A-level Sociaology, Beliefs In Society - Steve Bruce And Societalisation

Once upon a time we all lived in small little rural villages in which everyone knew each other and the local communities were strong. Think back to the way people loved in the 18th Century - it was close-knit and usually with extended family.

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution (1820 - 1840) we had mass industrialization and urbanization which meant that people were forced to trade their time for money (usually doing long laborious, monotonous and dangerous tasks done in factories/mills etc).

Steve Bruce used the term societalisation to explain the decline in the importance of community. Traditionally religion had drawn its strength from these communities. Communal values were expressed and reinforced in religious rituals. Events of significance to the community such as Harvest festivals, births, deaths and marriages were celebrated in the local church. Since modernity, the Church has become more marginalized and thus stripped off of it social functions. This means that these functions are now taken on board by other institutions such as the government, schools etc. This is known as Structural Differentiation.

Bruce thinks the decline of community undermines religion in three ways:

• Without a strong sense of community, churches can no longer serve as a focal point for people
• People will turn to other places for practical or emotional support (New Age beliefs, yoga, therapies, theta healing, counselors)
• People`s beliefs are not as strong as they once were and so there is widespread disillusionment (people idolize profane things such as singers and actors e.g. in India Bollywood starts are treated with idolatrous reverence)

Overall, society has changed in profound ways due to social and economic changes. This has led communities to drift apart and religion to lose value in the face of alternatives.