Outline and assess the main positions in the secularisation debate

AbstractThis essay tackles the main positions of the secularization debate. To fix with, this essay examines the bottom up/ contain- cheek system of secularization, which postu latishs that as societies go with the process of industrialisation, the ghostly values that underpin the strainly theoretical account go out inevitably erode as the citizenry pop off more acid-fast to spiritual pursuits. This essay also examines the importance of the mart rise to the hypothesis of secularisation, arguing that the top tidy sum/ furnish case vista is of of import significance in holy order to understand the doggedness of unearthly intrust in redbrick societies.IntroductionThe secularisation debate has acquired a maturation influence in recent years, due to the onrush of the postmodern age. Postmodernism posits that in the age of instantaneous communications and ubiquitous access to technology, rigid and fix classifications pertaining to pietism, class, gender and race have been crucially eroded. The main positions in the secularisation debate focus on two distinct approaches (Fitzgerald, 2000 133). The first stance that is postulated for examination relates to the bottom up/demand cheek idea of secularisation. According to this view, as societies go through the process of industrialisation, the sacred values that underpin the societal fabric will inevitably erode as the publics become more impermeable to spiritual pursuits (Gauchet, 1999 40). At the alike time, the top down/supply side scheme of secularisation, which highlights that the need for spirituality remains constant crossways national boundaries, places a great people of emphasis on the purpose of religions institutions in maintaining bail bond to theological principles. This essay will begin by charting the idea that secularisation responds to the gradual phasing out of apparitional values in modern societies. The second part of the essay will concentrate in the direction in which these values ar permanently re-imposed on societies by spectral leaders and organisation. Cruci in ally, the second section of the essay highlights the importance of the market approach to the theory of secularisation, arguing that the top down/supply side lieu is of fundamental significance in order to understand the persistence of ghostlike practice in modern societies.The bottom up/demand side theory of secularisationThe main view propounded by this theory of secularisation is that the advent of the scientific method and rational observation as a method to create societal improvement has shaken the theological foundations that were influential in shaping the evolution of the occidental world (Gauchet, 1999 45). The eroding of supernatural interpretations of the character of the world has been a permanent cultural phenomenon in the Hesperian world since the advent of the Enlightenment, with its emphasis on universal sort that could be subject to empirical observat ion and rational testability standards (Martin, 1993 93). The rational pathfinder endorsed by industrialised societies rendered the theological claims imposed by the major religions contradictory with the needs of the existence of human collective that relied in an increasing manner on the benefits brought off by scientific advancement (Martin, 2005 55). There was a gradual and consistent loss of religious faith in western societies that ultimately resulted in the unravelling of theological practices and Church attendings (Martin, 1993 97). In addition, this provoked a relative corrosion of the affectionate and cultural meanings tie to religious identity, on with a move away from allegiance to political parties and organisations based on titleal values. According to this theory of secularisation, religious and scientific values atomic number 18 at loggerheads, with a constant undermining of Bible teachings by making generator to the Darwinian teachings put together in t he theory of evolution (Martin, 1969 25).The friendship gained by order through scientific advancement and its application to technological improvements, coupled with the expansion of education opportunities, impacted on the cultural agitates that were ushered in Western societies. It could be posited that the tenets of the Enlightenment undercut the metaphysical principles that were responsible for maintaining societal cohesion during the Middle Ages (Martin, 2005 59). Thinkers like Max Weber stated that the onset of industrialisation and mass capitalism produced an environment of opinion conducive to cut the idea of the supernatural to the domain of human rationality and subjected to the explanations taken from the bad sciences rather than making reference to metaphysical arguments (Gauchet, 1999 49).The attainments made by Western societies in the sciences and the feats that took place in the realm of engineering and technology has emphatic the importance of subjecting co nstitution to the control of man (Bruce, 2002 59). These developments were responsible for a change of perception regarding the advent of ad hominem tragedies and natural disasters on the part of a suppuration number of individuals, who started to regard those eventsin rational terms, instead of attributing them to mysterious forces removed the control of man. Accordingly, the intellectual authority held by religious ministers became just hotshot of the sources of knowledge to be taken into account (Berger, 1969 30). Their authority was put in direct contender with the people who displayed their professional expertise crosswise many another(prenominal) fields of study and who made use of the rational method. At the same time, the gradual separation between state and church that took place in many European nations and the United States, coupled with the emergence of bureaucratic apparati and modern political parties led to the discrediting of traditional religious institution s. The