Age & Religiosity (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Belief trends: stronger in the elderly

• Church attendance increases with age, peaking among the elderly

  • One exception is that under-15s often attend more than 16–24s, but this is usually because parents take them

• Brierley's (2015) research into church attendance found that:

  • apart from the over-65s, all age groups show a decline in attendance

  • in 1980, 60% of over-65s attended weekly

  • by 2015, this fell to 37%, but still much higher than younger groups (only 2.5% of 15–19s)

  • by 2025, it’s predicted that only 2.5% of regular attenders will be 15–19 years old

  • around half of all English churches have no members under 20

Explanations: why the elderly are more religious

• Voas and Crockett (2005) suggest three possible explanations for age differences in religiosity

The ageing effect

• As people get older, they become more religious

• Heelas (2005) argues that people show greater interest in spirituality

• Approaching death increases concern about:

  • the afterlife

  • morality

  • seeking forgiveness for past sins

• The ageing effect may explain why elderly women attend more than men, as they live longer

The generational or period effect

• Each new generation is less religious than the one before

• Older people are not getting more religious — they were simply raised in a more religious era

• Their upbringing often involved:

  • less security than today’s youth

  • hardship such as poverty and living through the Second World War

Secularisation

• As religion declines in importance, younger generations grow up with less religious influence

• Voas and Crockett argue that this is the main reason why young people are less religious today

Explanations: why the young are less religious

• There are further explanations for why religion is less appealing to the young

Decline of religious socialisation

• Fewer children are raised religiously, so they are less likely to carry on the habit

• Arweck and Beckford (2013) claim that it is increasingly unlikely for parents to pass on their religious beliefs to their children

• Sunday Schools are now rare, so there are fewer opportunities for churches to recruit children

• The growth of interfaith relationships, where each parent has a different religious belief, weakens consistent religious socialisation

• Voas (2003) suggests that there is only a 25% chance that children from mixed-faith homes will grow up as regular churchgoers, as there may be no strong parental encouragement to follow either faith

'Church is boring'

• Brierley (2015) found that 87% of 10-14-year-olds said church was boring and old-fashioned and unwelcoming to youth culture

• Young people feel church teachings don’t relate to their daily lives, so they avoid attending church

• Other influences (media, education, peers) play a much bigger role than religion in shaping young people’s values

Diversity & individualism

• Collins-Mayo (2010), a postmodernist, suggests that religion is now seen as a personal choice rather than a social expectation

• Even faith schools focus more on moral messages of the faith, rather than the sacred fundamentals

• This reflects a wider cultural shift in the UK towards individualism becoming dominant over social pressures and traditions

• Young people have access to many alternative belief systems, including science, new forms of spirituality, and non-religious worldviews

• They show a preference for spending free time on hobbies, socialising or online activities rather than attending worship

Islamic youth – the exception

• While most young people are less religious, young Muslims in Britain remain highly committed to their religion

• Samad (2006) suggests this is because:

  • being Muslim is central to identity, more than nationality

  • parents emphasise religion as part of cultural heritage

  • islamophobia strengthens commitment to faith

  • Islam allows connection to global Muslim identity while still integrating into UK society