Modernity and secularisation

• Wallis

  Churches = dominant, well-established religions e.g. Roman Catholic church

  • universalistic, monopoly of truth, uniquely legitimate

  Denominations = offshoots from existing religions e.g. Baptists, Methodists

  • no monopoly of truth, pluralistically legitimate
• Criticism: Wallis

  Bruce - says definition of church = outdated - religious pluralism, church can no longer have monopoly of truth
• Protestant Reformation

  16th Century

  • challenges to monopoly of truth
  • individualism
  • growth of denominations
  • rational thought, age of reason
  • enlightenment
• Weber

  Modernity + rationalisation: superstitious belief replaced by rational thought

  Desacralisation - end of people thinking certain areas of life are sacred e.g. holy sites to pray

  Disenchantment - loss of supernatural/superstitious belief
• Wilson


  Impact of Protestant Reformation

  • Pragmatic, rational thinking: practical solutions rather than just praying
  • Bureaucratic organisation - increased productivity due to organisation
  • Scientific discovery - undermines religious belief
  • Rational ideologies - e.g. liberalism, communism
  • Societalisation - from small communities premodernity to modern complex, urbanised society
• Bruce

  Technological worldview - see world in a physical, technological way rather than supernatural/superstitious

  Religious pluralism - increasing denominations

  Disengagement - people and the state disengaging from religion

  Social differentiation - people becoming disconnected from each other e.g. live on same road, do different jobs

  Fragmentation - strong religion replaced by weak religion
• Critique: Bruce


  While there is evidence of disengagement from the state, in the UK, it still has a role in public life: public holidays are mostly religious (Christmas, Easter), religious studies on national curriculum
• Parsons

  Structural differentiation - society = more complex

  Services for things people used to do at home e.g. education and health
• Berger


  Sacred canopy - shared belief that everyone conformed to e.g. Roman Catholic Church

  Plausibility structure - religion's credibility being questioned, plausibility structure weakening
• Critique: Berger

  NRMs - religious revivals
• 2021 Census UK (evidence)

  30% - no religion

  Christianity in decline - 46%

  Minority religions increasing e.g. Judaism, Hinduism, alternative religions
• UK Church attendance (evidence)

  5% people regularly going to church

  
  

  Critique: Casanova - says there is a decline in institutional religion, not necessarily believe: what people do and belief are two different things
• Hadaway (evidence)

  Exaggerated church attendance in US

  • 40% say they attend church
  • Hadaway went to places of worship and estimated actual percentage = 7%
• Casanova


  Institutional religion - places of worship - declining in influence

  Personal belief - own beliefs in personal way - harder to measure
• Davie


  Vicarious religion - appreciate religion through other people enjoying it

  Believing without belonging - people like knowing religion is there, even if they don't believe it

  Privatised religion - what people do personally, in own homes
• Norris and Inglehart


  Existential security theory:

  if you're secure, don't feel the need for belief

  Welfare and security:

  USA - doesn't have good welfare system, so people turn to belief for security

  Uruguay - poorer country, but has low church attendance - has a secure welfare system, people less likely to look to religion
• Critique: Norris and Inglehart


  Rich, secure people are still religious, regardless of security

  Just because a country has welfare doesn't mean people feel secure
• Criticism of secularisation

  Heelas and Woodhead - argue that religion isn't declining, but is changing and moving from congregational domain to the holistic domain