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Beliefs in Society - theoretical approaches - flashcards done - Coggle…
Beliefs in Society - theoretical approaches - flashcards done
functionalists x
General x
Society is like an
organism
with basic needs that it must meet to survive
society's most basic need is for
social order and solidarity
social order is made possible be a
'value consensus'
society is a system of
interrelated functional parts
each institution within society performs certain functions.
Religion is an institution that has many functions.
Functions of religion:
emotional support
- e.g. funerals
creates
social harmony
provides
security
- heaven
brings people
together
provides
guides
for how we act
Durkheim x
argues that religious institutions play a crucial part in creating and maintaining
value consensus, social order and solidarity.
- people are
repeatedly re-affirming
their support for the shared values and beliefs.
"A religion is a unified set of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to day things set apart and forbidden - beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church"
religious institutions play a central part in creating and maintaining the value of
consensus, order and solidarity
of society -
social cement
not interested in the belief in gods or spirits, but in a fundamental distinction between the
sacred and profane x
sacred
things set apart that inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder
to worship the sacred is to
worship society
itself because society is the only thing powerful enough to evoke such feelings.
religion is not merely a set of beliefs but definite practices or ritual in relation to the
sacred
. These rituals are
collective
.
despite
sacred
items varying from religion to religion,
they all perform the essential function
of uniting believers into a
single moral community.
represent the societies shared
norms, values, beliefs and knowledge
that make
social life and integration possible
. Without these, society would
disintegrate
when these values are made
'sacred'
, we are more likely to abide by them.
profane
things of no special significance,
ordinary or mundane
solidarity x
ceremonies take people
away from the profane
part of their life into the
world of the sacred
- where they can feel in touch with higher forces.
argues that 'higher forces' are mistakenly attributed to
totems or gods,
when actually they are really the
influence of the collective over the individual.
totemism x
studied the
Arunta clan
in Australia and noted that they all worshipped a totem (spiritual symbol, such as an animal - r
epresented society's 'collective consciousness'
).
totems are created by the society, so is
sacred because it is a symbol of the society.
the Totem rituals gave each member of the clan a
sense of belonging and awe.
believed that this feeling of belonging and awe reflected the
power of the group
which each member is
utterly dependent
on. Therefore, they are
worshipping their society.
totem - is a
symbol of the clan
and of the
divine spirit
that watched over them
Tribe worshipping the
spirit
=
tribe worshipping the clan and their
society.
Cognitive functions of religion x
in order to
think
at all we need
categories
such as time, cause, number, etc, and in order to
share our thoughts
, we need to use the
same categories as others.
religion is the
origin of concepts and categories
we need for reasoning, understanding the world and communication.
religion
provides us with categories
such as time, space and causation.
religion is the
origin of human thought, reason and science
Evaluation x
Worsley (1956) x
criticised his study of the Arunta from an anthropological and theological perspective, suggesting that he
misunderstands certain aspects of the religion
, particularly the idea of the
separation
between the sacred and profane and the
significance
of totems.
argues that there isn't a sharp distinction between the
sacred and profane
may only apply to small scale societies with a single religion, or large worldly religions who have a belief in supernatural/god
harder to apply to situations where 2 or more religious communities may be in conflict. Explains
social integration within communities, but not the conflicts between them
Mestrovic - postmodernist x
cannot be applied to contemporary society, because increasing diversity has
fragmented the collective conscience
, so there is no longer a single shared value system for religion to reinforce
only studies small number of aboriginal groups
most agree with the promotion of social solidarity, but
disagree that it is worship of society
definition of religion doesn't incorporate all religions
Malinowski - psychological functions x
Agrees with Durkheim that solidarity if promoted through religion
-
however
religion promotes solidarity by performing psychological functions, helping people to
cope with emotional distress
. If un-dealt with, this distress would break down the social solidarity
this psychological function is performed at key points in life:
where the outcome is
uncertain and uncontrollable but important
to the society (e.g. lagoon fishing vs ocean fishing) -
explanation for events
at a time of life crisis (e.g. births, deaths, marriage) - all situations which may cause
disruptive changes in social groups.
