The next instalment from Dereks notes ..........
'Ch 3: Grace Davie: From obligation to consumption: Understanding the patterns of religion in Northern Europe“... the reduction in church activity in Western Europe forms part of a profound change in the nature of social life; it is not, in contrast, an unequivocal indicator of religious indifference.”
p 35“Vicarious religion” popular in Northern Europe, especially Nordic countries(!) P36 Reflections on the “vicarious” aspects and the way people turned to church during the mourning of Diana and the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham.
P 39“[There is a possible (European) mutation] taking the form of a gradual shiftaway from religion as a form of obligation and towards an increasing emphasis on consumption. In other words, what until moderately recently was imposed (with all the negative connotations of the word), or inherited (a rather more positive spin) becomes instead a matter of personal choice. I go to church (or another religious organisation) because I want to, maybe for a short period or maybe for longer, to fulfill a particular rather than a general need in my life, and where I will continue my attachment as long as it provides what I want, but I have no obligation to attend in the first place or continue if I don’t want to.” '
