Year 12 have been looking at issues of secularisation and the nature/extent of religion in the contemporary world.
What do you think? Is secularisation happening? Or, is it simply that the nature and role of religion has changed is recent years? Think about how and when inidiviudals may access religion? Does it vary according to social needs or personal circumstances? What factors affect your views?
12 comments:
To some people religion is still important and they are merely adapting their beliefs to fit into modern society, rather than rejecting God; as is often suggested. By adapting their religious beliefs to the modern world they are strengthening them, as in doing so they will become more relevant to society today.
Religion is often assumed to be in decline in Britain, however for many years in the past civilisation depended on religion and religion played a huge part in their lives, but today this is not the case and religion is not as evident in society as it was then. Many people do not make a fuss about religion nowadays, but practice it and ‘live it’ in a more private way.
Amy.
44% of people recently questioned said that they are not religious in any way, and the fall in Church attendance also shows that secularisation is taking place to some extent. A survey showed that young Muslims have an increasingly strong desire for westernisation, suggesting that religion has little importance in people's lives today than it has done in the past and is not fully satisfying believers.
However,it could also be said that religion is not actually declining, but is just changing. There is now so much choice available to people, such as new age movements like Scientology and new religious movements such as crystal healing.
In my opinion, religion has become less important in people's lives but many of us still turn to God and religion in times of need/difficulty -e.g. the death of a loved one - as said by Durkheim.
I think that secularisation is happening because with new social activities and interests people are having to 'go with the times' to enjoy what they do, and some of it does object religion. I also think that it is a more western thing and has been building up over a number of years. I think one factor that will affect this is the way people are brought up in a modern day society. Punit
Secularisation in the contemporary world, is growing and developing rapidly firstly due to the idea that god has been made redundant in society by us,as publicised by the slogan 'God is dead'; Nietzsche, but also due to the different types of grouping and religious alternatives that are arising in modern day, for example the New Age Movement which is a miniority group which has recently come to light and emphasises the idea that the most important being is you as you can control what you do, think and feel.The inner self is more powerful than any other supreme being and crystal balls and tarot cards are used to connect with destiny and your path of life. Another influence that would discourage the belief in god and lead to secularisation is the indiviual's accessing their own religious beliefs; for example the people's temple. The people's temple was a organization that was founded by Jim Jones, where 900 people tragically died due to the authority and power that Jones had over the people in Georgetown. This was under false pretenses that Jones had been a prophet or messanger for god and as a result ordered them to be killed. This is an example of one of the most escentric cases of secularisation however this shows that secularisation is present and happening all over the world, which changes the role and nature of religion in modern society.
I think that to a lot of people, religion is still an important aspect of life, but as it no longer has any legal or political standing and is seen as a sort of taboo in public life, then it could be said that in more public matters; secularisation HAS taken place.
However, I think that religion is still an important personal issue, and the way that we use religion has changed. People no longer feel obliged to have to go to churches, mosques, temples etc anymore as they feel they can do it in their homes.
Even Atheists, despite their whole hearted acceptance of secularisation, could be seen as being religious by being anti-religious - as being religious does not neccessarily mean following any one religion. If atheism is the belief that God does not exist - then surely it is a religion to believe that God does not exist - especially when there is no evidence to prove or disprove any kind of supernatural, higher power.
Alex :)
Seculerisation has occured over the past few years and is still happening today. As people no longer turn to God in order to present them with moral absolutes. Instead through new age movements people are able to construct their own framework of beliefs, allowing a post-modernist ideology. As they use what is currently legitimately accepted for example; the law to create their own moralities. Also through the progression of new religious movements people are now able to move away from traditional ideas of religion as new religions don't require a God. Therfore every aspect of society even religion is infact not under the influence of religion at all. Nosheen x
I believe that the importance of religion has declined over the years due to a rise in atheism. This has been caused by many factors; the science argument and empiricism to name two. I also think that Nietzche's comment of "God is Dead" is highly significant- I agree to some extent that God has been made redundant from society because people are finding other explanations for events that they once held God responsible for. However, there are still hundreds of religious faiths all over the world, so it is apparent that secularisation is not the case everywhere- I believe it all comes down to how strong your belief in God is, and whether or not you believe that there could ever be an alternative explanation for God.
Charlie Hansen
In some respects religious faith is still a key part of the modern society we live in, religion gives values and ethics that determine an inidivdual's actions, perhaps allowing for a more morally aware and ethical society. On the other hand religion can be seen to be in decline as other pressures that peopleface including pressure to conform to consumerism allows people to be promoted in the material world, having the most moeny, the best house, and the most well-paid job, however for the individuals who believe in an after life what can this material worship gain after death?
In some ways religious faith is still important in society today because it can shape the lives of individuals and consequently society - people have their whole lives based around religion and their ideals and morals. For example, in some areas laws are based on religion.
However, in other respects I don't think that religious faith is important as there are many multi-cultural societies without religion and secularisation is still happening - the presence of many atheists can suggest that religious faith.
It might be important to people who are in the minority but that doesn't lessen its importance.The question isn't whether religious faith is still important but whether it is predominant in society?
Rida Khan 12SEV
yes secularisation happening because technology has taken over, making people more materialistic. they lose touch with their spiritual side. no the nature of the religion hasn't changed but people make their own cultural myths about religion so it is percieved wrongly. most people access religion when they are facing troubled times. yes it does vary because someone in a really bad state of mind may turn to God/religion more yet someone who is having a good life may not even think of religion. i think the religion/faith you follow affects your views or how you have been brought up for example if you've been brought up a muslim you are unlikely to question your reason for being.
yes secularisation happening because technology has taken over, making people more materialistic. they lose touch with their spiritual side. no the nature of the religion hasn't changed but people make their own cultural myths about religion so it is percieved wrongly. most people access religion when they are facing troubled times. yes it does vary because someone in a really bad state of mind may turn to God/religion more yet someone who is having a good life may not even think of religion. i think the religion/faith you follow affects your views or how you have been brought up for example if you've been brought up a muslim you are unlikely to question your reason for being.
I think that religious faith is very important because many people still believe in it such as many muslims. There are still many aspects that require a religious point of view for example: Abortion or Euthanasia. But as time has developed new age movements have taken place thereofore this also shows that various aspects of society have changed and now rely on law.
Zara x
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