Secularisation Theory
Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?

1. What do Secular, Secularisation, and Secularisation Theory Mean?
2. Secularisation Theory
   1. The Dalai Lama Defends Secularism as a Way to Respect All Religion
   2. S. Bruce Defends Secularisation Theory (1996)
3. Religion in Europe
4. The Defiers of Secularisation

1. What do Secular, Secularisation, and Secularisation Theory Mean?

The word secular denotes something that is not religious in nature. So, many people are not religious so they lead secular lives. But belief and practice aren't synonymous, so many things can be secular in nature even though the individuals involved are religious. You can therefore have a secular government, whose activities are not religious and who does not codify or represent a particular religion. This is the norm in democratic countries. The individuals that make up the government are rightly free to have whatever religion they want, as are the populace. Because of this freedom, in a multicultural world, there is a requirement for governments not to cause resentment or divisions by identifying itself with a particular religion. The most well-known phrase proposing secular democracy as an ideal is Jefferson's "wall of separation between church and state" [paraphrased]. Secularisation is the process of things becoming more secular. Most of the Western world has seen this paradigm come to dominate politics and civil life, starting from the time of the Enlightenment.

Secularisation Theory is the theory in sociology that as society advances, religion retreats. Intellectual and scientific developments have undermined the spiritual, supernatural, superstitious and paranormal ideas on which religion relies for its legitimacy. Therefore, religion becomes more and more "hollow", surviving for a while on empty until loss of active membership forces them into obscurity. The evidences and shortcomings of this theory are discussed later in this text.

Some take the process of secularisation as a personal affront, and think that mere lack of bias from government implies an active attack. They see any reduction in (their own) public religion to be bad, and apparently they do not understand the causes or reasons behind the secularisation of officialdom. Hopefully this page will address this.

2. Secularisation Theory

Secularisation theory explains that as modern society advances it will become increasingly secular, and religion will become increasingly hollow. Since the rise of science in the 17th Century, sociological commentators have realised that religion may be in a permanent decline, and some have proposed the science and intelligence, both rooted in the Enlightenment, are anathema to religious faith. Karl Marx (1818-1883), Durkheim (1857-1917), Max Weber (1864-1920), the founders of sociology, and William James (lectures from 1901-1902) are four eminent men who all noted this decline. My page Religion in the United Kingdom: Diversity, Trends and Decline page show examples and charts of what this long-term decline looks like, in terms of memberships, attendance and beliefs, etc.

“The three 'classical' sociological theorists, Marx, Durkheim and Weber [all] thought that the significance of religion would decrease in modern times. Each believed that religion is in a fundamental sense an illusion. The advocates of different faiths may be wholly persuaded of the validity of the beliefs they hold and the rituals in which they participate, yet the very diversity of religions and their obvious connections to different types of society, the three thinkers held, make these claims inherently implausible.”

"Sociology" by Anthony Giddens (1997)₂

“There is a notion in the air about us that religion is probably only an anachronism, a case of "survival," an atavistic relapse into a mode of thought which humanity in its more enlightened examples has outgrown; and this notion our religious anthropologists at present do little to counteract. This view is so widespread at the present day that I must consider it with some explicitness before I pass to my own conclusions.”

"The Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James (1902)₃

Moojan Momen (1999) says there are five ways of looking at secularisation:

1. "Decline of popular involvement in institutionalized religion. This can be seen in the decline in church attendance, with fewer marriages, baptisms and funerals being performed under religious auspices."

2. "The loss of prestige of religious institutions and symbols" and the decline in influence of religious organisations.

3. "The separation of society from the religious world, so that religion becomes purely personal matter."

4. The loss of the idea of the sacred. "As science increases our understanding of humanity and of the world, the area of 'mystery' and the supernatural decrease."

5. "Religious groups themselves become increasingly concerned with the things of this world rather than the spiritual world."

Point one is comprehensively illustrated on my page on statistics of religion in Britain. Point five is clearly illustrated by the reaction of modern religionists to secular advance: fundamentalists are much more engaged in the processes of politics than any other religious group in the West. Momen also notes that in Europe, secularisation came to the fore in the nineteenth century:

“Secularization has gradually permeated the Christian world. It led to the situation in which, by the nineteenth century, Christianity had ceased to have much real influence on the social and political life of Europe. The form was maintained, in that political leaders usually made a great show attending religious ceremonies and were often personally pious. Religion no longer had a role, however, in the shaping of political and social policy. Other considerations and other secular ideologies had taken over. Following the loss of social and political influence, religion became increasingly irrelevant to the lives of ordinary people also.”

"The Phenomenon Of Religion" by M. Momen (1999)₄

Another sociologist of religion, in his survey of new religious movements, reported similar findings in modern countries and gives a partial explanation as to why this is occurring:

“Looking back over the past couple of centuries it would seem to be overwhelmingly evident that religious beliefs, practices and symbols are gradually being abandoned at all levels of modern society. [...] Central to this apparent decline of religion is religious pluralism. Communities in which people shared the same religious beliefs and morality [...] are rapidly disappearing. [...] In modern societies there are few shared values to which one can appeal. believers are constantly aware that their faith is chosen from a spectrum of beliefs on offer. Consequently, beliefs that were once taken for granted as exclusively and absolutely true seem increasingly implausible.”

"Encyclopedia of New Religions" by Prof. Christopher Partridge (2004)₅

"Anti-Religious Forces: Specific Factors Fuelling Secularisation" by Vexen Crabtree (2003) is my comprehensive analysis of the historical and modern forces at work behind secularisation.

