PowerPoint Presentation prepared by Terri Petkau, Mohawk College

CHAPTER THIRTEEN Religion Reginald W. Bibby

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd 13-3 INTRODUCTION Will examine: Theoretical traditions in the sociology of religion Personal and collective religiosity Sources of religion, including individual- centred and structure-centred explanations Consequences of religion at the personal, interpersonal, and societal levels Future of religion*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd 13-4 SOCIOLOGY AND RELIGION Sociology of religion examines:  Who tends to think they have experienced God  Who believes in life after death, and what individuals think will happen when they die  Extent to which people have spiritual needs, and what they mean by “spirituality”  How many and what kinds of people are involved in religious groups  Impact that religious involvement has on individuals and societies*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd 13-5 THEORETICAL TRADITIONS: MARX AND CONFLICT In Marx’s view, religion:  Is human creation of economically and politically deprived who choose to redefine reality rather than change their oppressive conditions  Provides religious status instead of social status  Diverts working people’s attention from real sources of suffering  Reason wealthy capitalists encourage religious belief  End of exploitation would bring end to religion*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd 13-6 THEORETICAL TRADITIONS: DURKHEIM AND COLLECTIVITY Durkheim argued religion’s origin is social People living in community come to share common sentiments that form a collective conscience:  Involves awareness of group being more than sum of individual members, and belief that experience of the group is supernatural Leads people to designate some objects as sacred (deserving of profound respect) and others as profane To uphold collective conscience, people come together as a “church”  This collective life is both source and product of religion*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd 13-7 THEORETICAL TRADITIONS: WEBER AND IDEAS Weber believed religion is largely oriented to this world and has consequences for everyday life  Example: Argued Protestant Reformation strongly influenced moral tone of capitalism in Western world through adoption of Protestant ethic Noted god-conceptions strongly related to economic, political, and social conditions in which people live (e.g., monotheism related to goal of political unification) Also noted relationship between religion and class (e.g., social class dictated view of religion)*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd 13-8 THEORETICAL TRADITIONS: WEBER AND IDEAS Weber argued ideas - regardless of veracity - represent person’s definition of reality and therefore have potential to influence behaviour Emphasized need to interpret action by understanding actor’s motives Recommended use of method he called Verstehen, or understanding:  To achieve such awareness, researchers should place themselves in roles of those being studied*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd 13-9 NATURE OF RELIGION Religions: Systems of meaning for interpreting world that have supernatural referent (e.g., Christianity, Hinduism) Are concerned with discovering life’s meaning, whereas humanist perspectives (e.g., political “isms” such as communism, fascism) are concerned with making life meaningful*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd PERSONAL RELIGIOSITY Personal religiosity: Refers to level of religious commitment characterizing an individual  Is measured along four dimensions which must all be present in the “committed”: i.Holding of key beliefs ii.Engagement in certain practices iii.Having supernatural experiences iv.Knowledge of the faith’s tenets*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT ALONG FOUR DIMENSIONS, CANADA, 2005 (IN PERCENTAGE)

