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‘To what extent has secularisation taken place in Britain today'’ Secularisation is a term referred to when describing the process of becoming less religious. However there are disagreements on the actual definition by a variety of sociologist leading to a range of theoretical explanations. The secularization thesis acknowledges that industrialization and scientific knowledge can lead to the destabilization of religion. Functionalist Durkheim (1961) as cited by (Holborn, 2004) once commented that there was ‘something eternal in religion’ however he also argued that religion would become less of a social significance as other institutions such as the education system would take over. Durkheim (1912) as cited by (Holborn, 2004) also suggested that the industrialization and urbanization will make religion a more individual element as society divides. A different view was that of Karl Marx and the Disappearance Thesis who predicted the death of religion as inevitable. Marx suggested that the capitalist society have become materialistic over spiritualistic. Max Weber (n.d) as cited by (Julie Cameron, 2008) believes that that the world is becoming less enthralled in the belief of a supernatural being due to science. Weber suggested that rationalism would lead to desacrilisation meaning to take away the meanings and explanations of the sacred. Weber believed that there was no place for myth and magic in a rational world. Scientific evidence to support rationality can be seen in the Darwinian theory of evolution as it gives a rational explanation to how the world was made, whereas the holy bible states that god made the earth, evidence for this can be found in the book of Genesis as cited by (The Holy Bible: King James) (p. 10). Religion can be defined as a set of beliefs that people take part through practices of worship to a supernatural being, usually a leader of religion will determine a set of norms and values to its members and promote them as the way in which their lives should be lived. Religion is seen as a key function in controlling the behaviours of people in modern societies. Changes in modern society have led sociologist to question if Britain in becoming secularised, however it is important to define what secularisation is. Wilson (1966) as cited by (Holborn, 2004, p. 436) defines secularisation a ‘the process whereby religious thinking, practises and institutions lose social significance’ (Wilson 1966). Wilson shared the views of Durkheim and the differentiation thesis was to argue that religion is declining in social significance and that rationality through science has now answered the religious explanations of the world. Wilson also stated that industrialisation and urbanisation has led to the decline in social events of communities within the church, Wilson argued that religion has now lost most of its reasons for being. However this view is not universally accepted which led Wilson to take a scientific approach this was achieved by measuring church attendances to question the existence of secularisation. Church attendances provide support for the secularisation thesis and in 1980 the Catholic Church attendance was at 2,064,000 members, twenty five years on and this dropped significantly to just 1,048,900 members. Religious pluralism is the name associated with the diverse religious organisations mainly found within multicultural societies. Original churches are declining and the smaller cult and sects are seen to offer better compensations for members when the larger organizations fail to meet the needs of the people. Troeltsch (1912) as cited by (Taissa Csaky, Gemma Hallam,Luke von Kotze,Katherine Reed, 2009) described a sect as the opposite of churches stating that few religious groups fall under this category as sects are usually formed by people who have disestablished themselves from the tradition practices. Berger (1967) as cited by (Holborn, 2004) was to believe that the rationality of the Protestantism is a leading factor in secularisation, Berger also believed that secularisation was a consequence of the wide spread exposure from the mass media that highlighted the assortment of religions in the modernised industrial societies of the western world. The soar of New Religious Movements leads to traditional churches becoming less established within societies and creates times of uncertainty. The newly disestablished NRMs provide a counterbalance to this in times of deprivation and social change, with the emphasis on providing a more adaptable and a less structured form of worship that fits into the demands of modern society. So it seems that religion could just be shifting apposed to secularizing although the statistical evidence for secularization is strong the evidence against secularization comes from the Pentecostal church. Attendance levels at Pentecostal churches has risen by a third, research from Economics and social research council as cited by (Gledhill, 2006) suggested that although Pentecostal Christianity was regarded as a sect it now holds third place for attendance rising above Methodism, however the Methodist belong to one church and Pentecostals gather numerous church groups. David Voas cited by (Gledhill, 2006) suggested that Methodism is dying out in Britain. The Methodist Church figures of attendance in 2005 show 289,400 members however in 2006 that had dropped to 278,700. The rise in Pentecostal Church members could be a result of African immigration as figures show that half of the church members are predominantly black and are evident in diverse multi cultural areas such as London. The statistics for church attendance in new churches has dramatically risen from 75,000 in 1980 to 292,000 by 2005; it could be argued that the popularity of NRMs is apparent because of it pick and mix style and low demands for commitment. Bellah (1976) as cited by (Julie Cameron, 2008) also suggests that religion is not secularizing but diverse religious beliefs are expressed causing individuation. This could support the theory of resacrilisation which suggests that religious beliefs are transferring from one to another. However Johal (1998) as cited by (Holborn, 2004) pointed out that religious pluralism would mean all religious organisations would be regarded as equally valid. This is not the case as the majority of people in Britain today state that they are Christian and the church of England still remains the largest organisation creating further evidence that secularisation in Britain is not occurring. However despite the