The changing and renewal of religion

• how is religion changing?


  Aspects of traditional religion are in decline, but new forms are emerging. Often the result of changing wide society such as greater individualism choice and consumerism
• who talks about religion going from obligation to consumption?

  Davie
• Davie’s explanation of obligation to consumption?


  • we are moving away from obligation to follow religion, but instead towards consumption and choices.
  • In the past the church of England or the Catholic Church could oblige people to go to church to believe certain things and behaving certain ways. This no longer is the case as religion is now a matter of choice, I go to church because I want to . Religion is taking on a privatised From people still have religious beliefs, but don’t necessarily belong to an organisation. They are believing not belonging.
• David - vicarious religion; the spiritual health service?


  • religion practiced By an active minority (Clery and regular churchgoers) On behalf of, the grape majority typical in Britain and northern Europe. charge attendance is low, but people still identify with churches. Major national churches seen as a public unility Which is that for everyone to use whenever they need to E.G baptisms morning over the death of Queen Elizabeth II or Princess Diana
• David - vicarious religion; the spiritual health service?


  he challenges secularisation theory which assumes that modernisation has led to the decline of religion stage, she argues there Multiple modernisation.G in USA and Britain. There are different patterns of religion attendance, Britain, low and USA high, but accompanied with believing with without belonging.
• Voas and Crockett - neither believing nor belonging ?(criticism of Davie)


  they were checked Davies claim Data shows that 72% identify as Christian, which supports believing not belonging, but they found that people believing themselves as Christian not because of their religious beliefs, but as simply a way to say they’re a part of white English ethnic group, so they believe in belonging describing themselves as Christian was way of marking their national or ethnic identity
• Hervieu-léger - spiritual shopping?


  that has been a dramatic decline in international religion in Europe. This is because of cultural amnesia (Loss of collective memories). we no longer pass religion down through generations as parents want to let their children decide for themselves. Young people no longer have a fixed religion identity, but religion has not disappeared instead individuals, personal spiritual journey, where they choose what bits they want to explore, and which groups they want to join
• Hervieu-léger two types of new religions types?


  pilgrims - following an individual path in search of self discovery, exploring new age spirituality by joining groups

  convert - joining groups with strong sense of belonging, usually based on shared ethnic background or doctrine
• postmodern religion - Lyon?


  Lyon agrees believing without belonging is in increasingly popular, post modern society is globalised media is increasingly important and there is a growth of consumerism. religious ideas have become disembodied religious ideas are no longer only delivered in churches they have moved to a different place and time e.g the electronic church and televangelism move religion to the internet
• postmodern religion- Helland?


  • religion online- top down communication where religion organisations up the internet to address members and potential converts
  • online religion- cyber religion- cyber religion that doesn’t exist outside of the internet people develop non hierarchical relationships and a sense of community with virtual worship. Cowan argues that pagans had a sense of self worth feeling they belonged to a global network
• Religion consumerism?


  • Spiritual shoppers, pick and mix different elements of different faiths to suit our tastes and make them part of our identity. This is individualised religion. This could involve attending services at one church, having counselling with another church while using childcare services of another.
  • Berger argues that this weekend is the dominance of traditional religion as people receive competing versions of the truth so therefore become sceptical, traditional churches lose their authority and decline
• Religion consumerism?


  Post-modernists believe that this does spell the end of religion, new religious movement spring up for people to sample, so religion and spirituality are not disappearing. They are just evolving.
• new age movement?


  Emphasis the idea of a life as a journey of discovering personal development and connecting with others in a discovery. Individualism the notion that every individual is Free to decide what is true for him or her for example by engaging in spiritual shopping. Picking a mixing ideas found. New age, believe in practices are also called self spirituality or self religion.
• What is the re-enchantment of the world?


  • Lyon criticises secularisation theory for assuming that religion is declining and being replaced by a rational scientific worldview, we are now in a period of reenactment with the growth of unconditional practices, beliefs, and spirituality. traditional forms of religion have declined in Europe. There is a growth of nontraditional religions in the west and resurgence elsewhere in their world.
• re-enchantment of the world?


  A spiritual revolution is taking place. Traditional Christianity is giving away to holistic spirituality or new age, beliefs, emphasising personal development, leading to a growth in spiritual markets with an explosion of books on self-help and spirituality with therapies offered from medical to crystal healing.
• Heelas and woodhead what do they say?


  • New age, spirituality has grown because of a massive subjective time in today’s cultural Moving away from doing your duty and a banking external authority to exploring you in a south, following your spiritual path
  • Traditional religions which demanded duty and obedience are Declining evangelical churches are more successful than traditional ones as they emphasis the importance of spiritual healing and personal growth being born again
• Evaluation of new age movements?

  • Even if NAM are springing up, this needs to happen on a very large scale to plug the gap of declining religion, emphasised by secularisation theorists
  • The spiritual beliefs are less likely to be passed down through socialisation women in the holistic milieu (NAM) also less likely to have children
  • Glendinnig and Bruce although many people dabble within meditation, alternative medicine, astrology, horoscopes, et cetera. Serious commitment. New age movements is rare
  • Bruce, most people in every demographic category, no interest in alternative spirituality
• Religion, market theory (Rational choice theory)?

  Stark and Bainbridge critical of secularisation theory , which is Europecentric religion is still popular in America and elsewhere. there is no longer a golden age of religion in the past instead

  1. people are naturally religious and religion meets human needs- the demand remains constant through types of religion can vary

  it is human and nature to seek rewards and avoid costs people weigh up the costs and benefits before making a decision
• Stark and Bainbridge?


  religion providers with the compensators By providing supernatural rewards, E.G immortality Is unobtainable But religion offers life after death non-religious ideologies, such as humanism and communism I’m not credible compensators. Cycle of renewal when established churches declined. They leave a cap in the market for sects and cults to attract new followers. So secularisation Is one sided it sees declined but ignores the growth of new religions And religious revival
• American VS Europe ?


  Religion increases when there is competition and decline where there is one monopoly religion. Religion thrives in the USA as there is not one monopoly, religion but healthy religion market. Competition has held back in Europe so religion is in decline. It is supply not demand
• supply-led religion ?


  • Hadden and Shupe - the growth of televangelism has lead to religious participation being supply led
  • Finke - the lifting of restrictions on Asia, immigrants into the USA, led to an increase of religion, such as Hare Krishna And transcendental meditation. the growth of evangelical mega churches means they have lavish resources and a vast range of activities to meet the diverse needs of them members
• Criticisms of religious market theory?

  • Bruce reject the religious market theory. Statistics show that diversity has been accomplished by religious decline in both Europe and America.
  • Beckford RMT is unsociological because it assumes people are naturally religious and fails to explain why they make the choice they do
• Criticisms of religious market theory?

  Norris and Inglehart- high levels of religion, participation exist in catholic countries where the church has a monopoly such as Ireland. However countries with religious pluralism such as Holland and Australia, often have low levels of participation contradicting Stark and Bainbridge