Parsons x
agreed with Malinowski but also suggested that religion: x
creates and legitimates central values
religion underpins core values of any culture, and the social norms which regulate people's behaviour.
the set of moral belied and values in religion may become so
deeply ingrained through socialisation
that it may have an affect on the
everyday behaviour of believers and on-believers alike.
is the primary source of meaning
it provides a source of meaning
answering 'ultimate' questions
about life.
E.g. what happens after death - afterlife in heaven
evaluation x
many sociologists argue that western societies are becoming more
secular
and as such it is
unlikely
that religion still acts as an
agent of social control
as it may well have done in the past.
people are
more likely
to be dissuaded from committing deviant acts by either the
media or the heavy use of surveillance
technology in many owns and cities.
Bellah
civil religion
is a belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself.
E.g. Americanism is the American Way of Life
enables social solidarity in multi-faith societies -
integrates society in a way that individual religions cannot
in some
modern secular states
, people
worshipped society
in a clear way, still based around symbols, but without the
supernatural, divine element of traditional religions.
does not fit everyone's
definition of religion
- god isn't always a requirement for a religion as long as the
beliefs perform the same functions
argues that it
performs the same functions that Durkheim
identified and promotes social cohesion, order, stability and prevents radical change, again acting as a
conservative force
Evaluation
Beckford
"it is doubtful that these occasions can compensate for the UK's
deep social division and high rate of religious diversity
and indifference. If the UK has a civil religion it is at best
occasional,
and at worst
weak
."
occasions when the UK is drawn together by rituals and events
is civil religion really a religion? It's not based on
belief in the supernatural
many religious groups
do not follow patriotism
- e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses,
Pulling theories together
Durkheim, Malinowski and Parsons
argue that religion reinforce social solidarity and can
restrict deviance
through the presence of existing
sacred social and moral values.
religion therefore
stabilising and regulates
both individuals and society
Functionalism evaluation x
neglects the negative aspects of religions, such as a source of oppression of the poor or women
ignores religion as a source of division and conflict, especially in complex modern societies where there is more than one religion.
is civil religions a real religion - not based on the belief of a supernatural.
Marxists
religion can actually be dysfunctional for society - Northern IReland
it is argued that western societies are becoming more secular, with declining church attendance and collective worship. This suggests that religion is no longer influential enough to reinforce the collective conscience.
Marxists x
overview x
in all non-communist societies, the R/C owns the
means of production
and from their wealth drive power,m which allows them to control the
superstructure
of society
superstructure
- the non-economic parts of society
religion is used to promote the interests of the R/C by being used to support
ruling class ideology
this keeps the R/C in power by
discouraging
the W/C from realising they are being
exploited
and then trying to
overthrow
R/C power.
Marx x
religion =
institution maintaining capitalist rule
instrument of
domination and oppression
keeps the subject class in place
Religion is the
'opium of the masses'
x
sees religion as being like a drug that
distorts reality
and helps
individuals deal with pain
1) Eventual
escape
- promise of eternal bliss in 'life after death'
acts as
consolation for them working in dehumanising conditions,
as they will eventually escape suffering and oppression in this life.
2) religion offers hope if
supernatural intervention
to solve problems on earth
E.g.
Jehovah's witnesses
- believe god will destroy the wicked on earth after the battle of Armageddon and a new paradise will be formed ruled by a heavenly government.
this encourages people to
accept their position in society
and not act to change it -
"a change will come"
3) religion provides
justification and explanation of inequality
god creates and ordains social structure
social arrangements appear inevitable
E.g. Indian Caste system
- struct rules on how people should behave for over 1000 year. People obey this as they believe in reincarantion and will be born at a 'higher level' in the system
Evaluation x
like any drug, religion can only act like opium, performing a hallucination and pain-relieving role,
if people actually take it.
religion can only perform the role Marxists suggest,
if both people believe and if the religion has some institutional power
- not true for most of Britain and most contemporary Western capitalist societies.
religion and communism x
on the advent of communism, religion would no longer be necessary
- the
means of production would be shared communally
, removing the class system from society. Therefore, religion would have
nothing to maintain, and disappear
.
