Modern Britain Is Now a Seular Society. to What Extent Do Socological Arguments and Views Support This?

Modern Britain is now a secular society. To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? (33 marks)

There is debate over whether Modern Britain is a secular society. Some say that it has disappeared altogether and that modernity has brought about the death of religion, however there is also the differentiation thesis that suggests that religion is just losing its social significance. On the other hand, some sociologists argue that religion is still very prominent and publicised with evidence in the media and fundamentalism. One main problem in defining secularisation us that the definition of religion can differ depending on what you regard as religious. Exclusive definitions of religion provide more evidence of secularisation as there has been a vast decline in belief in the supernatural, however inclusive definitions provide less evidence as they include New Religious Movements which have been increasing in popularity, as religious. Wilson states that secularisation can be defined by three key areas: beliefs, practises and religious organisations.

There is evidence to suggest that Britain is now a secular society, Weber argues that the religious worldview has been replaced with science and rational thought. Which suggests that we now rely on science for answers rather than religion, meaning Britain is now leaning towards being a secular society. Furthermore, there is also evidence that since the 19th century, the churches have much less influence on public life, this is because the state has now taken over many functions that the church used to perform including the welfare state and education. This is seen as structural differentiation which leads to the disengagement of religion. Religion has become separated from wider society and lost many of these former functions. This suggests that religion is now been relegated to the private sphere with the individual and the family. This can be seen with Davie’s idea of believing not...