The Rise of the "Spiritual but not Religious" in a Secular Age

Overview

This research seminar aims to introduce attendees to recent scholarship on the religious expressions of young people in the West.

Religious Decline or Religious Change?

Evidence from Thirteen Western-European Countries (1981-2008)

Presenter: Paul Tromp

The thesis of religious decline, central to secularisation theory, has become massively contested among social-scientific students of religion. Its critics observe not so much decline, but rather change in the religious landscapes of Western-Europe, in effect pointing out that the decline of Christianity's traditional institutional, doctrinal, and ritual dimensions should not be mistaken for a decline of religion tout court.

In this research seminar, Paul Tromp will first discuss the observations of some of the scholars who have influentially critiqued the thesis of religious decline, i.e. Grace Davie, Paul Heelas, Linda Woodhead, and Colin Campbell. Secondly, by means of analysing data from the European Values Study (1981-2008) for thirteen Western-European countries, he will answer the following two research questions: (1) whether traditional Christian religiosity has indeed declined over time in Western-Europe, and (2) whether the same applies to religiosity more broadly conceived? Furthermore, his findings will provide an answer to the more general question of whether religion has been declining or changing in Western-Europe over the past couple of decades. Finally, he would like to discuss, together with the attendees, what the social and political implications of religious decline and religious change are, particularly for Western-Europe.

The Religion of the Heart: The Spirit of Late Modernity

Presenter: Galen Watts

Drawing from qualitative research conducted in his native Canada, Galen Watts will present his findings on what he calls 'the religion of the heart', what characterises the religious structure shared by his millennial study participants.

It has sometimes been suggested that this kind of religious form was a passing phenomenon associated with the baby-boomer generation and the New Age Movement. However, though this kind of spirituality has changed its character, it is clearly evident in the millennial generation. Watts has found that essentially similar forms of the religion of the heart can be found in very different settings, including an independent neo-pentecostal church, Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and Toastmaster's club.

Watts will introduce the basic characteristics of the religion of the heart and discuss, in broad terms, the social and political implications of its growing popularity in the West. He will give special attention to the consequences it holds for religious tolerance and inclusion in multicultural societies.

The research seminar will be led by:

Paul Tromp (PhD Candidate in Sociology of Religion, Centre for Sociological Research, Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium))

&

Galen Watts (PhD Candidate in the Cultural Studies Program, Queen's University (Canada); Visiting Scholar in the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge)

How to book

Email gkeiw2@cam.ac.uk.