Studied by 0 people
A-Level Sociology - Cambridge - Religion - Section A - Religion and Social Order
Religion
Often defined narrowly as a belief system related to supernatural beings or divine forces. However, there are several ways of defining religion including substantive, functional and social constructionist approaches.
Beliefs
Ideas or convictions that individuals or groups hold to be true even when they are not based on evidence.
Belief system
A set of ideas held by individuals or groups that help them to interpret and make sense of the world.
Rituals
Religious practices or ceremonies comprising a set of actions that are carried out in an established order.
Substantive definitions (of religion)
Definitions that focus on the substance or content of religion - what religion is rather than what it does.
Functional definitions (of religion)
Definitions that focus on the functions or roles of religion - what religion does rather than what it is.
Inclusive definitions (of religion)
Broad definitions that include traditional religions and other belief systems such as nationalism, communism and humanism.
Exclusive definitions (of religion)
Narrow definitions that include traditional religions but exclude other belief systems.
Social constructionist approach (to defining religion)
Rather than trying to provide a single definition, this approach focuses on how religion is used in daily life.
Religiosity
The quality of being religious, linked to beliefs and values.
Church
The dominant religious organisation in a society, which is associated with Christian worship and usually claims a monopoly of the religious truth.
Denomination
A religious organisation in a society and accepts the legitimacy of other religious organisations.
Sect
A relatively small religious organisation which is in conflict with other belief systems in a society.
Cult
To Wallis, a cult is a relatively small organisation with beliefs that are considered deviant by most people but which coexists with other belief systems in society.
New religious movements
Religious/spiritual organisations and movements such as Seventh-Day Adventists, the Unification Church and Pentecostalism that are of relatively modern origin and are in some form of opposition to (or differentiation from) longer-established, more powerful religious organisations such as the Roman Catholic Church.
World-rejecting new religious movements
Religious movements that developed from the 1960s onwards and are hostile to the social world outside the movement.
World-accommodating new religious movements
Religious movements of relatively recent origin that hold strong religious beliefs but reject mainstream religious doctrine. Nevertheless, they allow members to have conventional lives outside their religious practice.
World-affirming new religious movements
Religious movements that developed from the 1960s onwards; they are positive about mainstream society, and their religious practices tend to encourage or facilitate social and economic success.
Audience cults
Cults that do not require much commitment from followers and involve little face-to-face interaction.
Client cults
Cults that offer services (courses or rituals) to their followers but require little commitment.
Cult movements
Cults that involve followers/believers fully and act as full religious organisations.
New Age
A term for a wide range of broadly spiritual beliefs and practices that emphasise the discovery of spirituality within the self. People seek spiritual experiences, inner peace or growth through, for example, meditation, crystal healing and/or aromatherapy.
Self-spirituality
The practice of searching for spirituality inside oneself.
Knowledge claims
Information or statements (for example, claims about what the world is like) that a particular individual, group or belief system such as science holds to be true but which are nonetheless open to debate.
Enlightenment
The period from the 17th century in Europe that emphasised reason, was sceptical about belief systems such as religion and put its faith in natural sicence and progress.
Open belief system
A set of ideas that makes knowledge claims based on the testing of evidence. Consequently, its beliefs develop over time. Science is seen as an open belief system that tests evidence through observation and experimentation.
Closed belief system
A set of ideas that is not open to testing or criticism, so its beliefs tend not to change. Religion and magic are seen as examples of closed belief systems. Religion, for instance, is based on faith rather than on the testing of evidence.
Truth claims
Statements or ideas that particular individuals, groups or belief systems (such as religions) hold to be true, and which are not open to debate.
Artefacts
Things produced by the research process (for example, resulting from a technical error) that do not exist in the phenomenon being studied.
Meta-narratives
Large-scale singular explanations of society.
Ideology
A set of dominant ideas in society that distort reality and serve the interests of a particular group, such as men or the ruling class.
Theodicy of misfortune
A religious explanation for suffering which claims that wealth and wordly success are indicators of evil.
Theodicy of good fortune
A religious explanation for suffering which claims that wealth and worldly success are indicators of virtue.
