Continued from school notes
5 Sep 2020 at 11:51
• Arguments and evidence about the extent to which religion has declined
• Secularisation refers to the decline in the importance of religion.
• Arguments and evidence put forward by sociologists who support the theory of secularisation.
• How secularisation can be applied to both the UK + the USA.
1852 — Census of religious worship
Crockett = in that year 40% or more of the adult population in Britain attended church on Sundays.
— higher figure than today.
Some changes in religion in the UK + the USA.
DECLINE in the population going to church or belonging to one.
INCREASE in the average age of churchgoers
DECLINE in marriages and church weddings
DECLINE in traditional Christian beliefs
Greater diversity, including more non-Christian religions.
1961, Wilson argued that Western society’s had been undergoing a long-term process of secularisation.
• He defined it as the process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose significance.
Example: church attendance in England and Wales had fallen from 40% of the population in the mid-19th century to
10-15% by the 1960 is how many people attend church today.
Church weddings, baptism and Sunday school attendance had also declined leading Wilson to conclude that Britain
had become a secular society.
Church Attendance Today
By 2015 about 5% of the adult population attended church on Sundays.
• Churchgoing in Britain has nearly halved since Wilson’s research in the 1960’s
Example: Sunday attendance in the Church of England fell from 1.6 million.
In 1960, to under 0.8 million in 2013. Sunday school attendance has declined further and only a tiny proportion of
children now attend.
Attendances at large organisations such as the church if England and the Catholic Church have declined more than
small organisations, some of which are remaining stable or have grown.
• The growth of these small organisations has not made up for the decline of large ones, so the overall trend is
still one of decline.
Church weddings and baptisms remain more popular than attendance at Sunday services.
In 1970, 60% of weddings were in church.
By 2012, the proportion was only 30%.
• The number of weddings in Catholic Churches fell by three quarters between 1965 and 2011.
Infant baptism have fallen steadily.
• The number of catholic baptisms today is under half those in 1964.
'Bogus (fake/not genuine) Baptisms'
Infant baptisms have decline, those of older children have increased in recent years.
• Research indicates that many faith schools, tend to be higher-performing schools, will only take baptised
children.
◦ Baptism thus becomes an entry ticker to a good school rather than a sign of christian commitment.
Religious Affiliation Today
5 Sep 2020 at 11:51
• Arguments and evidence about the extent to which religion has declined
• Secularisation refers to the decline in the importance of religion.
• Arguments and evidence put forward by sociologists who support the theory of secularisation.
• How secularisation can be applied to both the UK + the USA.
1852 — Census of religious worship
Crockett = in that year 40% or more of the adult population in Britain attended church on Sundays.
— higher figure than today.
Some changes in religion in the UK + the USA.
DECLINE in the population going to church or belonging to one.
INCREASE in the average age of churchgoers
DECLINE in marriages and church weddings
DECLINE in traditional Christian beliefs
Greater diversity, including more non-Christian religions.
1961, Wilson argued that Western society’s had been undergoing a long-term process of secularisation.
• He defined it as the process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose significance.
Example: church attendance in England and Wales had fallen from 40% of the population in the mid-19th century to
10-15% by the 1960 is how many people attend church today.
Church weddings, baptism and Sunday school attendance had also declined leading Wilson to conclude that Britain
had become a secular society.
Church Attendance Today
By 2015 about 5% of the adult population attended church on Sundays.
• Churchgoing in Britain has nearly halved since Wilson’s research in the 1960’s
Example: Sunday attendance in the Church of England fell from 1.6 million.
In 1960, to under 0.8 million in 2013. Sunday school attendance has declined further and only a tiny proportion of
children now attend.
Attendances at large organisations such as the church if England and the Catholic Church have declined more than
small organisations, some of which are remaining stable or have grown.
• The growth of these small organisations has not made up for the decline of large ones, so the overall trend is
still one of decline.
Church weddings and baptisms remain more popular than attendance at Sunday services.
In 1970, 60% of weddings were in church.
By 2012, the proportion was only 30%.
• The number of weddings in Catholic Churches fell by three quarters between 1965 and 2011.
Infant baptism have fallen steadily.
• The number of catholic baptisms today is under half those in 1964.
'Bogus (fake/not genuine) Baptisms'
Infant baptisms have decline, those of older children have increased in recent years.
• Research indicates that many faith schools, tend to be higher-performing schools, will only take baptised
children.
◦ Baptism thus becomes an entry ticker to a good school rather than a sign of christian commitment.
Religious Affiliation Today