Evaluation x
However, communists' countries such as
Cuba
now
accept that religion will coexist with communism
and they will no longer attempt to suppress it.
Lenin x
religion is a
'spiritual gin'
an intoxicant doled out to the masses by the R/C to keep them in their place
R/C use religion as a
'mystical fog' that obscures reality
and prevents them from
overthrowing
those in power -
false class consciousness
Religion as ideology x
a belief system that distorts reality in ways that serve the R/C
Lenin
- spiritual gin which the R/C use to manipulate the W/C
Legitimacy of power
- R/C's position is divinely ordained
Evaluation x
Abercrombie, Hill and Turner
- in pre-capitalist societies, while Christianity was a major element of R/C ideology, it did not haev much of an effect on the peasantry
Religion as alienation x
workers are alienated because they are exploited by the R/C
Marx x
- we work for the capitalists not ourselves:
we don't own what we produce
we have little control over our work
we are exploited / oppressed by Capitalist R/C
as we give up power to religion, we give up out true humanity by denying our free will to make decisions.
"It is the opium of the people" - sooths pain of exploitation and creates a distorted reality
Religion offers compensation for exploitation through the illusion of a future happiness (heaven)
alienation exists in
all class societies but is extreme under capitalism.
lack of control over produce dehumanises them, so they turn to religion as a form of consolation for their exploitation
Evaluation x
Althusser
- alienation is unscientific and based on a romantic idea that human beings have a 'true self' - inadequate basis for a theory on religion
Evaluation x
Many traditional Marxists ignore the fact that religion can
act as a form of resistance to the powerful
, and as an agent of social change, and not simply as a conservation force.
Engles x
argues that religion
stated off amongst the oppressed groups
in society as a way of coping with their oppression
believes that religion could be
used a a force of change
by
uniting the oppressed groups
and giving them common set of beliefs.
recognises that religion didn't always act as a conservative force supporting the interest of the R/C
Neo-Marxists Maduro x
in
South America in the 1960s, and 1970s
, roman catholic priests started to follow a doctrine
mixing Communism and Catholicism called Liberation Theology.
this played a major role in the fighting against
political dictatorships and poverty
Liberation theology
sought to present an image of Christ portrayed more as a reforming revolutionary rather than the passive peacemaker presented in mainstream Catholicism. this sows how religion can act as what
Gramsci (Neo-Marxist)
calls a
'counter-hegemony in showing oppressed people alternative ways of organising societies.
Neo Marxists x
disagree that religion is simply a part of the dominant ideology and always serves the interests of the R/C. Religion has some
relative autonomy,
or some independence from the interests of the R/C
Narrow focus of Marxism x
by concentrating on just one possible tole of religion in society, it ignores the much broader range of effects religion might have -
inclusing the positive ones identified by functionalists
Feminists criticism x
religion acts to preserve male,
patriarchal power, not R/C power.
Marxists ignore gender inequality
women were only made priests in the CoE in 1994, and the first female bishop was in 2015
Secularisation x
religion can only be effective if people believe it has institutional power
- in the UK, while the CoE still has institutional power, it is less respected politically due to the declining attendance
(between 2019-21, average attendance was down 29%)
Communist countries x
communist countries such as
Cuba
have acknowledged that religion is
so ingrained in society
that it can
coexist with communism
Greeley x
in
1991, 47% of Russians
believed in God, despite religion being banned in the commmunist country
Hoskins x
"the soviet union is already much more 'religious' country than Britain or most of Western Europe"
Feminists x
overview
assumptions - society is patriarchal
- organised for the benefit og makes at the expense of females.
religion supports male domination through:
beliefs, values, norms, controlling women (gender roles)
examples of the patriarchy in religion x
religious organisations
mainly male dominated.
Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests
Armstrong x
- exclusion from priesthood is evidence of women's marginalisation
places of worship
segregate sexes and marginalised women. E.g.
sitting behind screens. Taboos that regard menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth as pollution. Islam = menstruating women are not allowed to touch the Qur'an
holm x
- the taboos around menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth are a devaluation of women in religion
Sacred texts
feature male gods
, prophets and are usually written and interpreted by males. Stories reflect anti-female stereotypes such as Eve.
Religious laws and customs
give women fewer rights than men
(E.g. access to divorce, how many spouses they may marry, dress code). Catholic church bans abortion and artificial contraception. Exclusion from women from Catholic priesthood.
aldridge x
the veiling of women in some Islamic cultures has been interpreted as powerful symbols of patriarchy, keeping women invisible and anonymous.
religion hasn't always been patriarchal x
armstrong x
early religions often place women at the centre.
E.g. earth mother goddesses, fertility cults and female priesthoods were found throughout the
Middle East until about 6,000 years ago.
however, the oppression of women started about 4,000 years ago with the
rise of monotheistic religions,
as they saw the establishment of a
single, all-powerful male God
E.g. - Hebrews' Jehovah, and male prophets such as Abraham Ibrahim, the first prophet of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Woodhead x
highlights evidence of oppression in the Catholic church. However, there are
'religious forms of feminism'
some Muslim women choose to wear the hijab to
escape the confines of home and enter education and employment.
She argues that may Muslim women choose to wear a veil and see it as a
positive and liberating choice - allows them to enter society in very restrictive patriarchal Middle-Eastern societies
the hijab is a symbol of liberation that enables them to enter the public sphere without losing their culture and history
In western countries, some women have chosen to wear veils in order to
escape the male gaze
Evaluation
Nawal El Sadaawi
- described the veil as
"a tool to oppress women"
Watson x
the veiling of Islamic women can be interpreted as beneficial to Muslim women. It is often a
reaction against the increasingly passive Western culture
, as it allows women to assert
independence, a separate identity and a rejection
of Western cultural imperialism.
evaluation x
only based on research involving
only 3 Muslim women
. She appears to have made n
o attempt to find Muslim women who felt they were forced into wearing the veil
against their will by men in a patriarchal society.
El Saddawi x
argues oppression of women
isn't directly caused by religion
religion became patriarchal through men
reinterpreting scripture to benefit themselves.
example
female circumcision practiced in variety of countries, not all Islamic - cultural factors come into play.
wright
Liberal Judaism: women are able to become Rabbis since 1972
Badawi - positive aspects of Islam
women keep their own surname
choice over which interpretation of Islam their choose
Critique of female-dominated religions x
De Beauvoir x
religion becoming more female-dominated, especially in Western societies, because women are the
intended audience of the ideological messages being promoted
- women should cook, clean, have babies and tolerate inequity and oppression in exchange for rewards in the after life.
Gilliat-Ray
some young British Muslim women choose to wear the hijab in order to gain parental approval to enter further education and especially employment -
the hijab was a symbol of liberation so that they could enter the public sphere.
Evaluation x
watson
practices that may appear to be oppressive can have many meanings
ethnocentric
= need to be careful when interpreting religious practices from different cultures.
Aldridge
not all religions are oppressive to women
E.g - Quakers and Unitarians
are committed to gender equality
What is religion x
thoughts on religion x
Jonathon Swift 1711 x
"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another"
Karl Marx 1843 x
"Religion is the opium of the people"
Thomas Russell Ybarra 1880
"A Christian is a man who feels repentance on a Sunday for what he did on Saturday, and is going to do on Monday"
Francis Thompson 1913 x
"So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, While just the art of being kind IS all the sad world needs."