Fundamentalist beliefs
A set of religious beliefs that advocates returning to the ‘fundamental’ original teachings of a particular religion.
New Age movements
Diverse and loosely organised groups that became popular in the 1970s and 1980s, within which people seek spiritual experiences focusing primarily on the development of the self. They are sometimes viewed as a subset of new religious movements. Examples include est, Heaven’s Gate and Dianic Wicca.
Differential socialisation
The contrasting ways in which females and males are brought up within and outside the family.
Structural location
The position of different social groups within the social structure - for example, the greater involvement of men in full-time paid employment than women.
Attitude to risk
The extent to which individuals are willing to expose themselves to social practices, beliefs and situations that carry a possibility of danger.
Public sphere
The social world outside the family and personal life.
Private sphere
The social world inside families involving personal relationships.
Secularisation
A process involving a decline in the social significance of religion.
Modernisation
The process of moving from traditional society to a modern developed society.
Rationalisation
A process in which people calculate the most efficient means to achieve given objectives rather than relying on faith or tradition to guide their actions.
Primary institutions
Institutions associated with work and politics.
Secondary institutions
Institutions associated with caring for others, such as the family and religion.
Individual sphere
The sphere of social life concerned with individual identity.
Cultural defence
An ethnic group using religion to reinforce and maintain ethnic identity and pride.
Cultural transition
An ethnic group using religion to cope with social change and migration.
Apostasy
Abandoning a set of religious beliefs in a hostile environment.
Accommodation
Adapting religious beliefs in response to a changed environment.
Renewed vigour
An increase in the intensity of religious feelings in response to perceived hostility.
Age
The length of time a person has lived.
Period effect
The effects of being born in a particular era on social beliefs and practices.
Cohort
A group of people born in a particular time period.
The sacred and the profane
Durkheim’s distinction between things that are set apart and inspire reverential attitudes among followers (the sacred) and ordinary, everyday things (the profane).
Totemism
A form of religion practised by the Australian Abooriginal peoples in which a sacred totem (usually a plant or animal) symbolises the clan.
Rational choice theory
An approach that assumes most people are naturally religious, that religious belief is based on rational choices and that religion meets individuals’ needs.
Mechanism of social control
A means by which individuals are persuaded to conform to the rules in society.
New Christian Right
A term originating in the USA to describe Christian groups with links to the right-wing Republican Party. They have conservative views on social issues and want religious culture to be central in public life.
Patriarchy
A pattern/structure of male dominance and control.
Radical feminists
Those who believe that society is dominated by men and the only way to improve the position of women is via radical changes in society.
Liberal feminists
Those who believe that gender equality is possible within existing social structures, with changes in attitudes, laws and social policies.
Goddess religion
Religion that honours the ‘divine feminine',’ the female side of divine.
Fundamentalism
A form of religion whose adherents want to return to what they see as the core doctrines of the faith as set out in sacred texts such as the Bible or the Qur’ an. Christian fundamentalists, for example, adopt a literal interpretation of biblical accounts of miracles ad the Creation.
Evangelicalism
A movement within Protestant Christianity that is seen as conservative in its support of traditional values.
Cultural imperialism
The practice of imposing a culture, viewpoint or civilisation on people in another, less powerful country.
Conservative force
A factor such as religion or the mass media that inhibits social, economic or political change.
Predestination
The belief that God has predetermined whether people will be saved or damned after they die.
Elect
The people chosen by God to be saved and destined to go to heaven.
Protestant ethic
Weber used this term to refer to the value that Calvinists placed on the importance of thrift, abstaining from pleasure and the duty to work hard in one’s calling.
Ascetic
An austere and self-disciplined lifestyle that does not involve indulging in any of life’s pleasures.
Calling
The vocation, position in society or particular way of life that some individuals believe they are called to by God.
Spirit of capitalism
The essence of capitalism involving the single-minded pursuit of profit as an end in itself.
Liberation theology
A movement of radical Roman Catholic priests in Latin America, dating to the 1960s, who promote political change, fight oppression and support the poor.
