‘Religion has just as much social significance today as in the past.’ Evaluate this view
CAMBRIDGE
A level and AS level
2021
👑Complete Model Essay
Free Essay Plan
Introduction
Briefly introduce the concept of secularisation and its relevance to the question.
State your position on the essay question. Do you agree, disagree, or take a more nuanced stance?
Arguments for Continued Social Significance
Discuss the persistence of religion's influence in modern society:
- New Religious Movements: Explain how the rise of NRMs challenges secularisation theory.
- Religious Revival: Explore the resurgence of spirituality and its implications.
- Political Influence: Provide examples of how religious groups impact politics and policy.
- Questioning Historical Religiosity: Discuss the difficulty of assessing true religious belief in the past.
Arguments for Diminished Social Significance
Present evidence suggesting a decline in religion's societal role:
- Secularisation Theory Evidence: Cite data on declining church attendance, religious affiliation, etc.
- Fragmentation of Belief: Use Wilson's ideas to explain how diverse beliefs weaken traditional religion.
- Individualistic Spirituality: Analyze how modern spirituality may not equate to traditional religious influence.
- Measuring Religiosity: Acknowledge the challenges in accurately gauging religious belief across time.
Conclusion
Reiterate your stance on the essay question.
Offer a concise summary of the key arguments presented.
Consider ending with a thought-provoking statement about the future of religion's social significance.
Religion's Social Significance: A Modern Dilemma
The assertion that religion maintains its social significance in the modern age is a complex and hotly debated topic. While secularization theorists argue for religion's diminishing role in industrialized societies, counter-arguments highlight its enduring influence. This essay will delve into both sides of this debate, evaluating the validity of the statement.
Arguments for Enduring Significance
One compelling argument against the secularization thesis is the rise of new religious movements (NRMs). This growth challenges the narrative of declining religious membership and suggests an evolving, rather than diminishing, religious landscape (Wallis, 1984). Alongside NRMs, the burgeoning interest in spirituality, new age practices, and personalized worship further points towards a "religious revival" in Western societies.
Furthermore, questioning the presumed religiosity of the past is crucial. The claim that people were more religious then lacks concrete evidence. Historical data on church attendance or religious ceremonies do not necessarily reflect genuine belief but could be influenced by social pressures and norms. Attributing greater religious devotion to the past might be an oversimplification.
The enduring power of established religious institutions cannot be ignored. Religious lobby groups, particularly in the US, wield significant influence on political discourse and decision-making, showcasing religion's ongoing relevance in public life (Bruce, 2002). This active participation in socio-political spheres contradicts the notion of a secularized society.
Arguments for Diminishing Significance
Conversely, the emergence of NRMs can be interpreted as a symptom of secularization. Wilson (1966) argues that the decline of established religions and the fragmentation of belief systems are hallmarks of a secular society. This fragmentation gives rise to competing religious expressions like NRMs, signifying a shift from centralized spiritual authority to individualized belief systems.
Measuring religiosity itself poses a significant challenge. Quantifying belief and comparing it across different eras is fraught with complexities. While interest in spirituality may be on the rise, attributing it to a desire for traditional religious control is inaccurate. Studies suggest this trend stems from individualistic pursuits of meaning and personal fulfillment rather than a societal return to religious doctrines (Heelas, 1996).
Even acknowledging the growth of NRMs as a form of religious revival doesn't negate the evidence supporting secularization. Declining religious involvement in public life, increasing atheist identification, and the rising number of people rejecting religious marriage ceremonies all point towards a waning social influence of religion.
Conclusion
The question of religion's social significance in the modern world elicits no easy answers. While evidence exists for both sides of the argument, it is too simplistic to claim that religion holds the same social significance as in the past. The religious landscape is undoubtedly evolving, with traditional forms of religious practice declining and new forms emerging. While the influence of established religions may be diminishing in some aspects of public life, religion continues to be a source of identity, meaning, and even political mobilization for many. Therefore, a nuanced perspective recognizing both the decline of traditional religiosity and the emergence of new forms of religious and spiritual expression is necessary to understand the complex relationship between religion and society today.
Free Mark Scheme Extracts
Religion has just as much social significance today as in the past. Evaluate this view.
Supporters of the secularisation thesis claim that religion has lost its social significance in modern industrial societies. The question therefore provides an opportunity to consider the arguments for and against this thesis. Good answers will examine the evidence for secularisation, perhaps referring to church attendance records, surveys of religious belief, and statistics relating to participation in religious ceremonies. The arguments of theorists such as Wilson, Wallis, and Bruce who have contributed to sociological debates about secularisation are also likely to feature in well-informed answers.
There are various counter arguments to the secularisation thesis that candidates could be expected to use in responding to the question. The concept of religious revival might be used to suggest that many people are returning to religion as a source of guidance and moral authority today. Postmodernist ideas about the importance of religion in the search for meaning and identity might also be considered. The difficulties of measuring religiosity and/or acquiring reliable evidence about religious participation (today and in the past) are further areas of discussion that could be explored in a sound analytical response.
For:
- Growing support for new religious movements helps challenge claims associated with the secularisation thesis that membership of religious organisations is declining and people are becoming less religious.
- Growth in new religious movements can be seen as part of a broader trend that has seen an increase interest in spirituality (a religious revival) among people in Western societies in recent years; the growth in new age movements and privatised worship provide further examples of this trend.
- Although it is thought that people were more religious in the past, this may be a myth. For one thing, it is hard to know how much influence religion had in earlier times. For example, evidence about the involvement of people in religious practices in the past is limited. Furthermore, historical records about church attendance, participation in religious ceremonies, and membership of religions groups tell us little about the extent to which the people involved were religious. Rather than being an indicator of religious belief, for instance, social pressure may have led people to attend religious ceremonies.
- Established religious organisations are still very powerful in many countries and they retain some roles in public life. For example, religious lobby groups have a strong influence on US politics, illustrating the ongoing social significance of religion in Western society.
Against:
- Growth in new religious movements can be seen as evidence that established religions have lost their social significance. Wilson sees the decline of established religions, together with fragmentation in religious belief systems, as defining characteristics of secularisation. In a secular society, Wilson argues, centralised spiritual authority is replaced by support for competing religious beliefs (new religious movements, for example) and other sources of moral guidance.
- Difficult to measure religiosity and therefore to know whether people are as religious today as they were in the past.
- Interest in spirituality may have picked up in Western societies in recent years, but studies suggest it is driven by individualistic concerns with discovering meaning and personal fulfilment rather than any desire to return to a form of society based on religious control and traditional values.
- Even if the growth in support for new religious movements is seen as an indicator of religious revival, there is still a lot of evidence to support the secularisation thesis; for example, evidence about the declining role of religion in public life, increasing number of people who reject marriage or marry without a religious ceremony, increasing number of people Explaining as atheists, and so on.