To what extent is religion in retreat within the modern world. 
To what extent is religion in retreat within the modern world? (15 marks)
The view that religion is in retreat within the modern world is considered a controversial statement as currently there is no proper way of measuring the decline in religion, as some areas are more religious than others. The fact that only 16% of people interviewed in 2005 identified as non-religious compared to over 50% of people interviewed who identified as only Christianity and Islam supports this view. It is well known that religion has been around for a very long period of time, so the question is, why would it be in retreat within the modern world now? Religion in my opinion, may have its bad sides to it, however, without religion, commonly shared values and morals such as the golden rule would not provide guidelines on how to live harmoniously.
As a whole, religion may be decreasing in some aspects but not in others. As the world develops, people may not necessarily have time to plan their days around their faith, however what’s not to say that they’re practicing their faith from home. The idea of ‘invisible religion’ which was researched by Luckman states that people do not have to be members of a religious organisation, to be religious. As well as believing in a faith a whole, this view also does not take into consideration the strength of an individual’s private beliefs – Research done by Hamilton in 1998 revealed that only 10% of the population within Britain did not believe in God, compared to the52% that did. It is because of these reasons that some people may argue that religion is not in retreat within the modern world.
On the other hand, it could be argued that religion is in retreat within the modern world just as much as it may not be. There has been a dramatic fall in people identifying as being religious in a short space of time, this may be down to various problems within the world or religion. The presence of religious conflict within the world is very much alive today
The view that religion is in retreat within the modern world is considered a controversial statement as currently there is no proper way of measuring the decline in religion, as some areas are more religious than others. The fact that only 16% of people interviewed in 2005 identified as non-religious compared to over 50% of people interviewed who identified as only Christianity and Islam supports this view. It is well known that religion has been around for a very long period of time, so the question is, why would it be in retreat within the modern world now? Religion in my opinion, may have its bad sides to it, however, without religion, commonly shared values and morals such as the golden rule would not provide guidelines on how to live harmoniously.
As a whole, religion may be decreasing in some aspects but not in others. As the world develops, people may not necessarily have time to plan their days around their faith, however what’s not to say that they’re practicing their faith from home. The idea of ‘invisible religion’ which was researched by Luckman states that people do not have to be members of a religious organisation, to be religious. As well as believing in a faith a whole, this view also does not take into consideration the strength of an individual’s private beliefs – Research done by Hamilton in 1998 revealed that only 10% of the population within Britain did not believe in God, compared to the52% that did. It is because of these reasons that some people may argue that religion is not in retreat within the modern world.
On the other hand, it could be argued that religion is in retreat within the modern world just as much as it may not be. There has been a dramatic fall in people identifying as being religious in a short space of time, this may be down to various problems within the world or religion. The presence of religious conflict within the world is very much alive today