Beliefs in Society
Calvin
For there was a distinct group of that elect who were chose by God, before they were even born, to go to heaven. Those who were not among the elect could never get to Heaven, however well they behave. they worked hard, as it was their duty, they didn't believe in having luxuries, so reinvested it, and so on and so forth. - creation of modern capitalism
Aldridge
Groups such as the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) have an ambiguous position. In the USA, they are seen as just one amongst many denominations, but in the UK they are viewed as more deviant and therefore regarded more like a sect.
Bruce
Growth in World affirming NRM Organisations and people are primarily concerned with achieving specific objectives rather than achieving a sense of fulfillment. Modern life is fragmented and people may have little sense of identity. World-affirming movements can fill this gap.
Bruce
A cult is a loosely knit group organised around some common themes and interests, lacking any sharply defined and exclusive belief systems.
Stark and Bainbridge
A cult is any organisation that has beliefs that are novel for a particular society. Cults have not broken away from an existing religion (as sects often have) that has either devised a completely new set of beliefs or imported beliefs or religious tradition from outside that society. For example, some cults have based their ideas upon science fiction or Freudian psychology. Others have imported ideas from Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, into western societies.
Brierley
In 1979 the average age of the church-goer was 37 but in 2005 it was 49. In 2005, nearly 60% of churches had nobody attending between the ages of 15 and 19.
Brierley
Opinion poll evidence suggests that women are more religious. It found that 84% of women believed in God, compared to only 64% of men.
Hervieu-leger
(who) goes on to say that not only has cultural amnesia caused it, but so has spiritual shopping, where traditional institutional religion has declined, that isn't religion, people are just replacing it with individual consumerism, and choose as consumers of religion. they are spiritual shoppers, we develop out own individualised beliefs, that give meaning to our lives. religion is now a personal spiritual journey where we choose what elements we want to explore and the groups which we wish to join as a result 2 new types have emerged: pilgrims - they follow individual paths, looking for self-discovery - often includes the new age spiritualities, and individual therapy. demand caused by today's emphasis on todays personal development. Converts-
Gramsci
(who) looks at how the ruling class maintain their social control over the working class through ideas, not force/coercion. uses the term hegemony to refer to how they use ideas (such as religion) to maintain social control. HEGEMONY - ideological domination or leadership of society. when hegemony works effectively the ruling class can rely on popular consent to maintain their rule, so less need for coercion.
McGuire
- Religions with strong moral codes are more likely to have followers who are critical of society and therefore may take action to change it. - societies in which religious beliefs are central to the culture (for example, in Latin America) provide more opportunity for people to use religion to mobilise a movement for change. - where religious organisations play a central role in economic and political structure of society, they have more chance of producing change.
Bruce
Religious factors are often intermingled with a non-religious factors in causing conflict. Pakistan-Israeli conflict where nationality and ethnicity are intermingled with religious differences.
Miller and Hoffman
Research suggests that men are more willing to take risks than women. Not being religious can be seen as risk-taking behaviour because of the possibility that it may lead to failure to enter heaven. Research shows that both men and women who are risk averse have high levels of religiosity.
Positive Stage (19th century onwards)
Science is the dominant belief system. People believe those things can be tested and proved to be true using objective knowledge. Beliefs are no longer a matter of opinion.
Troeltsch
Sect members often withdraw from the wider world and dedicate their lives to the sect. For example, sect members may live in a commune. Members are also expected to show deep commitment to the organisation and usually have to adhere to a strict morality imposed on them.
Troeltsch
Sects are not connected to the state and tend to have norms and values that are quite different from those of the wider society, so they can be regarded with suspicion and hostility by non-members. They may even be in opposition to the state and clash with the law; they tend to be radical rather than conservative.
Troeltsch
Sects are small organisations. The larger ones tend to have thousands of members rather than millions, or some have only a handful of members.
Wilson
Sects arise during periods of rapid social change when traditional norms are disrupted, and social relationships come to lack consistent meaning. An example of this is the Methodist movement, which started off as a sect. This movement could be seen as a response of the urban working class to the chaos and uncertainty of life in the new industrial towns and cities. It offered support to those trying to make sense of, and survive in, the new, hostile environment.
Weber
Sects tended to develop and amongst marginal groups in society, that is, people outside the mainstream of social life who felt that they were not receiving the status and economic rewards they deserved. These sects tended to develop a theodicy of disprivileged - a religious explanation and justification for their disadvantage, often promising them salvation.
Wilson
Sects that survive for a long time, including Quakers and Pentecostalists, have succeeded in recruiting the children of followers and integrating them into the sect. This has helped to keep the sect isolated from secular influences in society at large. However, eventually, rising educational standards, increasing opportunities and, with new media and globalisation, the difficulties of isolating the sect from wider society may threaten the ability of sects to survive as highly religious organisations.
Berger
Pentecostalism in latin america promotes capitalism due to it being a "functional equivalent" to protestant ethic. what this means is it promotes the development of capitalism in today's society. much like Calvinism, Pentecostalism demands an ascetic lifestyle, which encourages its members to prosper and become upwardly mobile which (who) concludes gives it a strong affinity to modern capitalism. He agreed that something like Protestantism is necessary to promote economic development and bring it out of society but he makes certain that the religious ideals aren't enough, there has to be the natural resources needed to do so as well.
Huntingdon
People see themselves as belonging to civilisations that are usually linked to a religion and that therefore religious identities are increasingly important in the modern world. When the civilisations come into contact, conflict tends to break out.
Metaphysical Stage (18th century)
Philosophical beliefs are dominant. People can now use rationality to decide what to believe and how to behave.
Lyon
Post modern society involves a growth in consumerism and the idea that we can construct who we are through what we consume. this according to lyon is also true of religion - see spiritual shopping. we cease to sign up to anyone religious tradition, instead we pick and mix elements of our identity until something more fashionable and attractive comes along. instead of ceasing to be religious, they have only ceased to belong to religious institutions according to Lyon, they are now making conscious decisions about what parts of religions they find useful and want. this results in meta-narratives breaking down, as many contradicting theories and world views clash, breaking their claims of "absolute truth" and result in traditional religions losing their authority and decline resulting in many smaller new religions to pop up.
