religion no longer occupies the central location in the public sphere that it once did. One of the reasons the debate about secularisation is so enduring is that , to same extent the various proponents have been talking about different things . there is no agreement about what is meant by secularisation , so that what is seen as significant by one theorist may be seen as insignificant by another . it is therefore important when considering the debate to be clear about what forms of religiosity are being referred to . the debate also suffers from methodological problems because of the quality of statistical data on religion . it is not just that those gathering the data may be biased , but also that there are often problems of statistical validity and reliability . Definitions of religiosity vary , and comparisons over time may involve different criteria for the same religious phenomenon. For Bruce , the argument for sucularisation is true if secularisation is taken to mean:
1 A decline in the importance of religion for the operation of non-religious roles and institutions such as the state and the economy;
2.a decline in the social standing of religious roles and institutions;
3.a decline in the extent to which people engage in religious practices , display beliefs of a religious kind , and conduct other aspects of their lives in a manner informed by such beliefs (2002 , p.3) .
The critical point for Bruce , as with other secularisation theorists , is that , in Western nations , at least , religion has become so privatised that it is of little relevance to mainstream social life (Berger 1970; Wilson 1982; Wallis 1984; Bruce 2002;) For Bruce and other secularisation theorists the rise of innumerable self-religions since the 1950s actually confirms the secularisation thesis . They are a symptom of the declining power of an overarching , unifying system of religious belief in Western democracies . While they may be significant as a source of meaning and moral guidance to the individuals who believe in them they have little social impact . In making these claims for the secularisation thesis Bruce offers a number of important provisos To argue for secularisation is not to say:
-Everyone will eventually become an atheist or cease to have irrational beliefs . To not be religious is not the same as being an atheist . There may still be an interest in religious matters but religious belief is likely to be fragmented and , insofar as it continues to exist , its social impact will be minimal .
-secularisation is a universal phenomenon that will , over time , apply to all nations . Secularisation needs to be understood as a process that has occurred in Western countries It 'is not so much a universal phenomenon as one that relates to the European disintegration of what martin calls the religious monopoly' (Lyon 1996 , p.19) .
Bruce also identifies two counter trends to the process of secularisation (2002 , pp. 30-6). Religion will remain a powerful social force:
-when religious belief is implicated in group identity , es pecially of an ethnic or national character . Religion provides powerful resources to groups seeking to defend themselves against perceived cultural or political invasion . This is what explains the significance of religion in countries such as Ireland , Croatia and iraq
in situations of 'cultural transition ' Marginalised social groups tend to use religion and religious institution as a means of negotiating major cultural changes in their environment . Thus ,religion is often very important to migrants for whom it provides a mechanism for smoothing the transition between their old and their new homeland . It also explains the significance of religion in the process of modernisation .
-Although Bruce places him self firmly in the sucularisation camp , the numrous qualifications he makes to his claim that 'God is dead' leave him open to the suggestion that they effectively defeat his argument . moreover , while few would argue that the first two of his three aspects of secularisation have taken place in Western democracies , the jury is still out on the last .
religion no longer occupies the central location in the public sphere that it once did. One of the reasons the debate about secularisation is so enduring is that , to same extent the various proponents have been talking about different things . there is no agreement about what is meant by secularisation , so that what is seen as significant by one theorist may be seen as insignificant by another . it is therefore important when considering the debate to be clear about what forms of religiosity are being referred to . the debate also suffers from methodological problems because of the quality of statistical data on religion . it is not just that those gathering the data may be biased , but also that there are often problems of statistical validity and reliability . Definitions of religiosity vary , and comparisons over time may involve different criteria for the same religious phenomenon. For Bruce , the argument for sucularisation is true if secularisation is taken to mean:1 A decline in the importance of religion for the operation of non-religious roles and institutions such as the state and the economy; 2.a decline in the social standing of religious roles and institutions; 3.a decline in the extent to which people engage in religious practices , display beliefs of a religious kind , and conduct other aspects of their lives in a manner informed by such beliefs (2002 , p.3) . The critical point for Bruce , as with other secularisation theorists , is that , in Western nations , at least , religion has become so privatised that it is of little relevance to mainstream social life (Berger 1970; Wilson 1982; Wallis 1984; Bruce 2002;) For Bruce and other secularisation theorists the rise of innumerable self-religions since the 1950s actually confirms the secularisation thesis . They are a symptom of the declining power of an overarching , unifying system of religious belief in Western democracies . While they may be significant as a source of meaning and moral guidance to the individuals who believe in them they have little social impact . In making these claims for the secularisation thesis Bruce offers a number of important provisos To argue for secularisation is not to say: -Everyone will eventually become an atheist or cease to have irrational beliefs . To not be religious is not the same as being an atheist . There may still be an interest in religious matters but religious belief is likely to be fragmented and , insofar as it continues to exist , its social impact will be minimal . -secularisation is a universal phenomenon that will , over time , apply to all nations . Secularisation needs to be understood as a process that has occurred in Western countries It 'is not so much a universal phenomenon as one that relates to the European disintegration of what martin calls the religious monopoly' (Lyon 1996 , p.19) . Bruce also identifies two counter trends to the process of secularisation (2002 , pp. 30-6). Religion will remain a powerful social force: -when religious belief is implicated in group identity , es pecially of an ethnic or national character . Religion provides powerful resources to groups seeking to defend themselves against perceived cultural or political invasion . This is what explains the significance of religion in countries such as Ireland , Croatia and iraq in situations of 'cultural transition ' Marginalised social groups tend to use religion and religious institution as a means of negotiating major cultural changes in their environment . Thus ,religion is often very important to migrants for whom it provides a mechanism for smoothing the transition between their old and their new homeland . It also explains the significance of religion in the process of modernisation . -Although Bruce places him self firmly in the sucularisation camp , the numrous qualifications he makes to his claim that 'God is dead' leave him open to the suggestion that they effectively defeat his argument . moreover , while few would argue that the first two of his three aspects of secularisation have taken place in Western democracies , the jury is still out on the last .
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