2.1. The Dalai Lama Defends Secularism as a Way to Respect All Religion

The Dalai Lama proved himself to have a good understanding of what secularism is when he defended it, in 2006, as a route to respect all religions through its doctrines of non-interference and non-promotion of any particular religions:

“DALAI LAMA SAYS SECULARISM IS THE TRUE ROUTE TO HAPPINESS
The Dalai Lama has come out in defence of secularism. Speaking in Tokyo, the Tibetan spiritual figurehead said: "Secularism does not mean rejection of all religions. It means respect for all religions and human beings including non-believers. I am talking to you not as a Tibetan or a Buddhist but as a human being having a friendly discussion and sharing my experiences on the benefits of cultivating basic human values."

In a lecture on "A Good Heart - The key to Health and Happiness" the Dalai Lama emphasises that cultivating secular ethics - which he said has nothing to do with religion - benefits all human beings. He said strengthening inner values of warm-heartedness and compassion benefits both believers and non-believers in leading a happy and meaningful life. He said, "Love and compassion attracts, hatred and anger repels. [...] Peace does not mean absence of conflicts. Differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; through humane ways," the Dalai Lama said amidst a thunderous applause.

Terry Sanderson, vice president of the National Secular Society, said: "It is not often that we can raise a cheer for a religious leader, but the Dalai Lama is sensible to say that a universal ethic is better than one based on religion. Secularism asks us to keep our religion to ourselves, which enables us as human beings to share what unites us rather than what divides us."”

National Secular Society newsletter (2006)₆

2.2. S. Bruce Defends Secularisation Theory (1996)

Steve Bruce (1996)₇ looks at the major comments made by those who do not believe that increasing secularisation is causing a decline in religious belief. "Despite the fuss made by a few sociologists keen to challenge the secularisation thesis, that consensus is very clear: our medieval past was considerably more religious than our modern present.". He looks at the assertion that although modern Church membership is plummeting "religious belief" is still just as strong and refutes it by showing the relevant stats, sociology and history.

The "trend is clear. Those marks of an enduring interest in religion that persist outside the churches are themselves becoming weaker and more rare. If one wants to call those residues 'implicit religion', then one has to recognize that the implicit is decaying in the same way as the explicit. It is not a compensating alternative"

He continues: "Secondly, it should be no surprise that, though there are more avowed atheists than there were twenty years ago, they remain rare. Self-conscious atheism and agnosticism are features of religious cultures and were at their height in the Victorian era. They are postures adopted in a world where people are keenly interested in religion".

Some also say that secularisation is limited to highly Protestant countries where individual choices came to be viewed as more important than communal worship. But Brian Wilson points out that although, "it is perhaps no accident that the world's first secular societies as generally recognized, should be societies in the Christian Protestant tradition, but it is increasingly clear that in societies outside that tradition, of which perhaps Japan is the outstanding example [...] similar processes of secularization are in progress."₈.

3. Religion in Europe

Europe has seen the convergence of two trends. The first is the same trend towards secularisation as seen in all democratic countries. The second is a drop in overall religious beliefs, especially those associated with traditional organized religions. More statistics are available from my page, briefly quoted from here:

“On average throughout the 27 EU countries, only half of its people believe in God. There is much variation from country to country. Only 16% of the populace of Estonia belief in God, but 95% do in Malta. Scandinavian countries are highly atheist. Two main social groups are particularly prone to belief in God; those over 55 years old and those whose education did not proceed beyond the 15-year-old stage. [...]

Life without religion has become the norm for most Europeans. About 30% of the population state that they don't believe in God, but still put down an theistic religion on paper. This is a common trend amongst secularising peoples, as people forget what religion is about.”

"The European Union: Democratic Values, The Euro, Crises and Migration" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)

4. The Defiers of Secularisation

The world is not secularising evenly. Some of the exceptions (even in the developed world) are so pronounced that some question the entire Secularisation Theory. It is these critics that Steve Bruce had responded to above, pointing to Japan as an example of a non-Christian country that has also secularized extensively.

• The USA still has a very high religiosity rate, as high as third-world countries, and is, with the possible exception of Scandinavia the most advanced country in the world. So this is a serious exception that needs explaining. Most explanation have concentrated on the high level of immigration, something which tends to harden people's religions.

• The developing world is highly religious; there are countries and cultures that can hardly imagine what life without religion is like. Critics imagine that these countries will not lose their religious beliefs as they develop higher rates of education and technological development.

• Sections of society within secular countries remain highly religious. The middle-ground believers are now swayed into areligiosity by the same inertia that used to lead them into religion. Now these are largely gone, what is left behind are the hardcore believers, who are both more vocal, more educated and more activist about their beliefs. These fanatical groups show no signs of dissipation. A report in The Economist (2007) reads: "It is the tougher versions of religion that are doing best - the sort that claim Adam and Eve met 6,003 years ago. Some of the new converts are from the ranks of the underprivileged (Pentecostalism has spread rapidly in the fevelas of Brazil), but many are not. American evangelicals tend to be well-educated and well-off"₉.

• "Formerly communist countries are also getting hooked again on the opium of the people. Russia's secret police, the KGB, hounded religion: its successor, the FSB, has its own Orthodox church opposite its headquarters"₉. Communism was once a heavy factor in the de-religionizing of large areas of the world.

There are plenty of civil religions that perform fine in a secularized world; the more domineering and totalitarian ones (such as those that largely describe the defiers above) are the ones that resist secularisation most loudly and effectively. Unfortunately, most activist secular groups tend to be centered around atheism and humanism, which creates a skewed battlefield where it appears that secularists oppose religion in general, when this isn't necessarily the case (the Dalai Lama (see above) is a case in point). Hopefully, secularisation can be seen as the only way to guarantee religious freedom in a world where competing religions would otherwise lay claim to the State's education systems, etc.