Engels
Recognized religion did not always act as a conservative force supporting the interests of the ruling class. Believed that religion usually started off among oppressed groups in society as a way of coping with their oppression. Also argued that eventually religion could become a force for change. By uniting an oppressed group and giving them a common set of beliefs it provided the basis for future actions. A dual character
Weber
Religion can be a cause of conflict as well as harmony.
Marxism, feminism
Religion can prevent conflict by reinforcing the control of dominant groups in society, e.g. the ruling class, men.
Armstrong
Religion has not always been patriarchal. In early history women were considered essential to spirituality and archaeologists have found numerous symbols of the great mother Goddess. In comparison, there were few portrayals of male gods.
Maduro
Religion has some independence or relative autonomy from ruling-class control and from the economic system. Denies that religion is always a conservative force and says that it can sometimes become revolutionary.
Functionalist
Religion tends to prevent conflicts by creating harmony through shared values. it does so to prevent society disintergrating by promoting social solidarity by forming value consensus, which prevents society breaking down through prevention of people seeking "their own selfish interests".
Theological Stage (pre 18th century)
Religious and superstitious beliefs are dominant. People believe because they have faith. They follow beliefs from sacred texts and religious leaders. Beliefs are not open to question or debate.
Parsons
Religious beliefs provide guidelines for human action and standards against which people's conduct can be evaluated (by creating and legitimating societies basic norms and values). It provides a range of answers to questions about suffering, evil, the purpose of existence and so on. Religion helps society to rub smoothly and prevents conflict.
People's Temple
Set up in 1955 by Rev Jim Jones, this group recruited both affluent white followers and black ghetto dwellers from Northern California. It had a radical ideology based upon a combination of religion and Marxism. The sect was strictly controlled by the charismatic leader who claim to be able to perform miracle medical cures. Under investigation from the US authorities, Jones moved the sect to the rainforest of Guyana where members withdrew from the outside world. In 1978 the sect was again being investigated, and the US Congressmen and several journalists were killed. Fearing the consequences, the members agreed to commit mass suicide and the entire sect of over 900 people died through poisoning - the most committed suicide, although some appeared to have been injected.
woodhead
Some religions can be misinterpreted as being patriarchal. For example, she argues that the veiling of women in Islam is not a sign of oppression but a way of protecting women against the male gaze in patriarchal societies where women can be the victims of sexual harassment.
Wilson
Some sects do survive for long periods of time and argued that the key factor influencing the future of sects was their belief about how they would be saved.
Modood
Survey conducted to look at participation as well as identification between religion and ethnicity found: 1.African-Caribbeans had high rates of participation in 20th century sects such as Seventh Day Adventists and the New Testament Church of God. 2.The survey also found that there were big differences in the importance attached to religion, e.g. only 11% of white members of the Church of England saw religion as very important in their lives, compared to 71% of Caribbean members of New Protestant churches, 43% of Hindus and 74% of Muslims. 3.Minority ethnic groups, with the exception of Chinese, were all more likely to attend places of worship than whites.
Beckford
The categories in Wallis's scheme are hard to apply because it is not clear whether the teaching of the movement or the beliefs of an individual member are more important. He also argues that Wallis does not take into account of the diversity of views that often exist within a single organisation.
Troeltsch
The church is a large religious organisation where members do not usually have to demonstrate their faith; instead they are born into it And recruited before they can understand its teachings.
Armstrong
The conflict between Islam and the West is not primarily caused by religion but by American foreign policy. The USA has frequently intervened in Muslim countries and often supported regimes that have not brought prosperity to ordinary Muslims.
Bruce
The development of sects and cults is a reaction to modernisation and secularisation. As conventional institutional religion has lost its influence, people have turned to alternatives.
Heelas
The environment in which a New Age exists is the holistic milieu. Unlike the congregational domain, where people meet regularly for collective worship, the holistic milieu involves more one-to-one activities (for example, between a healer and a client) and small group activities (for example, yoga classes).
Heelas
The four aspects of modernity that give rise to the New Age: 1.People have a multiplicity of roles (home, work, family, friends) so they lose a sense of their true self. The new age helps to restore this by providing a "authentic" identity. 2.Consumer culture causes dissatisfaction because it doesn't deliver the perfection it promises. the new age gives another way to achieve perfection. 3.In a rapidly changing society, when traditional norms and values are being disrupted (creating anomie), people use spiritual beliefs to avoid insecurity and uncertainty. 4.modernity leads to secularisation, thereby removing traiditonal alternatives to NAB
Wallis
The future of sects depends on both internal ideology and external circumstances.
Drane
The growth of the New Age is a response to the failure of the emphasis on science and material success in modernity. The Enlightenment beliefs of the 17th and 18th centuries claimed that science and rationality could solve the world's problems. However, events such as global warming have shown that harm can be done in the name of progress. As a result, New Agers are turning away from science, to an era of postmodernity where they look for inner spiritual satisfaction.
Durkheim
The main role of religion is to reinforce collective conscience (shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge). this is done through group religious rituals,
Superstructure
The non-economic parts of society such as education, the state, the mass media, religion and beliefs, attitudes and values.
Wallis
The reasons for the rapid development of new religious movements in the 1960s are: gorwth of world rejecting NRMs: - The growth of higher education, which created an extended period of transition between childhood and adult hood. This left young people with a period of freedom in which they could experiment, since they had few responsibilities. - A belief that new technology would lead to an end to both scarcity and the need for commitment hard work. - The growth of radical political movements, which provided an alternative to dominant social norms and values. New religious movements offer the possibility of a more spiritual and caring way of life.
