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religious market theory
- criticism of secularisation
religious market theory
- referred to as 'rational choice theory'
- STARK AND BAINBRIDGE - critical of secularisation theory and view it as being Eurocentric - it focuses on the decline in religion in Europe, but ignores its strength in America and elsewhere
- it is misleading to say (as secularisation theory does) there was a 'golden age' of religion in the past and that it is unrealistic to predict a future where everyone will be an atheist
S+B's theory is based on 2 assumptions:
1) people are naturally religious and religion meets human needs. therefore the overall demand for religion remains constant, even though the demand for particular types of religion may vary
2) it is human nature to seek rewards and avoid coasts. when people make choices, they weigh up the costs and benefits of the different options available
COMPENSATORS
- taking on board the 2 assumptions about humans, STARK AND BAINBRIDGE said religion is attractive as it provides us with compensators - when real rewards are scare or unattainable, religion compensates by promising supernatural ones
e.g. immorality is unattainable but religion compensates by promising life after death
only religion can provide such compensators - non religious ideologies, e.g. humanism do not provide the same compensators. there is no supernatural reward
CYCLE OF RENEWAL
- for S+B they put forward an alternarive to secularisation called the 'cycle of renewal'
- decline > revival > renewal
- this can be seen throughout history, with some religions declining and others growing and attracting new member s
e.g. when established churches decline, they leave a gap in the market for sects and cults to attract new followers
- from this point of view ST is one sided: it sees decline but ignores the growth of new religions
RELIGIOUS COMPETITION
- STARK AND BAINBRIDGE - churches operate like companies selling goods in a market
- unlike ST - they argue that competition leads to improvements in the quality of religions 'goods' on offer
- the churches that make their products attractive will succeed in having more 'customers'
- stark and bainbrideg conclude that the main factor influencing the level of religion is the amount of supply there is, not the demand
- participation increases when there is a variety in the supply - a range of religious groups to choose from
- decline of religion is not a universal trend happening in all societies as ST suggests
SUPPLY LED RELIGION
- there are a range of studies to support S+B view
HADDEN AND SHUPE - rise in 'televangelism' in America shows that religious participation is supply led
- it opened up competition between evangelist groups
FINKE - lifting of restrictions on Asian immigration into America in the 1960s led to Asian faiths becoming another options that proved popular with consumers in the religious market place
MILLER - compared the evangelical mega-churches (congregations of 2000+) found in America and South Korea to hypermarkets
- with such large congregations they have more resources so are able to offer a vast range of activities to meet the diverse needs of their members
CRITICISMS
BRUCE - statistics show that diversity has been accompanied by religious decline in both Europe and America
- he argues that S+B misrepresent St. the theory doesnt claim there was a past 'golden age' of religion or that everyone will become atheists. it simply claims religion is in decline, nor does it claim secularisation is universal
NORRIS AND INGLEHART - show that high levels of religious participation exist in Catholic countries where the church has a monopoly - such as Ireland and Venezuela. in contrast, countries with religious pluralism (Holland and Australia) often have low levels of participations - contradicts S+B's theory
BECKFORD - criticises religious market theory as being unsociological because it assumes people are 'naturally' religious and fails to explain why they make the choices they do
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POSTMODERN RELIGION
DAVID LYON
- agreed with Davie that believing without belonging was becoming increasingly popular
- argues traditional religion is giving way to new religious forms that demonstrate its continued popularity
- Lyon's view is that a postmodern society has many features that are changing the nature of religion
1) globalisation
2) media and communications
3) consumerism
GLOBALISATION
- growing connectedness of societies across national boundaries
- we now have access to ideas and beliefs from previously remote places and religions
- religious ideas have become 'disembedded' e.g. televangelism dismay religion from real, local churches and relocate it on the internet/TV, allowing believers to express their faith without physically attending church
- as a result, religion becomes de-institutionalised
- removed from their original location in the church, religious ideas become a cultural resource that individuals can adapt for their own purposes
MEDIA COMUNICATIONS
- therefore, the internet creates a range of opportunities for religious organisations and individuals to exploit
HELLAND distinguishes between 2 kinds of internet activity:
1) religion online is a form of top down communication
- religious organisations use it to address members, there is no feedback or discussion
- communicating only the official approved ideas
2) online religion is a form of cyber religion that may have no existence outside the internet
- it allows individuals to create non hierarchal relationships and a sense of community to explore shared spiritual interests and provide mutual support
however, while postmodernists might see online religion as a radical new alternative that may be replacing traditional religion, evidence shows that for most users it is just a supplement to their church-based activities rather than a substitute for them
CONSUMERISM
- postmodern society involves the growth of consumerism and the idea that we now construct our identities through what we choose to consume
- LYON'S view is that religion has moved to the sphere of consumption. while people may have stopped belonging to religious organisations, they have not abandoned religion
- instead, they have become 'religious consumers', making conscious choices which elements of religion they find useful
- unlike Berger who argues that having access to a wide range of different beliefs weakens religion, LYON argues that the decline of traditional churches does not spell the end of religion
- in their place many new religious movements are now springing up that the religious consumer can sample from and can construct their own personal belief system
- religion ans spirituality are not disappearing but they are simply evolving
A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION?