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd COLLECTIVE RELIGIOSITY: THE CHURCH–SECT TYPOLOGY Church-sect typology: Framework in which religious organizations studied in terms of ideal- type, church, and sect characteristics Two major kinds of organizations among religious groups: i.Church  Numerically dominant groupings that emphasize works and accommodation (e.g., mainline denominations in Canada and United States) ii.Sect  Smaller groups that stress faith and separation and have broken away from dominant bodies (e.g., Salvation Army, and additional emerging groups such as Baptist and Pentecostal denominations)  Sects eventually evolve into a church*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd COLLECTIVE RELIGIOSITY: ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES Religious organizations no different from other social organizations Market model for understanding religion prominent in recent years:  Religious groups regarded as “firms” or “companies” competing for “market share”*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd COLLECTIVE RELIGIOSITY: ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES General organizational approach to religious groups involves considering groups in terms of: 1.Nature and sources of members 2.Formal and informal goals 3.Norms and roles established to accomplish purposes 4.Sanctions used to ensure norms followed and roles played 5.Degree of success experienced by groups in pursuing goals*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES: 1. MEMBERSHIP Most people belong to same religious organizations as parents Especially in urban areas, congregations compete for members and staff by building lavish structures and offering wide range of social activities according to their economic means Protestant “megachurches” in North America with substantial membership (can range from 1000 to 4000) and budgets make it difficult for other congregations to compete*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES: 2. GOALS Conscious and unconscious goals vary by congregation and members and often are in conflict  Examples:  Formal goal of spiritual growth often contradicts “survival goal” of numerical growth  Need for satisfying needs of existing clientele may conflict with reaching out to new people not yet involved but who also have important needs*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES: 3. NORMS, ROLES, SANCTIONS To achieve goals, religious groups must establish norms, membership roles, means of communication, and sanctions to control behaviour Groups hindered by the following: i.Are top-heavy with men (often inadequately tap resources of women) ii.Are reliant on volunteers to carry out key roles  Factors contribute to often making religious groups fragile and inefficient “companies”*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES: 4. SUCCESS Indicators of “success” include attendance, membership, and finances Size of group is largely function of birth and mortality factors Overall, church attendance and membership down in Canada since 1950 (mainline Protestants and Catholics in Quebec hardest hit) But, attendance and membership among Evangelical Protestants has rebounded*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd CANADA AND RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION Affiliation with religious groups widespread since founding of country According to 2001 census:  84% of Canadians indicated a religious affiliation  Canada is not highly diversified religious mosaic  Is still predominantly Roman Catholic (45%) and Protestant (29%)  Christian groups frequently are primary beneficiaries of intermarital “religious defection”*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION, CANADA AND THE PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES, 2001 (IN %)

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd CANADA AND MEMBERSHIP IN RELIGIOUS GROUPS When Canadians asked about actual membership in religious groups, more people (about 30%) claim to belong to churches than to any other single voluntary group About 1 in 4 attends services approximately once per week Yet between 1940s and 2000, has been sharp decline in church attendance  Although is evidence of recent attendance reversal (except for in Quebec)*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd ATTENDANCE AT RELIGIOUS SERVICES, CANADA, 1946–2000

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd MONTHLY-PLUS ATTENDANCE IN CANADA, 1975–2005

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd EXPLANATIONS FOR SOURCES OF RELIGION Early work in scientific study of religion (notably Durkheim) focused on origin of religion itself, rather than examining variations in religious commitment Explanations for why some people are religious - while others are not - tend to focus on one of following two types of explanations: 1.Individual-centred explanations 2.Structure-centred explanations*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd INDIVIDUAL-CENTRED EXPLANATIONS Are three dominant “person-centred” explanations of religious commitment: i.Reflection ii.Socialization iii.Deprivation…*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd INDIVIDUAL-CENTRED EXPLANATIONS: i. REFLECTION Desire to comprehend reality widespread among humans In course of reflection, people commonly conclude that life has supernatural “transempirical” dimension Approximately 80% of Canadians indicate they reflect on life issues (e.g., origin and purpose of life)  But reflection does not lead to religious commitment and involvement*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd INDIVIDUAL-CENTRED EXPLANATIONS: ii. SOCIALIZATION Religious commitment understood as product of learning Accommodation to social pressures, notably those of primary groups (e.g., the family), appears to influence religious group involvement But socialization appears to be necessary but not sufficient cause of religiosity*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd INDIVIDUAL-CENTRED EXPLANATIONS: iii. DEPRIVATION Argues religiously committed are the deprived or disadvantaged Glock and Stark (1965): Five types of deprivation predominant in rise and development of religious and secular movements   Economic, social, organismic (physical or mental), psychic, and ethical deprivation But research fails to support deprivation as good predictor of religious participation*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd STRUCTURE-CENTRED EXPLANATIONS Are three dominant structure- centred explanations of religious commitment: i.Denominationalism ii.Secularization thesis iii.Persistence thesis…*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd STRUCTURE-CENTRED EXPLANATIONS: i. DENOMINATIONALISM Notes tendency for smaller, independent evangelical groups to evolve into denominations Groups seemingly reflect variations not only in theology, but also (and often primarily) in social characteristics Suggests emergence of sect-like groups historically is connected to existence of unstable conditions produced by factors such as immigration and economic depression (e.g., indigenous Baptists and Pentecostals)*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd STRUCTURE-CENTRED EXPLANATIONS: ii. SECULARIZATION THESIS Argues religion – as it has been traditionally known – is continuously declining in pervasiveness and importance due to increasing industrialization and postindustrialization Decline has given rise to:  Loss of religious authority, at both societal and individual levels  Changes in religious organizations  Decline in religious commitment*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd STRUCTURE-CENTRED EXPLANATIONS: iii. PERSISTENCE THESIS Argues religion persists in industrial and postindustrial societies because it:  Continues to address questions of meaning and purpose, and  Responds to widespread interest in spirituality What is in doubt is not persistence of religion, but the identity of key players*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd SERVICE ATTENDANCE, COMMITMENT, AND SPIRITUAL NEEDS BY SOCIAL CHANGE CORRELATES, CANADA, 2005 (IN %)