Miller and Hoffman
The three main theories explaining women's greater religiosity: - Differential socialisation - According to this view, women are taught to be more submissive and passive than men and these characteristics are associated with being more religious. Traditional religions tend to expect their followers to be passive and obedient. Research in the USA suggests that the less passive and obedient men are, the less likely they are to be involved in religion than other men. - Structural location - This is the view that women take more part in religion because of their social roles. Men are more likely to be the full-time breadwinner while women are more likely to be housewives, work part-time and bring up the children. This gives women more time for church-related activities. Furthermore, women who do not have paid jobs and may have a need for a role that provides a sense of personal identity, and religion can fulfill this role. Taking children to church is also an extension of the mother role, since women tend to be primary carers. - thirdly there is the fact that women are more often associated with nature and healing roles, they may be more attracted to new age movements in particular. this is because these movements celebrate the natural and involve cults of healing, which provide women with higher status and a sense of self-worth.
Neo-Pentecostalism
This is a Christian group, which argues that the original teachings of the bible have been watered down. In particular, the importance of the holy spirit has been neglected by other versions of Christianity. Followers believe that the holy spirit can speak directly through bodies of humans. They therefore engage in the practice of 'speaking in tongues' when they feel possessed by the spirit who communicates through their mouths. Although they have radical religious views, they are otherwise conforming members of society. The group appeals particularly to black-African and African-Caribbean populations in the UK and USA.
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
This is based upon the Hindu religion and was first introduced into the West in the late 1950s by their Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who for a while was followed by the Beatles. It teaches a meditational technique in which followers are given an individual mantra on which they concentrate for some 20 minutes twice a day. It is claimed that the technique can provide 'unbounded awareness', with beneficial effects for for the individual and for society. Most followers pay for a few sessions to learn the technique and then practice at home, but there are a few committed followers who base their lives around this.
Chryssides
Three paths immigrants and their descendants take in terms of religion : 1.Apostasy - beliefs are abandoned in a hostile environment. 2.Accommodation - religious beliefs are adapted to take account of the changed situation. 3.Renewed vigour - religion is reasserted more strongly than ever as a response to actual or perceived hostility.
Comte
Three stages of development towards scientific knowledge
Liberation theology
Until recent decades, the Catholic Church in Latin America sided with the bourgeoisie and right-wing militarily dictatorships in Latin America countries such as El Salvador and Nicaragua. The Catholic Church gave little support to trade unions strikers and opposition political parties. Increasingly, however, Catholic priests began to speak up for the interests of the poor. Some priests developed a new theology, which interrupted Christianity as being on the side of oppressed groups and as supporting their liberation. This theology therefore developed, which argued that power and wealth, especially land, should be redistributed from the rich to poor.
Bruce
We have not moved to a era of postmodernity but the New Age is a product of late Modernity. late Modernity emphasises individualism and he sees the New Age as an extreme version of individualism. The New Age is closely linked to the human potential movement in which people believe that through self-improvement they can achieve perfection, and in doing so improve the world about them. The New Age particularly appeals to people such as journalists, actors, writers and counsellors. These generally university-educated middle classes have experienced personal development and believe that is the way to achieve progress. The New Age is also a symptom of the relativism of knowledge in an individualistic society; truth depends upon your personal viewpoint rather than an objective truth.
Weber
Weber argued that religion has been hit by secularisation because of rationalisation, the idea that in the past few hundred years since Martin Luther in the 16th century. the process undermined religious world view and replace it with rational scientific outlook in modern society. The medieval world view was that the world was an enchanted garden, god and other spirtual beings and forces were present and effected the world. humans could also supposedly influence things by prayer, charms, fasts and spells, so as to ensure good harvests, and to protect against disease.
Wilson and bruce
Wilson found that 45% of americans attended church on sundays, in 1962 however he argued that church going in america was an expression of the american way of life, not deeply religious beliefs, he claimed that america was a secular society, not because people had abandoned churches but because religion had become superficial. bruce concurs and uses three sources of evidence to support this, idea, declining church attendance, secularisation from within, and a trend towards religious diversity and relativism.
Wallis
World-accommodating movements tend to be the most stable type of new religious movement, continuing for long periods without major changes.
Wallis
World-accommodating new religious movements are often an offshoot of an existing major church or denomination. - typically, they neither accept nor reject the world as it is, they simply live with it. - they are concerned more with religious rather than worldly questions. - such groups seek to restore spiritual purity to a religion that they believe has lost its commitment to its core values. - examples include Subud and neo-Pentecostalism.
Wallis
World-affirming movements often sell their services as a commodity, so just like businesses they can suffer from a lack of customers and competition in the market-place. However, the groups will not necessarily disappear - some will change to another type of organisation. For example, in the 1970s, Transcendental Meditation grew even more world-affirming in order to broaden its appeal. These types of groups are very flexible and can evolve as circumstances change.
Bruce
bruce argues that the way american religion has modernised itself has amounted to secularisation from within, saying that the emphasis on traditional beliefs and glorifying god has declined and religion in america has become psychological or turned into a form of therapy. this has enable it to fit into a secular society, in short american religion has remained popular by becoming less religious. its purpose changed from seeking salvation in heaven to seeking personal improvement in this world. this decline in commitment to their traditional beliefs is seen in peoples attitudes and life styles. church goers are far less strict than they were previously in how they stick to traditional morality.
bruce
bruce identifies a trend towards practical relativism among american christians, involving the acceptance of the view that others are entitled to hold beliefs that aren't the same as their won. this is shown by lynd and lynds study which found in 1924 that 94% young people agreed with the statement "christianity is the one true religion and all people should be converted to it" but in 1977 only 41% agreed.
religious beliefs today
evidence shows that religious beliefs are declining as well as church attendence (even if higher). more people claim they hold christian beliefs than actually belong to or attend a church. robert gill 1998 - reviewed 100 national serveys, when asked "would you describe yourself as being part of any religion or denomination" only 23% said no in 1950 but in 1996 it was 43%
Stark and bainbridge
explain the difference between european countries and america's amount of religiosity by the amount of social security people have, while america is wealthy they lack safeguards for individuals such as healthcare, social services and pensions which means the people at the bottom aren't protected and this means that religiosity is still high there (in comparison to other western societies) on the reverse european countries have these security features and therefore its far lower. they then evidence this idea by saying that america is only highly religious in comparison to western societies and that third world countries are usually more religious than america.
bruce
following Weber (who) argued that the growth in a technological worldview had largely replaced religious and supernatural explanations for why things occur. he uses plane crashes as an example, saying that we don't assume its evil spirits causing it or gods punishment but something went wrong scientifically, such as an engine failure. this leaves little room for religious explanations beyond that which science cant explain, such as people praying when there isnt a cure for an illness. he concluded that whilst scientific explanations do not directly challenge religion it does do so as they have greatly reduced the scope for religious explanations as science does not make people atheist but the world view it encourages results in people viewing religion less seriously.
