Secularisation: Definitions and Debates
Secularisation is the decline of religion's social significance: fewer people practice religion, religious institutions lose authority, society becomes organized on non-religious principles. Theories debate whether this is inevitable or contextual.
Real World
In the UK, weekly Anglican church attendance has dropped below 1% of the population, yet 59% of people still identified as Christian in the 2011 census — illustrating how secularisation operates unevenly across practice and self-identity.
Exam Focus
When 'assess' appears, weigh competing evidence for and against the secularisation thesis — examiners reward nuanced counter-examples.
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