Religion and society — practice questions

Step 1: Identify the percentage of Christians in 1983. From the table, the proportion of people identifying as Christian in 1983 was 66%.

Step 2: Identify the percentage of Christians in 2018. From the table, the proportion of people identifying as Christian in 2018 was 38%.

Step 3: Calculate the percentage point decrease. Percentage point decrease = Starting percentage - Ending percentage 66% - 38% = 28 percentage points.

Answer: The proportion of people identifying as Christian in Great Britain decreased by 28 percentage points between 1983 and 2018. Sociologists like Steve Bruce use such statistical evidence to support the secularisation thesis, arguing it demonstrates a clear decline in the social significance of traditional religion.

Durkheim: Religion worships society symbolically — collective conscience, rituals create social solidarity; sacred/profane distinction.

Strengths: Explains social function cross-culturally; fits public ritual role.

Criticisms: Substantive — excludes non-theistic movements; Marxist — ignores oppression function; multifaith societies — which society worshipped?; secular rituals (sport) blur boundaries.

Evaluation: Useful social glue analysis — incomplete as definition of all religion.

Conclusion: Better as theory of function than universal definition.