Religions such as Islam are on the increase unlike Christianity which is declining at a rapid rate. However other factors such as in new religious movements and New-Age spirituality as evidence of a resacrilisation of society. Although opponents such as Bruce, argue that the actual numbers engaging with new religious movements and New-Age spirituality is relatively small and marginal to society. There is evidence that can prove the theory of secularisation, such as statistics show that only 6.3% of adults attended church on a Sunday in 2005, therefore churchgoing has halved since Wilsons research in the 1960’s and it is predicted to fall again to 4.7% by 2015, Sunday school attendance had declined as well and now only a small amount of children attend. However others may disagree with the view of Secularisation such as Martin who denies the view that there was ever a ‘golden age’ of religion and he argues that the reason for higher attendance of church in the past is due to the view that it was seen as respectable to attend church.
Assess the view that secularisation has been a feature of only modern European societies (33 Marks) Secularisation can be defined as ‘the process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose social significance’. Secularisation is a feature of modern European societies, such as Britain. Weber has identified that church attendance on Sundays has dropped from 10%-15% to 6% in 2005, church weddings and baptisms as well as Sunday school attendance have also declined. Wilson has highlighted that a feature of modern European societies is the drop in church attendance on Sundays. Most recent research conducted shows that attendance is projected to drop from 6.3% to 4.7% by 2015.
The present society appears to have an identity predicament with the Church, because there is a tremendous amount of self-help propaganda in this society; therefore they simply do not care about a commitment with the Church, but can read about how to be better people in the comfort and safety of their own homes. This concept is safe and they do not open themselves up for disappointment or tedious Church tasks. Billings notes, “Participation in Church life is not seen as crucial for the practice of Christianity, it is the practice of Christianity that British people think important.” (Billings, 2004, p. 104) The British thinking has become a
Examine the View That Cults and Sects Have Taken the Place of Established Churches as the Most Important Religious and Spiritual Movements on Today’s Society. 18 marks According to Troeltsch, a Church is a well established religious body. It is a large organisation with around a million members. In comparison a Sect is a religious group that has branched away from a church or denomination and a Cult is made up of a small group of members that share the same themes and interests. The fact that there is a rise of New Religious Movements gaining status and becoming well known in society could be a reason for the view that Sects and Cults are more important than the church as it losing members and attendance is declining.
During the Middle Ages, and even during the Renaissance democracy did not exist. The Catholic Church had absolute power over the Government as well as society in general because of the fact that so many people had not much to look forward to but going to heaven. This gave the Church the most power to rule over it’s citizens because people were afraid that if they were to disobey the Church they would be excommunicated from the Church and ultimately would not be able to go to heaven. However, during part of the Renaissance, the values of people began to change. The views of people became more secular, and the focus of education was pretty much to make a well-rounded ideal citizen, which means instead of religion being the main focus, humanism began to be shown.
The view that secularisation has been a feature of only Modern European societies are arguable as there are many different types and definitions of religion, and also it does not take into account secularisation on a more global scale. The British Social Attitudes Survey in 1991 showed that while many people claim to believe in god, very few attended church in the UK. According to Bruce, the high point for British church attendance was between 1860 and 1910, when around 28% of the adult population were members. This figure shows that the apparent church attendance from these years was low, suggesting that secularisation was already taking place. However, it has already been identified that many people are still religious, they may just not have the time or level of commitment to attend churches or holy places to pray or worship.
What Evidence is there of any Popular Views on the English Church During the Period 1400-1550? There is evidence to suggest popular views were rather strong with regards to the English Church during this period; the people of Tudor England were extremely conservative and stuck in their traditions and customs. Scarisbrick argues that there was no popular discontent towards the Roman Catholic Church in the years leading up to reformation, and that religious change- opposed upon the people ‘from above’- sparked much popular resistance. Wills survive in evidence of this point, displaying that people continued with their traditions in leaving their worldly goods, property and of course, fortune, to the church. This could suggest that, however authoritative and invincible Henry may have presumed himself to be, the people still both feared and respected God more, and were not willing to chance accepting him as the ‘Head of the Church of England’.
Then the red scare had come along, and people were reverting back to a more secure lifestyle. Instead of living the atheistic, work all day, violent lifestyle they saw the Communists had, they decided to combine a fun, religious, and patriotic lifestyle to be the “American life”. This was further enhanced in the 1980s by the most conservative president of them all, Ronald Reagan. Also the emergence of the new Evangelical Christians played an important role in daily American life. Weak points: • Conservatism was not specifically defined to encompass a group to it • The people who had lived back and forth were not a majority of the people.
''The Great Awakening'' The Great Awakening was the first great American revival and first great national movement.It was a religious movement that contributed to separation of church and state in America.It started in the Middle Colonies,was also in the Southern Colonies,in Canada,and it was most famous in New England.It brought religion back to society.The Great Awakening persuaded many people and gave many sinners the option to be free of sins and in a good place in heaven. By the early 1700's religion had begun to slack in the colonies.Partly because many of the colonists were starting to worry more about their personal riches and materialistic things,instead of their own religious
Discuss the idea that religion is on the decline in society (40 marks) It has been proven throughout the 20th century that religion is on the decline in society this is because less people are able to attend, possibly due to work and/or family commitments, although the decline rate seems to be slowing. According to the 2005 church census there are two major reasons as to why there is a slowing decline, which are the growing number of churches and the fact that there is a considerable increase in ethnic minority church goers. In 1851, fewer than 40% of the population attended church, whereas in 2005, an average of 6.6% of the adult population would attend church. This dramatic decline could be because in 1851, Sunday was known as the day of rest, where everyone would go to church as a family and there would be no shops open whereas today, businesses are open as usual and so more people are going to work or spending time with their families after having had a hard week at work instead of going to church. The decline in church attendance in Britain can be interpreted in a number of different ways.