Secularisation US
Sociology: AQA A Level, topic 7.4.3
Secularisation in the US
Hadaway et al. and Bruce argue that secularisation is occurring in America.
Secularisation in the US
- 40% of Americans claim they attend church.
- However, Hadaway et al. found that this is not the case.
- Instead they found that whilst many people stated they went to church, churches had much lower attendances than expected.
Secularisation from within
- Bruce argues that religion in America has become ‘secularised from within’.
- He argues that the Christian Churches have had to compromise their beliefs in order to remain popular amongst believers.
- Bruce claims that contemporary Christianity in America is more about personal development rather than traditional beliefs.
Against Secularisation in the US
Stark and Bainbridge argue that the study of secularisation is ‘Eurocentric’ and does not apply to Europe and America in the same ways.
Existential security theory
- Norris and Inglehart believe that Americans are more likely to be genuinely religious than European nations like the UK.
- They suggest that Americans have less support from the welfare state and lack access to effective free health care which may make them feel less secure in their chances for survival.
Norris and Inglehart
- Therefore American citizens may have more need for religion than their European counterparts who benefit from more substantial and generous welfare systems.
Religious market theory
- Stark and Bainbridge suggest that people are naturally religious and therefore there will always be a demand for some form of religion.
- They also believe that all humans want big rewards for the smallest costs, so humans will make rational decisions about what benefits them the most.
Stark and Bainbridge
- Religion is unique because it can continue to provide supernatural rewards for people that other institutions cannot.
- Believing in religion has a small cost and barely any risk, yet it promises the possibility of great rewards.
Eurocentric
- Stark and Bainbridge argue that the study of secularisation is ‘Eurocentric’.
- They criticise secularisation theorists for fooling people into believing that there was a ‘golden age’ of religion in the past and that this has since declined.
Secularisation cycles
- Instead, Stark and Bainbridge believe that religious belief tends to flow through cycles, known as secularisation cycles where periods of secularisation are only temporary before religious revivals occur due to the creation of new religious and New Age movements.
Test yourself on Secularisation US
What percentage of Americans claim they attend church?
Why does Bruce believe that Christian Churches have had to compromise their beliefs?
Why do Norris and Inglehart think Americans are more religious than Europeans?