the secularisation thesis

Question 1

secualrisation?

Answer 1

• loss of infulence of relg

Question 2

how does sec take place 5 ways

Answer 2

• decline in practice
  -people no longer believe
• lpse of infulence of relg organisaitons
• churches undergone internal sec
• relg diversity or pluraism

Question 3

decline in practice

Answer 3

decline in people practising their religion by attending religious services etc.

Question 4

people no longer believe

Answer 4

people no longer believe in God, spirits, good and evil etc.

Question 5

infulence of relg organisations decline

Answer 5

they are no longer involved in the day to day running of society

Question 6

churches undergo internal sec

Answer 6

watered down beliefs e.g sex b4 marriage

Question 7

religious pluraism and diversity

Answer 7

range of beliefs to choose from now

Question 8

issues with measuring decline

Answer 8

The evidence from the past lacks representativeness – historical records often only reflected the views of the privileged as they are the ones who could read and write
The evidence from the past lacks validity – there were no opinion polls or interviews conducted
lacks reliability – we are not aware of how data was actually collected

Question 9

problems with interpreting evidence

Answer 9

High participation does not mean strong belief! Some may attend due to social obligation or support. Aldridge – American way of life.
Low participation does not mean no belief Believing without belonging. (Davie)
Quantitative Vs. Qualitative data – Quantitative data may suggest a decline in religiosity but qualitative data may suggest otherwise

Question 10

problems with asking qs ab relg

Answer 10

Some may exaggerate when asked about religious activity
There is more than one way of defining religion
Some questions can be misleading or operationalised differently.

Question 11

issue with yougov census in 2011

Answer 11

YouGov survey had a different outcome than the 2011 Census. Some believe this was due to the wording: “Are you religious?” / “What is your religion?”

Question 12

problems with measuring membership and attenedce and practice

Answer 12

1. “Practice” varies between individuals and religious groups. Some sects demand high participation
   2.Information about smaller religious groups is often unavailable. Some may overestimate their membership.
   3.Some religious practice is not recorded at all. E.g. worshipping at home.
   4.Different denominations use different criteria of membership.

Question 13

why has sec happened

Answer 13

• rise in fem= womens careers
  -growth of media- choice of beliefs
  -church less infuelnce over state
• less stigma of not being relg
• parsons struc diff
  -emergence of scientfic ideas
  -disenchantment weber
• intro of NRMS
  -people have busier schedules
  -some grps dont feel marginalised
  -globalisaiton(spirtual shopping, brough more chocie)