Arthur Koestler 1967
"God seems to have left the receiver off the hook ... and time is running out"
Daniel Defoe 1701
"Wherever God erects a house of prayer, The devil always builds a chapel there; And t'will be found on examination, The latter has the largest congregation."
Definition x
Religion can be difficult to define but any definition is usually based on a
belief in the existence of a supernatural entity or other forces
. Religions may or may not claim the existence of a supreme God or several gods.
different types of religion x
Monotheistic
belief that there is only one God - Christianity
Polytheistic
belief or worship or more than one God - Hinduism
Spiritual
religion without a belief in god - Buddhism (no god that exists but rather a set of values to adhere to)
Sect
small religious or spiritual groups - Heaven's Gate
Animism
belief in non-human beings/god - Indigenous nature worship (shinto)
Totemism
human-natural being connection - mystic link - Ojibwa (Native American) beliefs
most sociologists define religion as an
organised belief system composed of religious knowledge ('theology'), traditions and rituals
which function to
give meaning to the world
for individuals.
Functional x
stress how religions contribute to societies in terms of it's social and psychological functions
Durkheim x
the key function of religion is to
strengthen social solidarity and integration
defines religion in terms of a
distinction between 2 domains
in the world, one of which is
sacred and the other profane
sacred objects produce a sense of awe and respect, whereas the profane does not.
Yinger x
religion performs functions for individuals such as answering questions about the meaning of life and what happens when we die.
Evaluation x
advatage
they are
inclusive
. It allows us to include a wide range of beliefs and practices that perform functions such as integration.
does not specify a belief in god
, so there is no bias against non-Western religions such as Buddhism
Disadvatage
just because an institution helps integrate individuals into groups, this does not make it a religion
assumes that religion is useful and functional.
Substantive x
focuses on what a religion is
Weber x
defines religion as belief in a superior or supernatural power that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically
are exclusive - they draw a clear line between religious and non-religious beliefs
to be a religion, a set of beliefs must include belief in God or the supernatural
Bruce x
defines religion as 'beliefs, actions and institutions which assume the existence of supernatural entities with powers of action, or impersonal powers or processes possessed of moral purpose.'
Example
Yinger
defined religion as a 'system of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggles with the ultimate problems of human like'
Evaluation x
positive - conform to a widespread view of religion as a belief in god.
defining religion in this way leaves no room for beliefs and practices that perform similar functions to religion but do not involve belief in god.
western bias, excludes religions such as Buddhism, which do not have the western idea of god.
secularisation
is we judge this be a substantive definition we are looking at decline in belief in god, etc
however, it may be that if we define it in functional terms it may be that religion is being replaced by other things that perform similar functions.
Social Constructionist x
takes an
interpretivist
approach
not possible to produce a single universal definition
of religion to cover all cases, since in reality different individuals and groups mean very different things be 'religion'.
interested in how definitions are
constructed, challenged and fought over.
Aldridge x
for its followers, Scientology is a religion, whereas several governments have denied it legal status as a religion and sought to ban it. This shows that
definitions of religion can be contested and are influenced by who has power to define the situation.
Berger and Luckmann x
argue that defining religion should be centred on how people make
sense of the world around them.
Evaluation x
Advantage x
it
does not assume that there is one singular definition
for religion. We will not understand what function religion has but rather we will understand the meanings people give to religion.
Disadvantage x
it is
impossible to generalise
about the nature of religion as each individual account may differ from the next. As well as regional differences in the views of the religion and its practices/rituals.
Link to social life x
In Western societies, up to the
18th C, religion was central to social life
. However, in the
21st C
, religion now competes with other
non-religious belief systems to answer the big questions:
Scientific belief systems (e.g. the big bang theory, medicine, cloning, evolution, theory, etc)
Political philosophies (e.g. socialism, nationalism, etc)
Philosophical belief systems (such as existentialism, secularism, humanism, atheism, etc.)
However, although there is sociological agreement that religions are organised belief systems, there is some
disagreement among sociologists as to how such systems are organised.