Grace Davie
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Grace Riestra Claire Davie (born 1946) is a British sociologist who serves as
professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of sociology at the
University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
. She is the author of the book ''Religion in Britain Since 1945: Believing Without Belonging''.


Academic background

Born on 2 September 1946, Davie has an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Exeter, and a PhD from the
London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...
. From 2000 to 2001 she was the Kerstin-Hesselgren Professor at the
University of Uppsala Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...
in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. She was awarded an
Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
in
Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
from the University of Uppsala in 2008. Davie is Past-President of the
Association for the Sociology of Religion The Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR) is an academic association with more than 700 members worldwide. It publishes a journal, '' Sociology of Religion'', and holds meetings at the same venues and times as the American Sociological A ...
(2003) and the
International Sociological Association The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national sociolo ...
RC22 Sociology of Religion Board (2002-2006). Davie is a participating researcher in The Impact of Religion: Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy (IMPACT), a multidisciplinary research programme at Uppsala University, in the research area Religious and Social Change. Davie is a
lay canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...
of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
Diocese in Europe The Diocese in Europe (short form for the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe) is a diocese of the Church of England. It was originally formed in 1842 as the Diocese of Gibraltar. It is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of England and th ...
.


Works

Davie has written several works during her career, including ''Religion in Britain since 1945'' (1994), ''Religion in Modern Europe'' (2000), ''Europe: the Exceptional Case'' (2002), ''The Sociology of Religion'' (2013) and ''Religion in Britain: A Persistent Paradox'' (2015). Davie's research interests lie in the
sociology of religion Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of quantitative methods (surveys, ...
. In her book ''Religion in Britain Since 1945,'' she coined the phrase "believing without belonging" to describe
religiosity In sociology, the concept of religiosity has proven difficult to define. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests: "Religiousness; religious feeling or belief. ..Affected or excessive religiousness". Different scholars have seen this concept as b ...
and
secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
in Britain. This is the argument that although church attendance has decreased, people may still think of themselves as religious on an individual level. With this and other works, Davie entered the international ongoing debate on secularization, after
Rodney Stark Rodney William Stark (July 8, 1934 — July 21, 2022) was an American sociologist of religion who was a longtime professor of sociology and of comparative religion at the University of Washington. At the time of his death he was the Distinguished ...
and other American scholars had observed that quantitative data about the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
did not confirm the theory defended in Europe by
Karel Dobbelaere Karel Dobbelaere (born 16 September 1933) is a Belgian educator and noted sociologist of religion. Dobbelaere is an Emeritus Professor of both the University of Antwerp and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Louvain) in Belgium. He is past-Presiden ...
and Steve Bruce, implying that modernization necessarily causes a decline of religion. European defenders of secularization theories suggested that an "American exceptionalism" explained why a generally valid hypothesis did not apply to the United States, due to some unique circumstances prevailing there. Davie reversed this theory, and suggested the existence of a "European exceptionalism", explaining why classic secularization theories are valid in Europe but cannot be verified in the rest of the world. To explain European exceptionalism, Davie introduced yet another new concept, "vicarious religion", meaning that modern Europeans are happy to "delegate" to a minority of active believers participation in regular church activities, something they approve of but are no longer ready to engage in. This theory was also criticized by those who adhere to classic theories of secularization, who claimed that a generalized sympathy for the religious minority among the non-religious majority cannot be unequivocally demonstrated.BRUCE, Steve and VOAS, David (2010), "Vicarious Religion: An Examination and Critique", ''Journal of Contemporary Religion'', vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 243–259.


Publications

* ''Religion in Britain Since 1945: Believing Without Belonging'' (1994) * ''Religion in Modern Europe: A Memory Mutates'' (2000) * ''Europe-The Exceptional Case: Parameters of Faith in the Modern World Sarum Theological Lectures'' (2002) * ''The Sociology of Religion: A Critical Agenda'' (2013) * ''Religion in Britain: A Persistent Paradox'' (2015)


References


External links


The Impact of Religion: Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy (IMPACT)Publications by Grace Davie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davie, Grace 1946 births Academics of the University of Exeter Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of Exeter Anglican scholars British Anglicans British sociologists Living people Sociologists of religion British women sociologists