Giddens
fundamentalists seek to return to the basics (or fundamentals) of their faith. they believe the word of their religion unquestionably in all areas of life. they are intolerant of other religions and beliefs and often refuse to enter into dialogue with others, they support their arguments with dogma and sacred texts not rational argument. (who) sees fundamentalism as a response to globalisation as it undermines the traditional social norms. they argue that in today's late modern society nothing is certain and we face frequent risks where as fundamentalism offers certainty. contrasts fundamentalism with cosmopolitanism which promote the opposite, embracing late modern society, tolerant of other, open to new ideas, and constantly reflects/modifies their beliefs based on them. people must justify their views with rational thought. life style is a personal choice, not something prescribed to them. cosmopolitan religion are aimed at self-improvement not submission to authority.
Lyon
globalisation (the idea of growing interconnectiveness between societies) has led to increased movement of ideas and beliefs across national boundaries. tis is due to the central role played in postmodern society by the media and information technology. which saturate us with images and information from around the world, compressing time, and space to give us instantaneous access to the ideas and beliefs of previously remote regions and religions. these ideas become "disembedded" the lift them from their roots and local context and place them in different places and times. for example the electronic church and telavangelism disembded religion from local churches and relocate it to the internet allowing expression of belief without physically attending church but at disneyland - an example of how the boundaries between different areas of social life becoming blurred in post modern society. this results in a de-institutionalised religions. they are signs and images which are detached from their place in religious institutions floating and multiplying on television and in cyber-space.
Marx
ideology - religion is an ideology that distorts reality by using a false consciousness that makes us think that positions were god given, and that their suffering was virtuous and would get them into heaven it helps individuals deal with alienation (the loss of control over something that they've produced) - opium of the people.
nanda
looks at how hinduism legitimates a triumphalist version of indian nationalism. e.g. the pew global attitude survey found 93% of indians agreed with the statement that "our people aren't perfect but our culture is superior to others". and that india's success in the global market is increasingly being attributed to the superiority of "hindu values" which is constantly supported by the media and politicians. this has lead to hindu ultra-nationalism developing into a civil religion where worshiping hinduism is worshiping the state. but this is increasing the gap between hindus and non-hindu minorities.
religions conservative beliefs
most religions have traditional conservative beliefs, mainly on moral issues, such as on topics that allow people more freedom, like gay marriage and abortion. furthermore most religions uphold the traditional patriarchal domestic division of labour.
Nanda
nanda disagrees with the idea of existential insecurity as an explanation as to why the middle class indians are still religious as they are highly educated, prosperous etc. and are still religious, and studies show that they say they are becoming more religious (however the idea that they are lying due to societal norms is a possibility). she also disagrees with the idea that its a reaction to westernisation, on the contrary most indian middle class people are optimistic about it (how about subconsciously?) she argues its a result of their ambivalence about their newfound wealth. it occurs do the tension between their traditional hindu beliefs (of renunciation of materialism and worldly desires) and their prosperity. this is resold by them by the modern holy men/tele-gurus who they turn that preach desire isn't bad and business friendly versions of hinduism are dispensed, which say its okay to be a middle class consumer, as long as its spiritually balanced by paying for the performance of appropriate and often extravagant rituals - which is a way of displaying their wealth as well, thus modern hinduism therefore legitimates their middle-class position.
Heelas
new age movements are extremely diverse, and eclectic, include beliefs in UFOs and aliens, astrology, tarot, crystals, various forms of alternative medicine etc. however there are two common themes which characterise them. Two main themes of the New Age: - Self-spirituality - instead of looking to a traditional religion, look inside yourself for a sense of spirituality. Rather than worshipping external gods, attempt to perfect yourself and discover your own, hidden spiritual depths. - Detraditionalisation - A rejection of traditional sources of authority such as churches and conventional moral or ethical values. You are responsible for your own actions and for discovering your own truth, through getting in touch with your spirituality.
Gramsci
notes that there isn't any guarantee that hegemony would work, as the working class may develop an alternate vision of how society should be organised - counter hegemony - it has a dual character and that in many circumstances challenge not just support the ruling class. religion aids this through offering people a way to see through ruling class hegemony by offering a better/fairer world and that priests may also act as organic intellectuals people who educate, organize and lead people, who help people see the situation they are in and support working class organisations such as trade unions.
stark and bainbridge
offer an alternative view to the secularisation theory, where there is a cycle of religious, decline, revival, and renewal. they say its perpetual cycle through out history. when an established church declines it leaves room for cults and sects to attract new members. they say secularisation only sees one part of the cycle.
Hadaway et al
opinion poll research carried out since 1940 shows that church attendance has stayed the same, however this doesnt match church estimates because churches would be full if 40% of people did attend church. (who) studied churches in ashtabula county ohio to see if opinion polls exaggerate attendance rates, to do so they interviewed people and asked if they attended services, and did head counts, they found that the interviewees gave a 83% higher rate of attendance than what church estimates (and the head counts) showed. this is a new development since the 1970's where opinion polls usually match the church estimate but the gap has increased since then. Bruce concluded that a stable rate of self-reported attendance has masked a decline in actual attendance in the US. the widening gap may be due to the fact that people consider it desirable socially and normative to go to church so lie about attendance.
