Existential Security Theory | Beliefs in Society | AQA A-Level Sociology

welcome to this tutor to you sociology topic video focusing on beliefs in society focusing on existential security theory in an extensive study of religious practices norris and inglehart studied secularization on a global scale by analyzing surveys measuring religious practice and identification over a period of 20 years from 1981 to 2001. they used recognized scales of

religiosity such as the world and european value surveys that measure religious belief they also drew correlations between the levels of religious belief and the economic and social circumstances of nations and like many other sociologists suggested that secularization was a phenomenon associated with post-industrial society with higher levels of affluence and social security whilst agrarian societies were less

likely to have undergone the process of secularization however unlike other theorists norris and engelhart did not suggest that religion would disappear in post-industrial societies they argued that despite falling religious belief in affluent societies religion was still required by those that felt the least economically secure they argued that religion was a form of

existential security those who could afford the comfort and security of consumer society would require religion less while those suffering from deprivation would turn to religion for comfort it met their existential needs for security in western societies with higher levels of individual wealth there were less existential threats than in the developing world for individuals in the west economic and

social security was provided through employment and the state making individuals feel more secure this includes housing education health care and having a longer life expectancy for those in the developing world this was not the case and so they turned to religious practice in these largely agrarian societies the role of the state in providing economic