A2 Sociology

Beliefs in Society
Studyguide 8b

Secularisation in the UK (2) - the role

that religion plays in political and social
life.

Some sociologists see secularisation as a process whereby religion

has become disengaged from society rather than just being a
general decline in individual beliefs and practices. This means that
religion exerts little influence over social institutions such as the
political system, education etc compared with the past. Two
reasons are cited for this: firstly, it is argued that modern societies
are rational societies that have largely abandoned superstitious
ways of thinking; secondly, that religion has fragmented into a
religious marketplace of competing belief systems which has
diluted the power and influence that religion once had over
society.

(a) The Disengagement Thesis

It is argued that the Church of England was once at the centre

of British social and political life but this power has greatly
diminished in the 21st century. For example:

 In medieval times, religious people would exert great

influence over politics and international diplomacy. They
would strongly influence kings, queens and Prime Ministers.
However, apart from the right of 26 bishops to sit in the
House of Lords, where they have some influence on
legislation, religion has lost most of its influence over the
political world.

 Wilson argued that the mass media had replaced religion

and the family as the main source of moral and social
values. The media with its emphasis on hedonism (pleasure-
seeking) and materialism has resulted in children becoming
more individualistic and self-seeking. They consequently
rarely see spiritual fulfilment as a major avenue to happiness.

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Beliefs in Society
Studyguide 8b

 A similar argument is made by the postmodernist sociologist

Hervieu-Leger who argues that the decline of religion has
led to ‘cultural amnesia’ among young people today. (See
the postmodernist guide 7).

The reasons for disengagement

Steve Bruce argues that in pre-industrial Britain, the Church of

England was responsible for both consensus (agreement on shared
values and norms) and community controls over people’s
behaviour. The threat of God’s power was enough to reinforce the
power of the ruling class and to limit both social and geographical
mobility. British society, therefore, in this period was based on a
rigid hierarchy within which everyone knew their place.

Bruce argues that the emergence of the capitalist system

undermined the power of religion to control what people
believed and how they behaved. Capitalism resulted in what Bruce
calls ‘societalisation’ which undermined the power of religion in
three ways:

Societalisation

 It resulted in structural differentiation – specialised

agencies developed, usually state-sponsored, which took over
many of the functions of religion such as education and
welfare.

 Urbanisation – led to the decline of tight-knit rural

religious communities. Churches were unable to establish
consensus and control in an urban or city environment.

 People’s skills and intelligence were judged and rewarded

solely on the basis of impersonal bureaucratic rules which
shaped examinations and qualifications. This challenged the
rigid hierarchies that religion had encouraged in pre-industrial
societies.

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Beliefs in Society
Studyguide 8b

Bruce notes that societalisation has led to more individualism –

people look out for their own interests and consequently religion
no longer exerts control over communities.

Evaluation of the disengagement thesis

 Martin and Parsons suggest that structural differentiation

means that those involved in religious activity can now
concentrate purely on religious issues. This makes religion
stronger.

 Parsons argues that people still follow moral codes that have
their origin in religion and those same codes underpin the law.

 The mass media still defines religious matters as

important and newsworthy in that there has been a lot of
coverage of the debate about homosexual bishops, women
priests and recently religious opposition to gay marriage.

 Religion may have become unpopular with politicians but this

is because religions tend to support causes that are
critical of politicians and that are unpopular with
governments in power, e.g. many Christian religious
leaders, e.g. Justin Welby, The Archbishop of Canterbury
believe that the government is not doing enough to help the
poor.

(b) The rationalisation argument

Bruce argues that ‘rationalisation’ has contributed to

secularisation. This means that irrational religious ideas based on
emotion, superstition and faith have largely been replaced with
rational or logical scientific thinking based on empirically-collected
evidence. As a result, sacred or religious ideas no longer have the
same status as scientific ideas.

Max Weber claimed there were four reasons why science had
replaced religion in people’s hearts and minds:

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Beliefs in Society
Studyguide 8b

 Science rather than religion has dramatically improved

living standards in the UK.

 Science and technology have given individuals a greater

sense of control over the natural world and less need
to resort to religious explanations or remedies. Bruce
argues that when people turn to God they do so as a
last resort after all other scientific or logical
alternatives have been exhausted. He notes: “when we
have revised for our examinations we pray. We do not pray
instead of studying”.

 Most people expect to be rewarded today purely on the

basis of merit as measured by examinations and
qualifications rather than because God has chosen them.

 Ideologies such as communism and organisations like trade

unions and political parties offer practical solutions to
problems rather than religious ones.

These trends have resulted in people becoming disenchanted with

religion. Berger argues that a ‘secularisation of
consciousness’ has consequently come about - people no longer
think about how they can serve God’s will - they are now
more concerned with serving themselves.

Arguments against Rationalisation

(a) The idea that society has become more rational is difficult
to measure and evaluate. Ironically, it is based anecdotal
evidence rather than hard scientific data.

(b) Thompson suggests that the rationalisation argument

exaggerates the degree of rationality existing in
modern societies, e.g. it is doubtful that rational thought
underpins our choice of consumer goods, partners, voting
behaviour etc whereas popular culture reflects a very
strong public interest in the irrational through
horoscopes, the popularity of horror movies etc. Social

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Studyguide 8b

surveys indicate that people still have great faith in

supernatural ideas such as fate, luck etc.

(c) Religious Pluralism

It is argued that the pre-industrial UK was dominated by one

monolithic religion - the Church of England – which had a
monopoly over religious beliefs and practices. Alternative beliefs
were either absorbed or suppressed, e.g. Catholics were executed in
Tudor England.