Weber
religion can cause social change in many ways, such as Calvinism changed society as it caused modern capitalism to occur, he says this happened due to 3 things: 1: Salvation panic, their position on entering heaven was pre-ordained and nothing changes it, this causes salvation panic, they didn't know if they were going to enter heaven, and they couldn't do anything to influence it. 2: causes of salvation panic: divine transcendence was the idea that no man could know gods will beyond the bible (not priests not the church) as a result Calvinists felt "unprecedented inner loneliness" combined with predestination (god already chosen where you are going when you die) meant that salvation panic occurred. 3: asceticism is the idea of abstinence, self-discipline, and self-denial. Calvinists had this, due to their new idea of religious calling, which a religious vocation (other-worldly asceticism), but in doing this-worldly asceticism, working non-stop here to glorify gods work and it wasn't to earn salvation but because it was duty. however due to asceticism they couldn't keep their earnings, so they put into the business which grew (they thought god was pleased which eased their salvation panic) and then they got more which they put back in and so and so forth.
Durkheim
religion has cognitive functions (ability to reason and think). it does this through categories such as time space etc. to share our thoughts we need the same categories.
religious institutions today
religions influence as a social institution is declining as well, whilst it still has some influence, much of it has been lost, namely in that many of its functions are being replaced by state ones. meaning that where religion used to have a finger in all the pies it ceases to now and is mainly only part of the private sphere of an individual and family. e.g. churches used to provide education (19th century) over the past 100 years, clergy members has dropped from 45000 (in 1900) to 34000 in 2000.
bruce
says positions by the new christian right didn't work as the majority of the society they were in a society that had democratic opinions as a result it was a failed "movement". these namely included the idea of separation of religion and state. this is despite tons of publicity. this is due to the fact that it tried to impose protestant morality on others, because people are liberal and democratic.
impact of science
science has had an enormous impact of society in recent years, medicine has eliminated once fatal threats etc. made our standard of living far higher than previously, but has also got down sides such as manufactured threats.
popper
science is an open belief system where every scientists theories are open to scrutiny criticism and testing by others. science is governed by the principle of falsification, that is they try to falsify other peoples theories, if something is disproved then it can be discarded and the search for a better theory can begin. scientific understanding of the world grows by discarding falsified information. since scientific knowledge is cumulative it builds on the steps of its forefathers to develop greater and greater understanding of the world around us. as sir isaac newton put it "if i have been able to see so far it is because i have stood on the shoulders of giants". however no theory is taken as definitely true, there is always a possibility that it can be proven incorrect. which in (whos) eyes is the key thing about scientific knowledge, it isnt sacred or absolute, its questionable, testable, and can be shown to be false.
Niebuhr
sects are world-rejecting, argues that they are short-lived and die within a generation or compromise with the world, abandon extreme ideals and become denominations. Reasons for this: the second generation aren't usually as committed or have the fervour of their parents as they did not choose to be part of the group voluntarily. the protestant ethic effect: sects which promote asceticism often become prosperous, and upwardly mobile, sch as with methodists. members will then be tempted to compromise with the world, so either leave or abandon its world rejecting beliefs. death of the leader: sects with charismatic leaders either collapse on the leaders death or a more formal bureaucratic leadership takes over resulting in it turning into a denomination.
religion as a conservative force
seen as a conservative in the sense of "traditional" - defends traditional norms, values and moral views. it aims to conserve things, and keep them the same
stark and bainbridge
the demand for religion increases when there are different sorts to choose from. because consumers can find one that meets their needs. if there is a religious monopoly religion decline as they have no incentive to please their members. they say this is why religion in america has thrived, as there hasnt ever been a religious monopoly there. this has allowed the growth of a healthy religious market where religions grow or decline according ot consumer demand. reversely european countries have a state religion (e.g. church of england) which allows for a religious monopoly and causes lack of choice and religious decline. (who) conclude that the main factor for influencing the level of religious participation is the amount of supply not demand and that secularisation is not universal.
gordon redding
the east asian tiger economies in east asia have successfully industrialised and become big players in the global economy, and china has recently become a huge industrial power, (who) claims this is due to chinas post-confucian values system being similar to the protestant ethic in how it encourages economic productivity, and accumulation of capital
Wilson
trends indicate that only 6.3% of adults attended church on Sundays in 2005 (half that of the 1960s), census shows that larger organisations have been hit worse than smaller ones, and their services are being used less as well.
Voas and Crockett
two main explanations for age difference in religion: the aging effect: the view that people turn to religion as they get older, heelas argues its because as we get older, its natural to become concern with spiritual matters and the afterlife etc. as a result more likely to attend church. the generational effect: the view that as a society, becomes more secular, each generation is less religious than the one before, as a result, there more old people than young people in church congregations, today not because they are more attracted to religion as they get older, simply because they grew up when religion was popular.
Wilson
western societies have been part of a long term secularisation process, he evidences this with the fact that in the mid-19th century 40% of the population attended church on Sundays, in the 1960s it was only 10-15%.
Bruce
(who) agrees with Wilson also sees it in decline and says "whether we measure church membership, church attendance, the popularity of religious ceremonies to mark rites of passage (such as weddings and baptisms) or religious belief we find that there is a steady and unremitting decline"
Wilson and bruce
(who) argued that pre-industrial societies communities and shared values were expressed through collective religion, which integrated society and regulated their behaviour, now however religion has lost this, and it lost its vitality as well as hold over individuals. (who) similarly thought that industrialisation undermined the consensus of religious beliefs which held small rural communities together as they gave way to large loose-knit urban communities which had more diverse beliefs and values. the social and geographical mobility breaks up communities, but brings many different backgrounds together creating diversity. this diversity of occupation, culture and lifestyles undermines religion because even sharing the same religious belief doesnt mean that the people around you share them and that they might hold extremely different and varying views. this causes religions plausibility to be reduced (and its credibility) as its undermined by alternatives that claim the same.
Davie
(who) argued that secularisation is not occurring, but in their opinion is changing and taking a more private form. they felt that people don't go to church because they don't feel they have to, or because it is "respectable" to go.. thus while church going is declining, its simply because attendance now is a personal choice, not an obligation like previously. this cause "believing without belonging" the idea that people now believe but don't attend or belong to a church.
