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Key concepts of Beliefs in society - Coggle Diagram
Key concepts of Beliefs in society
Types of Religion
Theistic beliefs
= a belief in a higher power that could be a single God (monotheistic) or many gods (polytheistic). This supernatural being is the source of the beliefs around which the religion revolves.
New Age Movements
= spiritual rather than religious belief system, focused on self development and fulfillment rather than a devotion to a higher power. Often based on Eastern Religions like Buddhism. An example would be Yoga.
Animism
= a belief in spirits and ghosts that can positively or negatively impact the human or natural world. Animistic religions tend to be more prevalent in pre-industrial and non-industrial societies, for example paganism and ancient religions such as Aztecs.
Totemism
= a form of animism in which a community creates a symbol that represents them as a group. The symbol gains sacred significance and is believed to protect the people it represents. For example, Australian Aboriginals.
5 Features of Religion
1)
belief in sacred beings
2)
scared and profane objects; places and times
3)
ritual acts based on sacred and profane objects, places and times
4)
moral code with supernatural origins
5)
prayer and other forms of communication with supernatural being
Definitions of Religion
Substantive Definition
= aim to identify the core characteristics shared by major religions. They are exclusive in nature because belief systems can only be classed as a religion if they have these particular features. For example, one characteristic is the belief in a god.
Evaluation
= ethnocentric as it focuses on western religions. Doesn't have room for belief systems which perform similar functions as religion but do not have a supernatural god.
Weber (1905)
defines religion as belief in a superior or supernatural power that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically
Functional Definition
= Looks at what a religion does for the society in which exists. It may bring comfort to its believers or reinforce societal values and inequalities.
Evaluation
= Too inclusive as any belief system could be considered a religion it performs similar functions. For example, supporting a football team may perform these functions but doesn't make it a religion
Durkheim (1915)
defines religion in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration rather than any specific belief in God or the supernatural
Constructionist Definition
= mainly interested in how definitions of religion are constructed, challenged and fought over. Interpretivists believe therefore that the definition of religion depends on who has the power. Aldridge for example shows how the followers of scientology see it as a religion despite many others disagreeing
Evaluation
= impossible to generalise about the nature of religion as people may have widely differing views of what counts as religion
Aldridge (2013)
shows how, for its followers, scientology is a religion, whereas several governments have denied it legal status as religion and sought to ban it. This shows definitions of religion can be contested and are influenced by who has power to define the situation
Definitions
Ideology
= means a set of ideas, values and beliefs that provide a means of interpreting the world
Secularisation
= means the decrease in power that religion has in society
Fundamentalism
= appeal for tradition - they seek return to the basics or fundamentals of their faith
Religiosity
= refers to the extent to which someone sees themselves as religious