Defining & Measuring Secularisation (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

What is secularisation?

• Secularisation refers to the decline in the importance of religion

• Wilson (1966) defines secularisation as:

'the process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose their social significance'

Major changes in religion in the UK

• Since the 1851 Census of Religious Worship:

  • fewer people are going to church or belong to one

  • the average age of churchgoers has increased

  • there has been a decline in baptisms, church weddings and Sunday school attendance

  • fewer people hold traditional Christian beliefs

  • there is greater religious diversity, with more non-Christian faiths

• Sociologists disagree on why these changes have occurred and how far religion is actually declining

Measuring secularisation

• In Britain, secularisation is measured though:

  • church attendance

  • religious affiliation

  • number of clergy

  • belief statistics

Church attendance statistics

• Wilson (1966) found that church attendance in England & Wales fell from 40% in 1851 to 10–15% by the 1960s

• By 2015 only 5% of adults attended regularly on Sundays

• Sunday school attendance declined from 1.6m in 1960 to 0.8m in 2013

• The English Church Census (2006) shows a sharp decline in Anglican & Catholic attendance

• Weddings in church declined from 60% in 1971 to 30% in 2021

• Infant baptisms are falling steadily but Penman (2013) observes a rise in 'bogus baptisms', where non-religious parents baptise children to access high-achieving faith schools

Decline in the number of clergy

• There is a sharp fall in the number of clergy working in Christian churches in the UK

• Between 1965 and 2011, Catholic priests declined by one-third; a similar trend occurred in Anglicanism

• The clergy are an ageing workforce – only 12% of Anglican clergy are under 40

• Fewer clergy means weaker local church influence

• Davies (2006) argues that respect for clergy declined due to child abuse scandals, especially in the Catholic Church

Religious affiliation statistics

• A person's religious affiliation refers to identification with a religion

• There is a continuing decline in religious affiliation

• Census data in England and Wales:

  • 2001: 72% identified as Christian; 15% as having 'no religion'

  • 2011: 59% identified as Christian; 25.2% as having 'no religion'

  • 2021: 46% identified as Christian; 37.2% as having 'no religion'

• British Social Attitudes survey:

  • 1983: Around 30% of adults claimed 'no religion'

  • 2015: 50% of adults claimed 'no religion'

  • Only 17% identified as Anglican (down from 40% in 1983)

• Christianity is declining fastest in the Church of England

• Some religions (e.g., Islam, Catholicism) are growing due to immigration and higher birth rates

  • E.g., The 2021 census data showed an increase in the number of people who described themselves as Muslim, with 6.5% in 2021, up from 4.9% in 2011

Religious belief today

• Belief in God and traditional teachings (afterlife, Bible) has declined, especially among the young

• Voas & Crockett (2005) argue there is evidence of generational decline in belief

• Secularisation is linked to rationalisation, consumer culture, and individualism and the growth of New Age movements

• Sanderson (1999) argues that people are increasingly turning to secular ceremonies

  • E.g., naming ceremonies, celebration of life parties and humanist funerals