Weber
(who) argued that the protestant refrmation brought a new worldview, that god had transcended, and that he wasnt intervening. he was leaving the world to its laws of nature, muh like a watchmaker he had created it and set it in motion but after that the creater had no part. this resulted in events which couldnt be explained by supernatural beings but as natural forces. all that was needed was to understand them rationally. which meant people had to learn, understand nature using reason and science so as to predict and control nature. religion didnt need to explain the world since it wasnt an enchanted garden, this in (whos) view meant the protestant revolution caused the disenchantment of the world, it kick started the rationalisation process.
Merton
(who) argues that science can only be productive if it is supported by other institutions and values. they argue that it first occurred in england, in the protestant reformation, especially with puritanism, which had this-worldly callings and industriousness, and a belief that the study of nature led to an appreciation of gods works. it was attracted to social welfare and the benefits that science could bring to improving the condition of life. he agrees that science does need a set of norms or ethos that allow scientists to act in a way that serve the goal of increasing scientific knowledge. there are 4 norms that he identified which he calls "CUDOS": communism - scientific knowledge isn't private property, scientists must share their knowledge with the community otherwise knowledge cant grow. universalism - the truth or falsity of science is judged by universal criteria, and not by the race, sex etc of the scientist who creates it. disinterestedness - being committed to discovering knowledge for its sake, having to produce findings makes it harder to be fraudulent, as it allows people to check claims. Organised scepticism - no knowledge-claim is sacred every idea is open to questioning, criticism, and objective investigation.
Hervieu-leger
(who) continues the idea of personal choice and believing without belonging. she agrees that there's a decline in institutional religion in europe with fewer and fewer people attending church in most countries. claims its partly due to cultural amnesia - loss of collective memory previously parents used to teach their children religion and to believe, now its left to the children to choose what they believe. furthermore churches have lost the powers to impose belief on people from above. this results in people not inheriting a traditional religious identity and being ignorant of traditional religion.
norris and inglehard (2004)
(who) reject religious market theory on the ground while it applies to america, it doesn't explain the variations of religiosity between different societies. they argue that the reason for variation between societies isn't different degrees of religious choice but different amounts of existential security. by this they mean "the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted." this means that religion meets a need for security and in societies where there is security religion declines. poor societies have little security as they have to face life threatening risks frequently and therefore have low levels of security and high levels of religiosity. rich societies on the other hand have higher standards of living with less threats and a greater amount of security. this would mean that religiousity varies within and between societies, demand is greatest among low-income groups/societies, which explains why third world countries are so religious while wealthier countries are becoming more secular.
Parsons and bruce
(who) saw religion as suffering from structural differentiation. the process by which specialisation that occurs in an industrial society, where separate specialised institutions developed to carry out tasks previously performed by one institution. he says that religion previously dominated in pre-industrial society as it performed and influenced many things, such as education, social welfare and law. it has now lost these as we have disengaged from religion and they are now transferred to other institutions such as state. (who else) agreed with this and said that religion had become privatised, and was part of the private sphere of life within society today, and are now mainly a matter of personal choice and religious institutions have lost much of their influence of wider society.
Davie
(who) sees a third trend where small numbers of professional clergy practise religion on behalf of a far larger amount of people who "experience it" second hand, which is the case of much of britain. they said that despite law attendance, people still use the church for rites of passage such as changes of status (marriage, baptisms and funerals). (who) compared them to the tip of an iceberg and sees it as evidence of believing without belonging. what seems like a small commitment to religion is actually a far larger one. she says the secularisation theory assumes that modernisation affects every society in the same way causing the decline of religion and its replacement by science, she questions this, and thinks that it can affect them in many ways, such as both america and the uk are modern societies yet have different religious attendance and belief rates.
Bruce
(who) sees all fundamentalists as sharing the same characteristics such as literal truth of the text and detesting modernity, there are different origins and triggers: in the west they are often triggered by change taking place in the society namely towards diversity and choice (typical of late modern societies) in the third world its due to a reaction of changes being pushed onto them, from an outside source, such as the case of islamic revolution in iran,
Bruce
(who) similarly sees the main cause of it as the perception of religious traditionalists sees globalisation as threatening their beliefs/lifestyle. when threatened they develope rigid rules about what to believe and how to behave. however he believes it's confined to monotheistic religions, with an almighty deity. on the reverse polytheistic religions aren't likely to produce any. he says this is the case due to monotheistic religions having a single authoritative deity with sacred text seeable as law (as it contains the actual word of god). on the reverse polytheistic religions lack this all powerful deity and there isn't a single authoritative text. so far more scope for different interpretations and none-has an over-riding claim on absolute truth.
Wilson
- Conversionist/evangelical sects - Attempt to convert as many people as possible to their religious beliefs. Consequently they are likely to expand and become a denomination. - Adventist sects - Believe that God will return to judge people and only sect members will gain a place in heaven. Consequently membership restricted and therefore likely to remain an exclusive sect.
Niebuhr
- Sect membership is based upon voluntary adult commitment where people choose to follow the beliefs of the religion. Once members start to have children, the children themselves cannot give the same commitment because they are not old enough to understand the teachings of a sect. Because of this, they will not have the same fervour as the first generation; the organisation will become less extreme and will turn into a denomination. - Sects that depend upon a charismatic leader will tend to disappear when the leader dies. Alternatively, following the death, the organisation might develop a bureaucratic structure rather than being held together by the charisma of an individual. It will therefore tend to become a denomination. - The ideology of many sects contains the seeds of its own destruction. Sects with an ascetic creed will encourage their members to work hard and save money. As a result, the members will be upwardly socially mobile and will no longer want to belong to an organisation that caters for marginal members of society. Once again, the sect would change to accommodate this by becoming a denomination, or it would disappear as members left.
Durkheim
All societies distinguish between sacred objects, rituals and people and profane objects. Religion is a distinction between two domains in the world, one of which is sacred and the other profane. Things in the sacred domain produce a sense of awe and respect, whereas the profane does not.
