Assess the view that secularisation has been a feature only of modern European societies (33 marks)
There is no agreed definition of the word secularisation- depending on how you define it will determine whether or not it is happening/exists. Some will argue that; secularisation is happening, it never happened, it did happen, or it’s a western issue. The exclusivist definition sees religion as involving beliefs in some supernatural, supra-human being or forces of some kind, which would indicate that secularisation is apparent in modern society as church attendance has declined in the UK from 11.1% of the population in the 1980s, to 6.6% in 2005. The inclusivist definition takes a less traditional approach, and includes beliefs and activities that most wouldn’t define as religious e.g. New Age Movements that look at spiritual therapies; this suggests secularisation isn’t happening and that religion is never likely to decline as alternative activities replace traditional roles of religion. If secularisation is defined as the exclusivist definition, then the UK can be classes as experiencing secularisation.
Different sociologists have different theories contributing to our understanding of secularisation, for example Webers rationalisation theory. However, opponents of the secularisation debate argue that secularisation is only apparent in modern European societies, as church attendance and religious participation is in the increase in countries like America. Firstly evidence supporting the view of secularisation is only in modern European societies includes the decline of religious participation. In the UK, not only has church attendance decreased in recent years; church marriages, funerals and other religious ceremonies have dropped in attendance, as well as an increase in divorce rates and premarital children (50% of all parents) which suggests a decline in moral