Secularisation

• What is secularisation?

  The decline in the influence of religion
• How do we measure secularisation?

  By examining church attendance and religious affiliation
• What percentage of the adult population attended church in 1851?

  40%
• What did Wilson argue about Western societies in 1966?

  They were undergoing a long-term process of secularisation
• What evidence supports the idea of secularisation?

  Church attendance, religious affiliation, and belief
• What are the three Bs of faithfulness?

  • Behaving (Church attendance)
  • Belonging (Religious affiliation)
  • Believing (Religious belief)
• How did church attendance change from 1851 to the 1960s?

  It fell from 40% to 10-15%
• What was the church attendance percentage in 2020?

  4%
• How did church weddings change from 1971 to 2018?

  Fell from 59% to 20%
• What trend has been observed in infant baptisms since 1964?

  They have fallen steadily
• Why have bogus baptisms increased?

  Due to faith schools requiring baptized children
• What percentage of the population had no religious affiliation in 2018?

  Just over half
• How much did the percentage of Christians decline from 1983 to 2018?

  By 40%
• What happened to the number of Catholics in the UK during this period?

  It remained stable due to immigration
• Which non-Christian religion increased in the UK?

  Islam
• How has the belief in God changed since 1991?

  It has doubled among non-believers
• What does research show about religious beliefs today?

  They are declining alongside affiliation and attendance
• How many Church of England bishops sit in the House of Lords?

  26 bishops
• What has the state taken over from the church?

  Many functions, including education
• How can we measure the influence of religion as an institution?

  By measuring the number of clergy
• What does Woodhead (2014) say about the clergy?

  There are not enough to keep the show on the road
• What does Bruce (2002) say about secularisation in the UK?

  There is a steady and unremitting decline
• What is the author's opinion on the decline of religion?

  They believe there is a decline in religion
• religious institutions- The clergy is decreasing- people working in the church 
• Who is associated with the concept of rationalisation in secularisation?

  Max Weber
• What significant shift did the Protestant Reformation initiate?

  Shift from Catholicism to Protestantism
• What does Weber mean by 'disenchantment' of the world?

  It squeezes out magical and religious thinking
• How does rationalisation affect religious ways of thinking?

  It replaces them with rational ways of thinking
• What does Weber argue about the role of rationality?

  It helps understand events through natural forces
• What does the rationalisation process enable according to Weber?

  Science to thrive and control nature
• What does Bruce argue about technological worldview?

  It replaces religious explanations for events
• How do people typically explain plane crashes according to Bruce?

  Through scientific and technological explanations
• What does Bruce conclude about scientific explanations and religion?

  They reduce the scope for religious explanations
• Who defined structural differentiation in relation to secularisation?

  Talcott Parsons
• What is structural differentiation according to Parsons?

  Specialisation in institutions with industrial society
• What happens to religion due to structural differentiation?

  It becomes smaller and more specialised
• What does the disengagement of religion entail?

  Transfer of its functions to other institutions
• How does Bruce view the separation of religion from society?

  It has led to privatisation of religion
• What does privatisation of religion mean?

  Confined to the private sphere of home
• How does the decline of community relate to secularisation?

  Religion is less needed for value consensus