The Rise of “No Religion”: Towards an Explanation

Woodhead, Linda

doi:10.1093/socrel/srx031

Cited by 59 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In addition to lived religion, another significant thread in the recent academic discussions on religion has been the question of nonreligion. Recently, sociologists of religion have started to pay close attention to the fact that in many parts of North America and Europe, a growing population of people are identifying themselves as "nons" (Woodhead 2017;Beaman and Tomlins 2015). Empirically, the growth of nonreligion is evident in many survey results, which show that people are increasingly reporting that they follow no religion, as opposed to affiliating with any particular religious organization of tradition.…”

Section: Reaching Outside the Belief Boxmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Empirically, the growth of nonreligion is evident in many survey results, which show that people are increasingly reporting that they follow no religion, as opposed to affiliating with any particular religious organization of tradition. According to Woodhead (2017), nonreligion is the new normal; a noteworthy option in expressing a (non)religious identity in many European and North American societies.…”

Section: Reaching Outside the Belief Boxmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living and Dealing with Food in an Affluent Society—A Case for the Study of Lived (Non)Religion

Salonen

2018

Religions

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Significant changes have been taking place in the field of the sociology of religion in the last few decades, which challenge researchers to rethink this scholarly field. This article suggests that a great deal could be learned about the current dilemmas within this field through research that explores the moral underpinnings of everyday food consumption within contemporary society that is characterized by abundance. More specifically, the article proposes that everyday food consumption and everyday ethics provide unique opportunities to transcend and surpass crucial distinctions within social sciences in a way that can feed the sociological imagination in relation to research on lived (non)religion. Drawing on examples from research on food consumption in the nonreligious context and at the individual, discursive and institutional levels, this study shows how the everyday ethics of food consumption can serve as a point of departure for sociological research, which could help researchers to understand the currents of lived religion and nonreligion in a way that evades the idea of religion as a certain set of practices or beliefs, or as a specific religious affiliation. This research would enable the study of issues such as practices, beliefs, meanings and belonging, as well as distancing, withdrawal, and indifference.

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Section: Reaching Outside the Belief Boxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Reaching Outside the Belief Boxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living and Dealing with Food in an Affluent Society—A Case for the Study of Lived (Non)Religion

Salonen

2018

Religions

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“…Furthermore, this article participates in emerging discussions concerning lived nonreligion (Salonen 2018;Beaman 2017). Currently in many countries-particularly in the so-called Western world-a growing number of people express no religious affiliation rather than identifying with a particular religious community or practicing religion actively (e.g., Woodhead 2017;Beaman and Tomlins 2015;Lee 2014). Despite the growing interest in research on nonreligion, the way nonreligious identities are lived in the context of everyday life is still understudied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dominion, Stewardship and Reconciliation in the Accounts of Ordinary People Eating Animals

Salonen

2019

Religions

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Despite the growing popularity of vegetarian foods and diets, the vast majority of people in North America and other parts of the affluent world still eat meat. This article explores what ordinary people think about eating animals and how they navigate the ethical questions inherent in that praxis. Drawing from interviews with 24 people living in Ottawa, Canada, the study shows how the concepts of dominion, stewardship and reconciliation manifest in the everyday lives of ordinary people as models for human relations with nonhuman others and the environment. These ideas resonate in the lives of ordinary people, both religious and nonreligious, and entwine as people try to make sense of how to live with the fact that their everyday food consumption causes suffering and harm. This study shows that in the context of everyday life, dominion, stewardship and reconciliation are not alternative views, but connected to each other, and serve different purposes. The study highlights a need for analyses that constitute practical ways to renew the broken relationships within creation and which incorporate nonreligious people into the scope of analyses that focus on the relationships between humans and nonhuman creation.

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“…That is, it offers a possible interpretation of secularity in terms of non-religiousness that complements and complicates understandings of secularity based on references to being religious. Academic interest and research on non-religiousness, or "nones," in Western countries have grown over the past decade (e.g., Woodhead 2016Woodhead , 2017Baker and Smith 2015). Scholars of Japanese religions may feel tempted to compare Western nones with the famous discourses on Japanese 'non-religiousness' (mushūkyō 無宗教), which have been prevalent in post-World War II Japan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practicing Belonging?

Fujiwara

2019

J. Relig. Japan

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This article suggests a way for scholars of Japanese religion to contribute to the international discussion on “nones” or the “non-religious,” who have been characterized as “believing without belonging,” “belonging without believing,” “believing in belonging,” etc. by integrating three different discursive arenas: one on multiple secularities as a context-conscious reexamination of functional differentiation; one on Japanese modernization centered on the idea of ie (household)-mura (village community); and one on a recent Japanese obsession with tsunagari (relationships, connection) and shōnin (recognition). The article argues that Japanese non-religiousness in the 2010s is an updated, self-conscious version of “religion as human relationships,” which can be paraphrased as “practicing belonging.” Moreover, while the current “religion as human relationships” practiced among young people tends to be confined to the intimate sphere, its traditional version regulated the public sphere as well. It was this public sphere of “religion as human relationships” that came to appear secular, as opposed to World Religions as matters of personal choice, in the process of modernization, which included the adoption of the Western concepts of “religion” and “secular.” The article also suggests that a “relationships turn” has been taking place not only in nonreligious rituals and festivals but also in spiritual culture and institutionalized religion.

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The Rise of “No Religion”: Towards an Explanation

Cited by 59 publications

References 2 publications

Living and Dealing with Food in an Affluent Society—A Case for the Study of Lived (Non)Religion

Living and Dealing with Food in an Affluent Society—A Case for the Study of Lived (Non)Religion

Dominion, Stewardship and Reconciliation in the Accounts of Ordinary People Eating Animals

Practicing Belonging?

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