However, Bruce notes that industrial capitalism and urbanisation

brought about religious pluralism – monolithic religions like the
Protestant religions fragmented into hundreds of Christian
denominations (e.g. Methodists, Pentecostalists, Baptist, United
Reform, Christadelphians etc), and sects (e.g. Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Mormons, etc). Moreover, the recent late-20th century arrival of
‘new age spiritual movements’ with their focus on ‘self-
improvement’ and ‘the search for inner peace’ have added to
the great range of religious choices available to people in the UK
today.

Wilson argues that religious fragmentation and its resulting

pluralism has two negative consequences for religion:

(a) People no longer feel constrained or controlled by

the religions into which they are born because
alternative ways of thinking and behaving exist.

(b) There is now a ‘religious supermarket’ of religions

competing for spiritual shoppers or customers and
offering a range of choice of religions. This undermines
the credibility of religion because they all claim to have
the ‘right’ answer. Moreover, the existence of a religious
marketplace means that customer loyalty can no longer
be taken for granted.

The arguments against religious pluralism

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Beliefs in Society
Studyguide 8b

However, not all sociologists accept that religious pluralism is a bad

thing.

(1) Many commentators, especially postmodernists, suggest

that religious pluralism indicates that religion is in a state
of change rather than decline. It is argued that there is a
demand for spiritual diversity in modern societies that
cannot be catered for by one religion.

(2) Andrew Greeley claims that religious pluralism is a sign

of religious revival in the UK rather than decline. This
revival can particular be seen in the growth of the
evangelical ‘born again’ Baptist and Pentecostal
denominations. Attendance at these churches has grown
significantly in the past 30 years.

G. K. Nelson in a study of evangelical religions in the

UK such as the Pentecostal and Baptist denominations
agrees with Greeley. He argues that the traditional
churches such as the Church of England and the
Catholic Church have lost touch with the spiritual
needs of the people. He suggests that traditional religion
over-relies on ritual, ceremony and hierarchy and
consequently it lacks creativity, spontaneity and spiritual
satisfaction. People interpret religious services in the
traditional churches as dull and boring. This is why they
are in decline.

Nelson believes that the evangelical denominations have

become popular particularly amongst the young because
they are more ‘spiritually creative’. They allow people to
express their beliefs and search for spiritual satisfaction
without constraints.

(3) Glock and Bellah (1976) suggest that the modern world
has seen the emergence of a new religious awareness
and an increased interest in the search for spiritual
meaning. They point out that sects make greater
demands on their members than conventional churches.
Some like the Jehovah’s Witnesses demand that people

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Studyguide 8b

contribute a tenth of their income, devote most of their

time to worship and spend their weekend evangelising.

(4) Heelas and Woodhead make similar claims about new

age religions. They claim that a spiritual revolution is
taking place in the 21st century and that current trends
suggest that the New Age Movement – belief systems
with a spiritual element such as alternative therapies
and the practice of techniques aimed at self-
improvement – may become more popular than all
conventional religions put together by around 2020.

The case against religious revival

 Not all sociologists have a positive view of sects. Berger, for

example, sees sects as the ‘last refuge of the
supernatural in a secular society’. In other words, they
mark the desperate last stand of religion – Berger claims
that that ‘they are islands in a secular sea’.

 Wilson argues that sect members are often more attracted by

the lifestyle or the charismatic leader, or they are
escaping from a life-crisis, rather than being committed to
God or a set of religious beliefs.

Wilson argues that sects have little relevance to society as

a whole and have little or no influence on the mass of
people (unlike traditional religion). Consequently he argues
that many sects are nothing more than an ‘exotic novelty’
or a fashionable fad for a self-selected few rather than an
alternative cultural lifestyle for humankind.

 Bruce similarly argues that new age beliefs are weak,

largely personal and have little or no influence on wider
society.

Secularisation in the UK: Some conclusions

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 A2 Sociology
Beliefs in Society
Studyguide 8b

There are a number of observations we can make:

(1) The extent and nature of continuing belief is difficult to

measure because it is so individualised and private.
Many believe but do not feel the need to belong.

(2) It is probably true that the UK is now a more secular

(i.e. less religious) society today compared with the
past. However, there is little sign that a more secular
society produces more atheism – rather secular society
is not necessarily anti-religious.

People are quite happy to tolerate religion and use it every

now and then, e.g. for marriage and funerals. They may
turn to it temporarily in times of crisis such as after a
national disaster or the death of a significant national
figure. However, the most common attitude towards
religion is probably indifference.

(3) Stark and Bainbridge argue that religions probably go

through cycles of decline and revival. In the UK, we are
probably coming to an end of a period in which
conventional religion has declined but we may now be
seeing a revival in religion symbolised by:

 The increase in the numbers committed to

evangelical Christianity.

 The increasing numbers consuming new age

spirituality.

 The rise in the number of ethnic minority

groups, because of population growth and
immigration, going to mosques, temples and
churches.

From this perspective, religion is not declining – it is

simply changing its form.

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Beliefs in Society
Studyguide 8b

(4) Stark and Bainbridge argue that religion can never

disappear nor seriously decline because religion meets
the most fundamental needs of individuals, e.g. for
emotional comfort in times of need or crisis. Science
and other non-religious belief systems lack the power to
provide this.

(5) There may be signs of secularisation in the UK but there is

little sign that this is a global phenomenon as we shall
see in the next guide. Evidence suggests that religion
is extremely healthy in other parts of the world.