industrialisation of Western societies had attached to it a series of changes that impacted upon the ability of individuals to experience mystical go through (Harris, 2005 61). This includes the steep change state in communal feel, the fragmentation between nature and man and the increased use of technology. It is worth mentioning that the interpretation put forward by Max Weber regarding the bottom up/demand side theory of secularisation is based on the effects that the Lutheran tame and the industrial revolution had on the development of political and religious conduct in Western Europe and North American (Idinopulos and Wilson, 1998 101). The idea of disillusionment with the world, as propounded by Weber, compelled individuals to adjudicate salvation in the pursuit of veridical gain, hence eroding the very foundations of transcendental Christian thinking (Tremlett, 2009 22). The growing importance of Rationalism was necessarily conducive to being sceptical close t o the existence of an omnipotent and omniscient God, ultimately resulting in the debunking of religion as a method of explain natural phenomena (Bruce, 2002 67).It is also all-important(a) to stress that a bottom up/demand side theory of secularisation can also be understood according the functionalist perspective underlined by Emile Durkheim (Durkheim, 1912, 1995 73). The French sociologist identified the loss of functional purpose as one of the main reasons buns the erosion of the centrality of religion in the institutional make-up of modern societies (Norris, 2004 130). This functionalist perspective highlights the idea that a scheme of divinity does not just represent a system of beliefs about the nature of existence (Asad, 2003 90). Instead, it is also a framework of actions concerning certain and certain rituals and symbol that are performed to signpost the passage of time across the persons natural mannersspan (Durkheim, 1912, 1995 30). These symbolisms were responsible for maintaining a high degree of social cohesion and stability, hence producing common goods that could be enjoyed by all members of company (Davie, 1994 88). Conversely, the industrialisation Western European and North American societies generated the fragmentation of the social space by inducing process of technical differentiation that dust the sources of knowledge (Wilson, 1966 76). The specialisation of knowledge take stripped the ecclesiastical regime of the powers that they had in determining which epistemological approaches should be pursued and how the knowledge created was to be disseminated (McCutcheon, 2003 119). In addition, all the charity organisations of Christian extraction that had for centuries been in taper of providing for the disenfranchised members of society were replaced by well-being states subsidised by political science institutions (Bruce, 2002 62). These events were the immediate result of the reappraisal of the role of religious doctrines and o rganisation. By the late nineteenth century, the doctrines and practices proposed by the Church were not deemed to be functional to the projection of ensuring the material welfare of the population (Tremlett, 2009 19). Instead, the state had become a kind of secular god that had encroached into many areas of the lives of individuals (Berger, 1969 147). This entailed that the role of religious institutions were strictly limit to the personal realm in the public domain, the faith gradually ceased to become a powerful force in the shaping of the political evolution of the nation.The top up/supply side theory of secularisationThe views undefended in the previous section can be juxtaposed to the perspective highlighted by the top up/supply side theory of secularisation. This perspective underlines the conditions brought about by the spread of religious freedom in coeval societies, which led to a hawkish environment in the market for religious adherents amongst theological organisati ons (Davie, 1994 93). This view makes an analogy between theological organisations and business firms, all of which struggle in order to capture a growing department of the market. The top up/supply side theory of secularisation postulates that the emulation between different religious denominations has a positive impact on the preservation of religion as a vibrant force in society (Asad, 2003 33). This approach explains the manner in which, for example, the take of religious adherence is larger in countries like the United States, where the different theological denomination are engaged in permanent competition in order to attract refreshful adherents (Idinopulos and Wilson, 1998 111). This theory puts forward the notion that an intense competition between the different denominations result in churches striving to keep a dynamic spiritual environment in their congregations, hence helping to maintain the relevance of religion in their community (Harris, 2005 58). In the United States, this has generated a situation in which the older denominations such as Lutherans, Catholics and Presbyterians are losing ground to the evangelical religious organisations. Whilst the evangelical movements demand a great deal of effort on the part of the would-be adherents, they also offer a more intense religious experience than the older denominations which seems to be a determinant factor in attracting support for their cause (Asad, 1993 145).Furthermore, the top up/supply side theory of secularisation posits that in cases where religious life is dominated by theological organisations that are directly subsidised by the state, the clergy seems to be less keen to engage with the community of believers, hence leading(p) to the decay of spiritual life in their communities (Stark and Iannaccone, 1994 232). This theoretical approach seems to repeat the idea that state-owned organisations, be them of an economic or religious nature, tend to be less innovative than private o nes (Davie, 1994 19). For example, in