Soci 201 Module 11 - Religion

What is religion?

A belief system
-one of the most powerful, deeply felt and influential forces in human society
-shapes people’s relationship’s with each other, influencing family, community, economic and political life
-Beliefs and values motivate human action and religious group organize their collective religious expressions

religion is a cultural institution and an instrument for:

-satisfying varying needs
-consisting culturally patterned interaction with culturally postulated superhuman beings

Emile Durkheim

defined religion as a unified system of beliefs, rituals and practices that define and express the nature of sacred things in relationship to the profane things of the world
-studied aboriginal Australians and found that religion helped to integrate the people into a moral whole
-society exists over and above us - society as a moral entity or moral reality
-social cohesion and social control

Weberian point of view

religion is any set of coherent answers to human existential dilemmas which make the world meaningful
-some definitions have attempted to synthesize the notion of what religion is and what religion does
-E.g. Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce

states that religion consists of belief, action and the institution which, assume the existence of supernatural entities with powers of action or impersonal powers or processes possessed of moral purpose

theism

belief in G/god
-religions pivot around a belief in a sacred higher power which has the power of control over human behaviour

types of theism

• monotheism

• polytheism

• animism

monotheism

belief in one divine power or god
-e.g., Christianity or Islam

polytheism

belief in many gods
-e.g., Hinduism

animism

belief in ghosts or spirits which may be forces for good or evil
-these spirits are regarded as having a huge influence on human behaviour causing illness, accident and death

totemism

this is associated with small scare ‘tribal’ societies, clans and cultures
-_____ are like animals or plants that are believed to possess supernatural powers of some kind
-religious rituals and ceremonies are usually organized around a particular _____

atheism

-No G/god
-disputes against believe in any form of supernatural influence in the affairs of humans

agnosticism

derived from Green work agnostos, “unknowable” and rooted in the works of Vladimir Lenin, advocates the doctrine that humans cannot know of the existence of anything beyond the phenomena of their experience
-come to be equated with skepticism

organized religions all over the world

have been found to comprise of four structural elements, according to the position of Eddie Floyd.
-Belief, ritual, emotions and organization

beliefs

strongly held conviction by the people who are adherents to a religion that their object of worship can solve their problems
-religions are based on this and the recognition and creation of a scared supernatural being

ritual

religious acts, ceremonial practices and customs that are geared towards the worship of the sacred
-are a way of venerating and honoring the sacred
-reaffirm the total commitment of adherents and reinforces their belief in the sacredness of the object being worshipped
-constitute practical avenues where members demonstrate their strong religious belief

emotions

refers to the spirit of reverence, humility, ecstasy, frenzy and even the terror that is evoked in the believers as they present themselves in the presence of the sacred
-the notion that one is present before the sacred evokes behaviour that is considered appropriate for the occasion

organization

not all religions are structure, but most are characterized by some form of _____________
-there are trained officials; priests, imams, cardinals, etc. who occupy the religious hierarchy with full powers and authority vested in them
-there are also ordinances, rules and laws that governs the day-today conduct of members

4 ideal types of religious organization:

• The Church

• Denominations

• Sects

• Cults

The Church

usually monopolistic, hierarchically bureaucratic with flexible membership and complex division of labour

Denominations

come into existence when churches lose their religious monopoly in a society
-membership is usually by birth

Sects

are smaller less organized religious bodies of committed members
-typically arise in protest to larger denomination like the Anglican Church
-may have few or no leaders and little formal structure

Cults

they are service-based and organized around some sort of supernatural or mystical ideas rather than exclusive set of religious beliefs or doctrine that must be rigidly followed. e.g., New Age
-service usually costs money
-those who use services of a cult are clients or customers rather than followers

order/social control

most religions promote a standard of behaviour in keeping with the tenets if their system of belief
-promotes social solidarity

Bronislaw Malinowski

-religion primarily is concerned with conditions of emotional stress that threaten social harmony
-is a tool for teaching social norms and values

Herbert Spencer

-functional differentiation
-reduction of disharmony

Talcott Parsons

religion provides general guideline for conduct
-E.g., the Ten Commandments
-provision of consensus

Karl Marx

“[Religions] is the opiate if the masses.”
- theorized that religion functions as an instrument of hegemony
-religion thus helps instill a false consciousness by promoting the belief that class-based hierarchy was God’s plan and thus justified
-religion serves the interests of the elite/bourgeoisie by pacifying the oppressed proletariat

post modernist believe

that religion is influence, interpreted or shaped by postmodern philosophies
-they emphasized the _______ society is in constant pursuit of lifestyle choices and the construction of personal identity

spiritual shopping

belief and religion is losing its traditional power to impose religious beliefs on people
-although young people are likely to inherit a fixed religious identity, they are more likely to be ignorant of traditional religion

individual consumerism

has replaced collective tradition
-profound impact of globalization

feminist sociologists

regard religion as a patriarchal institution that continues perpetuating inequality between male and female
-organized religions are mainly male-dominated despite the fact that women often participate more than men in religious practices
-places of worship often segregate the sexes
-sacred texts largely feature the doings of male gods or prophets and are usually written and interpreted by men

liberation theology

is a progressive school of though that advocates social justice for the poor
-opposed the oppression of the poor by the corrupt, ruling class in developing and underdeveloped countries
-is rooted almost exclusively in the Catholic Church in Latin America

Engels

-not all Marxists share Marx’s claim that religion is a conservative force supporting the ruling class interest
-recognized that religion in some special circumstances could bring about radical social change
-argues that religion could play a very active role in bringing about revolutionary social change

Otto Maduro

A neo-Marxist, suggests that religion could play a progressive role in the political struggles of the oppressed classes
-argues that the suffering and poverty of the oppressed may be voiced by member of the clergy
-religion can develop into political movements which seek change on the earth rather than salvation in heaven

Max Weber

explored the ideas of Protestantism to explain the rise of modern capitalism
-protestant belief in a predestined “elect” who would be saved during the second coming of Christ
-membership is demonstrated by achieving material success through hard work
-religious influence spurred people to accumulate wealth which is a key factor in the rise of capitalism

Disengagement

is seen as an important component of secularization
-Religion now has minimal or no influence on human behaviour
-the impact of science, media and cultural diversity means people’s religious belief are no longer certain or relevant