Malinowski
An anthropologist who conducted a functionalist study of the role of religion in the Triobrand Islands. Saw religion as crucial to helping people deal with situations of emotional stress that threaten social solidarity due to its psychological functions
Stark and bainbridge
Argue that it is relatively deprived people who break from churches to form sects. when middle class members of a church seek to fit into society, deprived members are likely to break away to form sects which safeguard the original message of the organisation.
Troeltsch
Because of the size members are drawn from all classes, but since the church is part of the establishment, higher classes are particularly well represented. Partly for this reason, churches tend to be ideologically conservative, supporting the values and beliefs of those in a position of power in society.
Lyon
Believes that the growth of postmodernity involves the development of globalisation, information technology and a consumer society. These trends give people greater choice, including a choice of gods. Because of these changes, religion is becoming another aspect of consumption. People are not willing to be forced to accept the authority of Christianity or any other religion, but they are willing to choose a religious narrative (or story) that appeals to them. For example, in Canada 75% of people do not attend church regularly but 80% of non-attenders still have religious beliefs. An example of the movement of religion to the sphere of consumption, is the holding of religious events, such as the harvest day crusade, at Disneyland in California. This mixes religion with the consumer fantasy world of Disney. Dedifferentiation is taking place - a blurring of the boundaries and differences between different parts of social life. In this case, the distinction between religion and popular culture is diminishing. Religion is no longer a social institution in which people have to take part, but rather a cultural resource on which people can draw if they wish.
Bruce
Both churches and sects have drifted towards the characteristics of a denomination. Churches can no longer claim a monopoly of religious truth and are no longer universal; they are therefore increasingly like denominations. Furthermore, groups such as Jehovah's witnesses and Pentecostals, which used to be regarded as sects, now tend to be seen as denominations.
Troeltsch
Churches often carry out important social functions, such as being involved in politics and running schools. Members of churches continue to carry out normal social roles and the demands on individuals to demonstrate their faith are not usually very great in terms of restriction on their behaviour. Churches are formal organisations with a hierarchy of paid officials and may be quite rich; in particular, they often a extensive holdings of land.
Troeltsch
Churches traditionally try to protect and preserve a monopoly of the religious truth, claiming they are the only genuine religion within a society.
Bruce
Claimed that religion was also a force for change, used the example of the black equal rights movement in the 1950's and 60's and described the black clergy the back bone of the movement - did so through providing moral legitimacy to civil rights activists, as well as meeting places and sanctuary. religion has several ways it supports protests and contributes to social change: allows them to take the moral high ground, allowed them to channel dissent, allows for honest brokers (churches usually avoid politics and are respected by both sides) and it also allows for the mobilization of public opinion.
Williams
Class ideology
Heelas and Woodhead
Conducted a detailed study of religious beliefs in Kendal, a Cumbrian town close to the Lake District. They collected data on every religious group in the town, as well as all New Age activities they could find. They found that more people were taking part in spiritually-inclined New Age activities than were attending Anglican churches. They argue that a spiritual revolution is underway in which the congregational domain (worship by congregations in conventional churches) is declining and the holistic milieu (informal networks through which people take part in New Age activities) is growing. Based on current trends, they estimate that the New Age may become more popular than all conventional churches put together by around 2020. They argue that, overall, subjectivisation is taking place in religion, spiritual beliefs and society generally. This involves people emphasising their own choices rather than following instructions from authorities. The New Age is appealing because it allows individuals to choose the spiritual beliefs which fit with their own personal views and lifestyle. As a result, people are moving away from traditional religions where there is little choice about what to believe or how to worship. Rather than secularisation taking place, they suggest there has simply been a shift in the type of religious beliefs that people follow.
Stark and Bainbridge
Critical of all typologies, arguing that there are always overlaps between categories. Instead, they rank organisations in terms of their degree of tension with society, ranging from churches at one end to cults at the other extreme. However, they go on to classify the smaller types of religious organisation into their own typology. 1. Sects are small religious groups, which are an offshoot of an existing religion and are in a high degree of tension with the outside world. 2. Cults are small religious groups, which are either novel or based upon a religion from another society. They are divided into three types: - Audience cults - least organised, dont involve formal membership, not much commitment, little interaction between members - participate through media, astrology and ufo cults. - client cults - based on relationship between consultant and client, provide services to their followers, in the past often claimed they spoke to the dead, performed miracles, but it has now changed to therapies promising personal fulfillment and self-discovery,. - cult movement - most organised, demand higher level of commitment than other cults, the movement aims to meet all its members religious needs, unlike followers of audience and client cults, rarely allowed to belong to other religious groups at the same time. example being the moonies, some client cults become cultic movements, such as scientology developing from dianetics.
Niebuhr
Denominations are formal organisations with a hierarchy of officials and it is not difficult to become a member. They draw members from all parts of society, but compared to churches have more supporters from working class and lower middle-class backgrounds.
Gramsci
Dual consciousness
Bruce
Ethnic minorities are more religious than whites in modern Britain, but their religiosity is more an expression of community solidarity than of deep religious commitment. Ethnic minority religious observance stems from: - Cultural defence - using religion as a way of protecting identity in an essentially hostile environment. - Cultural transition - religion is used to cope with the upheaval of migration. Over time, the generally secular nature of British society will erode the importance of religion for ethnic minorities.
Bird
Five reasons why minority ethnic groups are more likely to be religious than the majority white population in Britain: 1.Many members of minority ethnic groups originate in societies that have high levels of religiosity, such as Pakistan and the Caribbean. 2.Belonging to a minority ethnic group within a society means that religion can be an important basis for a sense of community and solidarity. It can give members a point of contact, sense of identity and introduce them to potential marriage partners. (cultural transitioning) 3.Minority groups may see religion as a way of maintaining cultural identity in terms of traditions such as food, language, art, music and so on. (cultural defence) 4.Socialisation can lead to strong pressure on children to maintain religious commitment. 5.Religious beliefs may also be a way of coping with a sense of oppression. For example, A study by Ken Pryce, examined how Pentecostalism acted as a way of helping some members of the African-Caribbean community in Bristol to cope with low pay and racial discrimination.
