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The Meaning of SundayThe Practice of Belief in a Secular Age |
eBook Available
Explaining varying levels of religiosity and church attendance in Canada.
Fewer Canadians identify with a religion, believe in a god, or attend weekly religious services than in past decades. What explains higher and lower levels of religiosity? Is secularization a myth or reality? What impact does religiosity or secularity have on a society’s social and civil fabric?
In The Meaning of Sunday, Joel Thiessen addresses these questions by weaving together narratives from interviews with members of both religious and secular communities. Exploring the meanings and motivations behind people’s religious beliefs and behaviours, the book features discussions with three groups of people: those who attend religious services weekly, those who attend services mainly for religious holidays and rites of passage, and those who do not identify with any religious group and never attend religious services. Interview responses show that religiosity levels correlate to one’s personal experiences with the supernatural, religious organizations, and social ties with those who either encourage or discourage religious identification, belief, or practice. Concluding that the demand for religion is waning regardless of what religious groups include in their programs, Thiessen suggests that, apart from some initial social and civic concern, Canadian society may be just fine without it.
Testing two dominant theories in the sociology of religion - secularization and rational choice theory - The Meaning of Sunday provides in-depth qualitative research on people's "lived religion" and contributes to a major ongoing debate concerning the nature and importance of religion in contemporary society.
In The Meaning of Sunday, Joel Thiessen addresses these questions by weaving together narratives from interviews with members of both religious and secular communities. Exploring the meanings and motivations behind people’s religious beliefs and behaviours, the book features discussions with three groups of people: those who attend religious services weekly, those who attend services mainly for religious holidays and rites of passage, and those who do not identify with any religious group and never attend religious services. Interview responses show that religiosity levels correlate to one’s personal experiences with the supernatural, religious organizations, and social ties with those who either encourage or discourage religious identification, belief, or practice. Concluding that the demand for religion is waning regardless of what religious groups include in their programs, Thiessen suggests that, apart from some initial social and civic concern, Canadian society may be just fine without it.
Testing two dominant theories in the sociology of religion - secularization and rational choice theory - The Meaning of Sunday provides in-depth qualitative research on people's "lived religion" and contributes to a major ongoing debate concerning the nature and importance of religion in contemporary society.
Details
240 Pages, 6 x 9
ISBN 9780773546271
October 2015
Formats: Paperback, eBook
“An engaging book, The Meaning of Sunday pulls together evidence from significant literature on secularization and rational choice theory. Thiessen’s arguments are persuasive and on point.” Paul Bowlby, Saint Mary’s University
“There is a striking theoretical thread running through these accounts: religious commitments are created and sustained by strong communal ties and lost in their absence. Life transitions break ties and habits, for instance, accounting for a primary point of religious departure…. The secularization Thiessen describes so well is not so much a matter of individuals choosing or not choosing to believe but a matter of communities that make not believing and not participating as plausible as the alternative. For these good empirical explorations, then, this is a valuable contribution to the literature.” American Journal of Sociology
“A needed and important contribution to our understanding of Christian religiosity in Canada. The book draws from a broad knowledge of sociological theory and research on Canadian religion. The responses of active and marginal affiliates and religious nones are handled evenly and fairly. It provides rich, qualitative data on the religious views of Canadians, something that is sorely needed. The book is highly recommended for scholars and practitioners of religion in Canada and beyond.” Sociology of Religion
“This study offers rich qualitative data, especially on the growing phenomenon of 'religious nones.' A quarter of Canadians now identify as religious nones, including one third of teens, and this book offers some fresh insights into their views. The study also demonstrates that active affiliates have distinctively different worldviews from both the marginal affiliates and the religious nones, suggesting Canadians are dividing into camps of those with a thoroughly religious identity and those for whom religion and offence are synonymous.” The Journal of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity
“There is a striking theoretical thread running through these accounts: religious commitments are created and sustained by strong communal ties and lost in their absence. Life transitions break ties and habits, for instance, accounting for a primary point of religious departure…. The secularization Thiessen describes so well is not so much a matter of individuals choosing or not choosing to believe but a matter of communities that make not believing and not participating as plausible as the alternative. For these good empirical explorations, then, this is a valuable contribution to the literature.” American Journal of Sociology
“A needed and important contribution to our understanding of Christian religiosity in Canada. The book draws from a broad knowledge of sociological theory and research on Canadian religion. The responses of active and marginal affiliates and religious nones are handled evenly and fairly. It provides rich, qualitative data on the religious views of Canadians, something that is sorely needed. The book is highly recommended for scholars and practitioners of religion in Canada and beyond.” Sociology of Religion
“This study offers rich qualitative data, especially on the growing phenomenon of 'religious nones.' A quarter of Canadians now identify as religious nones, including one third of teens, and this book offers some fresh insights into their views. The study also demonstrates that active affiliates have distinctively different worldviews from both the marginal affiliates and the religious nones, suggesting Canadians are dividing into camps of those with a thoroughly religious identity and those for whom religion and offence are synonymous.” The Journal of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity
Joel Thiessen is associate professor of sociology at Ambrose University.
Acknowledgments vii
1 In the Beginning 3
2 Active Affiliates: Religion Informed by God, Others, and Self 33
3 Marginal Affiliates: Cherry-Picking Religious Beliefs and Practices 65
4 Religious Nones: Freedom from Religion 94
5 Dwindling Demand: Stop Blaming Churches 126
6 Canada’s Seat at the Secularization Table 160
Appendices
A Interview Schedule 193
B Interviewee Demographics 200
Bibliography 201
Index 223
1 In the Beginning 3
2 Active Affiliates: Religion Informed by God, Others, and Self 33
3 Marginal Affiliates: Cherry-Picking Religious Beliefs and Practices 65
4 Religious Nones: Freedom from Religion 94
5 Dwindling Demand: Stop Blaming Churches 126
6 Canada’s Seat at the Secularization Table 160
Appendices
A Interview Schedule 193
B Interviewee Demographics 200
Bibliography 201
Index 223
