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Theories of Religion - Coggle Diagram

- - - - The totem is a symbol that represents the collective identity of a group of people.
        . As religion is the foundation of society, when people worship the totem, they worship society.
        ¬ E.g. The totem represents religious doctrine which are then turned into laws for society.
        
        The totem is a representation of the collective conscience
        . Shared beliefs, values and norms that hold a group of people together.
        
        The totem is the source of authority and moral order in society and that serves as means of social control.
        . Religion provides us with a set of values we judge our behaviour against.
        ¬ It also stops social change and leads people to accept the social order.
    - - Sacred - things that are considered special and holy
        . E.g. religious symbols or rituals
        ¬ Helps us to understand what is right and wrong - value consensus.
        ¬ Helps us to understand our place in the world - social order
        
        Profane - normal everyday things
        . E.g. school or work
        ¬ Helps us understand norms and values
        
        Separating them helps us understand the world
  - - - The universe is unforgiving and indifferent - this can lead to suffering.
        . When people suffer, their commitment to society collapses
        ¬ Beliefs give unexplainable events meaning providing psychological support.
    - - Rites of passage
        . Ceremonies help people deal with significant events
        
        Psychological functions ensure social stability
  - - - Civil religion is in decline
        . People now rank personal gratification is more important than obligation to others
        
        Cynicism about established social institutions
        . The American Dream does not have the same uniting power that it once did.
        ¬ Trump - The American Dream is dead
- - - - Davie
        
        Christianity in particular promotes the belief that males are superior and dominant.
        . E.g. Jesus's disciples are all males so all priests must be male too.
        
        Women are secondary to males within Christian theology
        . Eve is made from Adam's spare rib
        . Women are responsible for mans downfall
    - - Bird
        
        Males fear female sexuality which is expressed through religious teaching
        . Promotion of chastity
        . Virgin births
        . Apocalypse 17:1-6 - The Whore of Babylon
        
        Males fear women;s ability to reproduce and condemn then as a polluting force in order to keep males and females separate.
        Holm (2001)
        
        Many religious exclude women from equal participation
        . Menstruating women are excluded from some Indian Mosques
        
        Religion's justified restrictive divorce laws which gave fewer women rights
        
        Religions attempt to regulate women's domestic and reproductive role.
        . Poland/ Malta abortion bans
    - - Armstrong
        
        Early religion were based on polytheism any many Goddesses were revered equally with male Gods.
        . Males created monotheism to remove female Gods
        . Women were marginalised out of positions of power and religions became increasingly patriarchal and sexist.
    - - Simone de Beauvoir
        
        Religion justifies women's secondary status in society
        . Many religions make a 'sanctity out of suffering'
        . Suffering is seen as holy
  - - - Holm and Bowker
        
        Not all religions are patriarchal
        . Some promote values based on gender and equality and some challenge the social order.
        
        Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Women's Bible (1895)
        
        Quaker movement actively promoted ministry of women and right to choose
        
        Female Rabbi's accepted in some areas of Judaism
        
        Female Islamic scholars
    - - Abdullah
        
        Criticises some feminists as ethnocentric
        . Evaluates other cultures based on Western experiences
        
        Some feminists have misunderstood freedoms in religious practice
        . Freedom to choose how to dress - Hijab or Burka
        
        Pronouns for God do not directly translate into English pronouns
        . In Arabic, pronouns do not carry biological connotations as they do in English
        . God has no human likeness so cannot be considered male or female.
    - - Bell Hooks
        
        Religious traditions can be a source of resistance to patriarchal structures and oppression.
        
        Black feminist thought provides a framework framework for interpreting religion in a way that is empowering for black women.
- - - - Caste System in India
        
        16th century Christianity legitimised the position of the monarch
        . Divide Right of Kings
        ¬ The monarch is God's representation in earth
        ¬ To break the monarch's law is to break God's law