secularism - essay

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

definition of secularisation

• associated seminal social thinkers e.g. Comte and Durkheim. industrialisation will lead to eradication of religion in society
• suggests enlightenment idea of ‘progress’. reflects value systems, often colonial. VALUE is key
• creates a binary of religious/secular
• but is it valid? Iranian revolution, led to establishment of theocracy

Question 2

argument

Answer 2

not totally secular and it continues to be a helpful category for the study of religion - allows for study of its varying influence and the link between religion and other sectors

Question 3

paras

Answer 3

• traditional secularisation thesis
• link between secularisation and demographics
• the link between religion and technology as suggesting a limit to secularisation thesis

Question 4

1 - secularisation thesis

Answer 4

idea of value in secularisation = key to thought of Charles Taylor
offered 3 types of secularity
1 - public
2 - private
3 - religion as an option
- advocates immanent frame, rooted in context and fullness
- religious reform had original goal of purification - linked to Aristotelian idea of ‘flourishing’
- but during the enlightenment, christian faith move to humanism
- religion was no longer axiomatic. it became a choice

Question 5

1 - ao2

Answer 5

• during, could be accused of viewing history abstractly
• can you distinguish public/private?
• need to recognise contextual nature of secularisation thesis e.g. poland = limit
• mahmood, when ‘we’ say we live in a secular age, who is the ‘we’

Question 6

2 - demographic

Answer 6

norris and inglehart

agrarian - industrial - postindustrial

more insecurity in agrarian - more reproduction. paradox, more religious people and movement towards secularism.

linked to wider themes of gender
world values survey 1981-2001
40% in agrarian
26% vs. 18% in postindustrial

Question 7

2 - ao2

Answer 7

reflects Weberian idea that development of society will lead to more rationalisation. however, this relies on assumptions of what value entails

Question 8

3 - value that can be found in religion as seen in its relationship with modern technological contexts

Answer 8

graham st john
EDM music at Portugal boom town
- hysteria = tribalism
- clubbing leads to what victor turner called ‘communitas’
- existential unity
- radical immanence, LSD and mushrooms
- self-bothering
- travelled to orient to ‘escape from the cage of occidental rationality’
- CDS, use of oriental imagery on cover, no longer needed to travel
- technology and religion! w o w !

Question 9

3 - ao2

Answer 9

• shows link between secularism and other spheres e.g. politics.. Norris and inglehart talk about 2000 US elections
• appropriation of other cultures raises interesting question of whether secularism is biased. reflects more meta-realities of religion and clothing etc. colonial idea that you suffer more if you are not modelled against Xian prototype