Resacralisation in Societies
TITLE
‘Resacralisation is occurring in many societies.’ Evaluate this view
ESSAY
Title: Resacralisation in Societies: An Evaluation
Introduction
💥 Briefly introduce the concept of resacralisation and its contrasting view against the secularisation thesis.
💥 Provide an overview of the key arguments and evidence for and against resacralisation in societies.
Arguments for Resacralisation
1. Growth of New Religious Movements:
💥 Discuss how some religious organisations are attracting more followers, such as the Evangelical movement in the US.
💥 Highlight evidence of the growth in new religious movements globally.
2. Increased Support for Fundamentalist Religions:
💥 Explain the trend of increased support for fundamentalist religious beliefs in certain societies.
💥 Provide examples of societies where this trend is prominent.
3. Emerging Spirituality and Private Worship:
💥 Discuss studies suggesting a rising interest in spirituality among individuals.
💥 Mention the increase in privatised worship and the use of social media for religious engagement.
4. Use of Religious Symbols in Public Life:
💥 Highlight the re💥emergence of religious symbols and practices in public domains like politics and education.
💥 Provide examples of countries where religion plays a significant role in public affairs, such as the USA or Iran.
Arguments Against Resacralisation
1. Decline in Religious Membership:
💥 Mention the falling membership in traditional religious organisations and the rise of competing belief systems.
💥 Argue that this decline indicates a decrease in religiosity rather than resacralisation.
2. Challenges to Religious Authority:
💥 Discuss how individuals today are more likely to challenge established religions on moral issues.
💥 Note the prevalence of profanity and greater acceptance of heretical ideas.
3. Skepticism Towards Religious Practice:
💥 Emphasize that some studies suggest individuals allocate less time to religious activities and question their faith.
💥 Highlight how social pressures can compel people to conform to religious practices outwardly.
4. Difficulty in Measuring Religiosity:
💥 Mention the challenges of measuring religiosity accurately.
💥 Suggest that empirical evidence regarding people's religious beliefs should be treated skeptically.
Conclusion
Summarize the contrasting arguments for and against resacralisation in societies.
Emphasize the complexity of evaluating the resurgence of sacred practices amid the ongoing debate with secularisation.
Suggest that further research and analysis are needed to understand the dynamics of religious trends in modern societies effectively.
SUBJECT
SOCIOLOGY
LEVEL
A level and AS level
NOTES
Resacralisation is occurring in many societies. Evaluate this view.
Key focus of the question:
Sociologists who claim that a process of resacralisation is occurring in many societies cite evidence such as: growth of new religious movements, increased support for evangelical and fundamentalist religions, studies suggesting a growing interest in spirituality, and the increased involvement of religion in some aspects of public life such as politics and education. In providing an evaluation, candidates are likely to contrast arguments and evidence for the idea of resacralisation with the secularisation thesis with its claim that religion has lost its social significance today. Good answers might also question what is meant by resacralisation and whether a renewed interest in spirituality can be seen as evidence that the process of secularisation is being reversed.
Indicative content:
For:
💥 Some religious organisations appear to be attracting more followers (the Evangelical movement in the US, for example).
💥 Evidence of growth in new religious movements.
💥 Increased support for fundamentalist religious beliefs in some societies.
💥 Evidence of an increase in privatised worship and the use of social media for religious engagement.
💥 The idea of ‘believing without belonging’ may be used to support the idea that a religious revival is occurring despite falling membership of many established religious organisations.
💥 Increasing use of religious symbols and practices in some areas of public life, such as politics in the USA or education in the UK (faith schools, for example).
💥 Re💥emergence of theistic regimes in some countries, such as Iran and Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Against:
💥 Falling membership of religious organisations and competition from other belief systems would indicate a decline in religiosity rather than resacralisation.
💥 Evidence of continuing decline in the number of people participating in religious ceremonies.
💥 There is plenty of evidence of desacralisation rather than the opposite; for example, people in many societies today are likely to challenge the authority of established religions to decide key issues of morality in society.
💥 There is more profanity and possibly greater acceptance of heresy and blasphemy today.
💥 Some studies suggest people of faith devote less time to religious activities today than in the past and some have become more questioning of their faith.
💥 In some societies and communities, there remain strong pressures on people to participate in religious practice and maintain their faith, at least outwardly. Observance in the case of many of these people may reflect social pressure and a desire to conform rather than a belief in the sacred.
💥 Religiosity is difficult to measure so any empirical evidence about the strength of people’s religious belief today has to be treated sceptically.