Are Religious Beliefs and Practices Changing to Reflect a New Era of Diversity and Choice?
Assess the view that religious beliefs and practices are changing to reflect a new era of diversity and choice.
In the recent years there has been evidence to support that religious activity and religious beliefs are declining in the UK e.g. the rise of new religious movements such as Jehovah’s witnesses (sect), but some sociologists reject this and say that religion isn’t declining it is just changing to fit into a more increasingly changing society. Davie is one of these sociologists; in her view religion is taking a different, more privatised form. She explains this by giving the example of that people no longer go to church because they feel they have to or because it is respectable to do so. She says that although churchgoing has declined it is simply because attendance is now a matter of personal choice rather than the obligation it use to be. As a result there is believing without belonging, where by people hold religious beliefs but don’t go to church. Therefore the decline of traditional religion is matched by the growth of the new form of religion. Davie also notes a trend towards vicarious religion, whereby people are experiencing religion second hand. This is a typical pattern in Britain and northern Europe. In these societies people still use the church for rites of passage, rituals that make a change of status such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. Similarly Bibby’s findings show that only 25% attended church but 80% said they have religious beliefs, identified positively with religious traditions and turned to religious for rites of passage. Although they rarely went to church, they continued to be interested in the supernatural. This shows that people are now choosing whether or not to go to church as now it is not seen as an obligation to go and therefore is creating more choice and it shoes that it is becoming more of a personal choice and individualised which is creating more levels of religiosity.
However there are some critics of her
In the recent years there has been evidence to support that religious activity and religious beliefs are declining in the UK e.g. the rise of new religious movements such as Jehovah’s witnesses (sect), but some sociologists reject this and say that religion isn’t declining it is just changing to fit into a more increasingly changing society. Davie is one of these sociologists; in her view religion is taking a different, more privatised form. She explains this by giving the example of that people no longer go to church because they feel they have to or because it is respectable to do so. She says that although churchgoing has declined it is simply because attendance is now a matter of personal choice rather than the obligation it use to be. As a result there is believing without belonging, where by people hold religious beliefs but don’t go to church. Therefore the decline of traditional religion is matched by the growth of the new form of religion. Davie also notes a trend towards vicarious religion, whereby people are experiencing religion second hand. This is a typical pattern in Britain and northern Europe. In these societies people still use the church for rites of passage, rituals that make a change of status such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. Similarly Bibby’s findings show that only 25% attended church but 80% said they have religious beliefs, identified positively with religious traditions and turned to religious for rites of passage. Although they rarely went to church, they continued to be interested in the supernatural. This shows that people are now choosing whether or not to go to church as now it is not seen as an obligation to go and therefore is creating more choice and it shoes that it is becoming more of a personal choice and individualised which is creating more levels of religiosity.
However there are some critics of her