- some sociologists argue that instead of secularisation a spiritual revolution is taking place
- there is a move towards new age spirituality which rejects that idea of obligation and obedience to external authority found in traditional religion
- instead, it focuses on the idea that life is a journey of discovery and connecting with one's 'inner self'
- increased interest in spirituality can be seen all around us
- there is an explosion ini the number of self help books, courses, therapies, crystal healing etc
WEAKNESS OF THE NEW AGE
- most of the sociologists covered so far argue that there is no general trend towards secularisation and that religion is changing its nature or form rather than declining
BRUCE challenges this claim:
1) the problem of scale
2) socialisation of the next generation
3) weak commitment
4) structural weakness
1) even if new age forms of individualised religion are springing up - they would have to be on a much larger scale if it is to fill the gap left by the decline of traditional institutionalised religions e.g. kendal project
2) for a belief system to survive, it must one passed down to the next generation e.g. kendal
3) although many people dabbled in the .... (FIND TEXT BOOK PAGE 33) .. serious commitment to new age beliefs and practice was very rare
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RELIGION, RENEWAL AND CHOICE
- looks at arguments against secularisation theory - 2 main alternatives:
1) theories of later modernity and postmodernity - argue that religion is not declining but merely changing as society develops
2) religious market theory - view that secularisation is only one stage of a constant cycle of secularisation, revival and renewal
GRACE DAVIE - modern view of religion
- obligation to consumption
- believing without belonging
from obligation to consumption
- Davie argues that in todays society we are seeing a major change in religion from obligation to consumption
- people used to feel obliged to go to church, it was something that they had to do
- this is no longer the case, but a matter of personal choice
- however this is based on the UK - there is still a sense of obligation in USA - not same position
believing without belonging
- Davie - religion is not declining but it is becoming more privatised
- people are increasingly reluctant to belong to organisations but people still hold religious beliefs
- this is what she calls believing without belonging
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spiritual shopping
- DANIEL HERVIEU- LEGER - agrees there has been a decline in religion across Europe with fewer people attending church in mos countries
- this is partly because of cultural amnesia - children use to be taught religion by their parents, the extended family and the parish church
- nowadays this doesnt happen so the religion handed down from generations is diminishing
- parents instead let children decide what to believe
- young people no longer have religion imposed on them through socialisation and they are ignorant to traditional religion
- however, religion has not disappeared
- people have a choice, they are consumers of religion and have become spiritual shoppers
- religion is individualised and fits in with our own interests and aspirations
- as a result of this, he argues that there are two new religious types emerging:
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converts - join religious groups that offer a strong sense of belonging, usually based on a shared ethnic background or religious doctrine
- he also notes that although religion no longer acts as the source of collective identity that it once did, it does have some influence on society's values
- e.g. the values of equality and human rights have their roots in religion
Kendal project
- was an investigation whether traditional religion has decline and if so, how fae the growth of spirituality is compensating for this
- found in 2000 that in a typical week, 7.9% of the population attended church and 1.6% took part in the activities of the holistic milieu
- two groups:
- congregation domain
- holistic milieu
- new age spiritualist has grown because of a massive subjective turn in todays culture
- as a result, traditional religion which demand duty and obedience are declining
- evangelical churches are more successful than the traditional churches
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key questions:
- substantive definition of religion - a belief in a supernatural power that cannot be explained by science
- Marx's view of religion - saw religion as deceiving the proletariat and preventing them from overthrowing the bourgeoisie
- How did De Beauvoir view religion? saw it as an oppressive force, maintaining control and the patriarchy via power relations, texts and practices
- who developed idea of 'liberation theology' - Otto Maduro
- example of how religion has helped bring about positive changes in society - civil rights movements