Bruce
In the 1970s the hippy culture and counterculture had failed to change the world and by the end of this decade some young people were becoming disillusioned with the movements. Consequently, they sought another pain to salvation, through religion rather than through peace and love.
Wallis
In the 1970s there was a rapid growth of smaller religious organisations called new religious movements. There are three types of new religious movements these are well-rejecting, world-affirming, world-accommodating.
armstrong
In the public sphere of religion, where important positions are held and public pronouncements are made, men almost always dominate. However, in the public sphere, for example the socialisation of children into a religion within families, women are dominant and do most of the religious work.
Worsley
Millenarian movements are usually appealing to the poor, as they promise immediate improvement, and occur in colonial situations usually. he used cargo cults (millenarian movements in Melanesia) as an example, showing where cargo cults arose and asserted that cargo originally intended for the natives was being diverted and given to the colonists. - they then created further unrest and unease by combining their views with elements of Christianity (pieces like the righteous being rewarded in heaven and the apocalypse) - described them as pre-political and united mass populations that ignored tribal divisions.
Wallis
Movements of the middle-ground tend to be very unstable and are likely to shift between being world-rejecting and world-affirming, depending on the needs and wishes of the membership. This can lead to splits within the movement; for example, the Process Church split into two factions in 1973.
Wallis
World-affirming new religious movements often lack the typical characteristics of a religion. For example, some do not involve belief in God. - rather than turning against the world, these movements are positive about the world but argue that individuals are often lacking something spiritual and this is preventing them from achieving fulfilment and success. - they will offer their followers access to supernatural or spiritual powers that will enhance their ability to live fulfilling and successful lives. - followers are unlikely to live in a commune, or give up other aspects of their lives. Usually, they simply practice some life-affirming activity in order to make themselves more successful. However, there is sometimes a hard-core of followers who do give up their normal lives to follow the movement. - examples of these movements include Transcendental medication (TM), Erhard Seminars Training (EST) and scientology.
Wallis
World-rejecting new religious movements have the most in common with sects. Their beliefs are very critical of the outside world and therefore they often seek radical change. - to achieve salvation, members are expected to make a sharp break with conventional life when they join the movement. The organisations often act as total institutions, which control every aspect of the lives of their members. - members are expected to be highly disciplined and usually submit to the rigours of an ascetic lifestyle (they devote themselves to their religion rather than to personal pleasure). - they have a reputation for brainwashing members. Family and friends are cut-off and often unable to understand the reasons for joining the movement. - most world-rejecting new religious movements base their lives around a commune. - examples include peoples Temple, Branch Davidians, and Westboro Baptist Church.
Wallis
World-rejecting sects often change their stance as time passes. For example, in the 1970s, economic recession discouraged individuals from dropping out of society and groups such as the Children of God softened their hostility to society. Groups may also be destroyed by the actions of their charismatic leader but as new groups in society become marginal, new sects develop. This type of organisation is unstable, but a few do survive long term, for example, the Unificationists.
Bauman and castells
a similar idea to giddens, says that its a response to living in a post modern society, where there is freedom of choice, uncertainty, and heightened awareness of risk which undermines old certainties on how to live. some embrace this change while others reject it (fundamentalism). castells distinguishes the two types of responses as: resistant identity: a defencive reaction of people who feel threatened and retreat to fundamentalist communities. Project identity: response of people who look at it positively, and are forward looking. they engage in social movements such as feminism and environmentalism
Berger
another cause of secularisation is religious diversity, according to (who) secularisation is the process towards religious diversity not a single religious organisation. society is no longer unified under the catholic churches "single sacred canopy" by part of a plurality of life worlds due to the fact that no one religion can claim a monopoly of the truth. this results in a crisis of credibility, as diversity removes religions plausibility structure - reasons why people believe it. if there are multiple choices on religions people are likely to question them all which makes absolute truths told my traditional religions become a personal choice. Bruce said "it is difficult to live in a world that treats as equally valid a large number of incompatible beliefs without coming to suppose that there is no one truth".
Dwight billings
applied Gramsci's theories to the textile and coal communities in Kentucky. he choose them as they were both working class and evangelical yet experianced different levels of strike activity. miners were far more militant, fighting for recognition for their unio, while textile communities were accepting of the status quo. he argues that the differences occurred due to3 main differences: leadership: mining communities often had miners who were also lay priests which meant that they had people converting miners to their cause. textile workers lacked this, meaning they were easily influenced. Organisation: miners were able to sue independent churches to organize (And hold meetings) were textile workers couldn't (they had to use company churches) Support: the churches kept miners moral high with supportive sermons, prayer meetings, and group singing, textile workers on the other hand, couldn't engage in union activity as they met opposition from local churches and were branded communists.
Glock and stark
argue people may participate in religion because of the compensators for social, organismic, and ethical deprivation. (who) arggues that these forms of deprivation are more prevalant among women, and that it explains their higher level of involvement in NRMs organismic deprivation: stems from physical and mental health issues, more likely to suffer from ill health, and thus seek healing through religion. ethical deprivation: women tend to be more morally conservative, they are thus more likely to regard the world as being in moral decline and be attracted to sects which share this view. social deprivation: women are more likely to be poor, which may explain why there are more women in sects than men since they attract poorer groups.
stark and bainbridge
argue that there was no golden age of religion, as secularisation theory implies, nor is it realistic to predict a future end-point of religion when everyone is atheist. instead suggest a religious market thoery, which is based on two assumptions. people are naturally religious and religion meets human needs. therefore overall demand for religion stays constant even if certain types of religion decrease. it is human nature to seek rewards and avoid costs. when people make choices they weight up the costs and benefits of the different options available. religion is attractive as it offers us compensators, when real reward aren't there, religion offers them by saying we get supernatural ones. for example immortality is unobtainable but religion promises life after death to compensate.
