ASC211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Great Transition, Baby Boomers, Arab Spring
Deakin University ASC211 Religion and Social Change Trimester One 2018
Week Five - Everyday Lived Religion
Public Religion in the UK
• Great transition- significant change
• 19th Century - 1960s counter culture
• Late 1980s - early 1990s new style/mode of religion-time of transition - old style remains and new
style developing - 'we have everything going on at once'
• Baby boomers raised on old style- pioneered old style
• Gen X - raised in both worlds
• Gen Y - raised in new style - identify more with spirituality than religion - but 50% still identify as
Christian
• Old is transmuting into new - 'I'm Christian, in my own way'
• Woodhead 2012
Old Style Religion in the UK
• Social form in local membership of medium size (50-100) people know everyone but not well
• Power is hierarchical - distinction between leaders and laity - paternalistic
• Uniformity - 'religion as a package deal' - systematised and approved
• Books/texts - rationalization - modern religion
• Members are relatively passive -'not much voice or choice'
• Emphasis on salvation from your inadequate life - to the next life
• 'More about losing the self than finding it' - sacrifice - graduate to a saviour God
• Old style religion - Church decline
New Style Religion in the UK
• Very small (1-12) or very large (1000s) one to one know people extremely well- or anonymous
• Little constraint - you dot hse to do the sae thig
• Occasional meetings not regular ie. Festivals offer worship entertainment and choice
• Community of shared ideas - online
• Cultural products once controlled by experts are open to everyone - dispereses power in religion
• Appropriation of symbol - 'deregulation of religious goods'
• More individual choice and voice
• Life-path religion - not random
• Religion and spirituality and secular co-exist as part of one's life
• Network of relations with humans and divine
• Finding yourself not losing yourself - 'the purpose driven life'
State-Church Relations
• Once intertwined in Brittan - breaking down since 1980's - standing of other religions has increased -
multifaith - New Labour put 'faith' in their policy agenda - but the problem is hierarchy with Abrahamic
religions at the top
• Most conservative, fundamentalist forms of religion attract media attention - but they are only very
small proportion - London 7/7 attacks and Christian fundamentalist against gay marriage etc.
• Extreme secularism fights back
Media
• Overemphasis on old style religion in mainstream media -also light entertainment and adds show new
style-coverage of Christianity stays the same entertainment and adds show new style - coverage of
Christianity stays the same - coverage of Islam frown tenfold - focus on old style extremist Islam
• Education - historical and geographical literacy of diverse religious traditions, new religious
movements and secular traditions - give people genuine scope of what religion is
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Public religion in the uk: great transition- significant change, 19th century - 1960s counter culture. Christian: old is transmuting into new - "i"m christian, in my own way, woodhead 2012. "more about losing the self than finding it" - sacrifice - graduate to a saviour god. Finding yourself not losing yourself - "the purpose driven life" Media: overemphasis on old style religion in mainstream media -also light entertainment and adds show new style-coverage of christianity stays the same entertainment and adds show new style - coverage of. Faith of all kinds has always been there, more critical and open about this reality. Every day, lived religion: religion"s association with global risk of terrorism after september 11, 2001 no doubt led to an increase in interest in religion in the media and academia. Some scholars of religion chose instead to focus on "lived religion" as experienced in everyday life, rather than on the securitization of religion.