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd CONSEQUENCES OF RELIGION: i. PERSONAL LEVEL Contradictory findings on relationship between level of religious commitment and mental health Religious commitment by itself appears to have fairly limited influence on valued personal characteristics Religion often less important than variables such as age, education, or employment in predicting personal well- being*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd PERSONAL WELLBEING AND RELIGIOUS SERVICE ATTENDANCE, 2005

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd CONSEQUENCES OF RELIGION: ii. INTERPERSONAL LEVEL Early research suggested religiosity linked with less compassion and more racial prejudice Recent research suggests religiously committed people in Canada do not differ significantly from others in terms of interpersonal relationships  Where main difference exists is in area of personal morality, notably sexuality:  Religious groups tend to oppose “moral innovation,” including legalization of abortion, changing sexual standards, and distribution of pornographic materials*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd PERCENTAGE OF CANADIANS OPPOSED TO SELECTED ISSUES BY SERVICE ATTENDANCE AND GROUP IDENTIFICATION, 2005

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd VALUES OF THEIST & ATHEIST TEENS, PERCENTAGE INDICATING “VERY IMPORTANT”

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd CONSEQUENCES OF RELIGION: iii. SOCIETAL LEVEL Are mixed reviews about religion’s net consequences for societies:  Some point to important role played by religious groups in helping establish a just society where diversity and inclusiveness are valued  Others point to damage done by religious groups in terms of early abusive treatment of Aboriginal peoples, sexual abuse scandals, etc. (also is damage done to religious groups through discrimination) Paradox: Religion can both enrich and destroy social life*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd THE FUTURE OF RELIGION Is no evidence that religion is going to disappear Can expect emerging religious forms to include sects and new religious movements with origins unconnected with traditional religions In Canada, teenagers differ little from adults in religious matters, except with respect to indicating spiritual needs*

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd A PROFILE OF RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY IN CANADA: TEENAGERS AND ADULTS, (IN PERCENTAGE)

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd RECEPTIVITY TO GREATER INVOLVEMENT IN THE CHURCH BY AGE COHORT, PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS ATTENDING LESS THAN ONCE A MONTH, 2005

Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd THE FUTURE OF RELIGION In Canada, overwhelming majority continue to hold beliefs, engage in practices, experience the gods, and express spiritual needs Are signs of positive participation shift as groups seek to be more responsive to children, teenagers, and young adults  To extent these efforts continue, may be a renaissance of religion in Canada**