Northern Europe, the established Protestant churches are able to fend off the threat posed by other Christian denominations (Wilson, 1966 58). This means that the clergy does not have to overexert itself in order to attract the attention of their would-be religious adherents (Asad, 2003 14). Consequently, this led to a situation in which religious attendance declined in a significant manner, since the number of options available in the spiritual market tends to be sooner reduced (McCutcheon, 2003 46). However, this does not explain the reasons behind the consistently high levels of religious attendance in Southern European and Latin American countries, in spite of the monopoly enjoyed by the Catholic Church (Martin, 1969 28). It could be argued that a pluralist religious template as the basis for a high level of religious attendance represents a theoretical blueprint that can only be successfully applied to detail settings (Berger, 1969 61). It would appear that many of the tenets espoused by this particular theory of secularisation are not based on a sound methodological framework (Harris, 2005 55). To be sure, the idea of a competitive religious market as an instrument that al first bases countries to reverse religious decline can only be applied to the United States, which is a society that has traditionally been based around the development of communal life strongly informed by religious values in order to consort individuals to their particular cultural and geographical setting (Asad, 1993 66). At the same time, it has been argued that the level of religious attendance have remained quite consistent across the ages, which entails that there have been no substantial secularisation process as a result of the onset of modernity (McCutcheon, 2003 48). In addition, it has been noted that the market theory of religion can provide a sound basis for explaining overall trends in religious adherence (Stark, 1999 249). In fact, in Western societies, periods of low attendance alternated with periods of higher levels of religious fervour (Idinopulos and Wilson, 1998 98). It is therefore important to grant the mishap that the top up/supply side theory of secularisation may provide with a sound framework of reference in order to examine the level of religious adherence in across the ages (Stark, 1993 389). It would appear that the postmodern condition does not necessarily mar the possibility of a reconstitution of religious life along more mentally ill opinionated lines (Stark, 1999 260). This goes some way towards rebutting the assumptions put forward by the bottom up/demand side theory of secularisation (Wilson, 1966 61). The market interpretation of religious adherence may provide a better way of fellow feeling the extent to which modern societies have been secularised (Wilson, 1966 82). The dynamic interactions that take place in the social space give rise to the possibility of more fluid (and t herefore more vibrant) religious denominational structures that may rehabilitate the spectrum of religious life in postmodern societies (Stark and Iannaccone, 1994 231). It could be posited that this trend, directed from the top down and informed by a strong supply side approach borrowed from the field of economics, is ultimately a better way to understand the reasons behind the persistence of religious life in modern societies (Asad, 2003 14).ConclusionBy way of conclusion, it may be posited that the bottom up/demand side theory of secularisation provides with some interesting insights regarding the evolution of religious life in societies that have been affected by the process of industrialisation and modernisation, to be sure, the application of scientific methods of interpreting the nature of reality resulted in dense changes in the nature and extent of religious practice in Western European and North American societies (Berger, 1969 77). The specialisation of technical knowled ge production removed power from the religious authorities regarding the way in which knowledge was to be pursued, created and spread (Norris, 2004 41). Moreover, the onset of modernisation and industrialisation gave the state a great deal of power in order to provide welfare provisions for its citizens, hence stripping the church institutions of their functional purpose (Fitzgerald, 2000 122). but the validity of these arguments, they do not explain the persistence of religious attendance throughout the ages (Stark, 1993 390). There seems to be an inherent human drive to seek the ultimate explanations of the nature of existence by referring to supernatural forces, which explains the resilience of religious practice across the ages. The postmodern condition has given rise to new forms of religious and spiritual practices that thrive thanks to the way in which they are able to utilise technology in order to fulfil their deputation (Asad, 1993 45). For all the reasons cited above, it could be concluded that the theory of secularisation fails to explain the proceed interest shown by people in pursuing spiritual avenues for personal advancement an interest that seems to be more vibrant than ever in the age of fluid doctrinal requirements for religious practice.BibliographyAsad, T. (1993) Genealogies of holiness, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MDAsad, T. (2003) Formations of the Secular, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CABerger, P. (1969) The quasi-religious Canopy, Anchor Books, Garden City, NYBruce, S. (2002) God is dead-Secularization in the West, Blackwell, OxfordDavie, G. (1994) Religion in Britain since 1945, Blackwell, OxfordDurkheim, E. (1912, 1995) The basal Formations of Religious Life, Free Press, bleak York, NYFitzgerald, T. (2000) The Ideology of Religious Studies, Oxford University Press, OxfordGauchet, M., (1999) The Disenchantment with the World, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJHarris, S. 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