religion as a force for social change

a force for social change

the idea that religion can challenge the status quo, inspire protest, and bring. about political or social transformation - instead of acting as a conservative force

Weber

Calvinism and the rise of capitalism

Calvinism and the rise of Capitalism

• religious ideas can cause economic and social change

• the protestant ethic of calvinism encouraged values like hard work and discipline in hopes that God had chosen them to go to heaven (predestination)

• they believed in living modestly and reinvested their money, which is what capitalism is built on

evaluation of weber and Calvinism

• some countries with Calvinism didn’t develop capitalism (ie: Scotland)

• capitalism may have developed for material reasons, not just religious ideas

Liberation Theology

• religion can inspire the oppressed to fight for justice

• 1960s-80s Catholic Church in Latin America supported the poor against dictatorships

• Priests helped organise education, protests and resistance to inequality

• sociologist - Otto Maduro

Evaluation of Liberation Theology

• After the 1980s, the Vatican told the church to pull back from politics

Bruce

The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement

• The Black Church was the main organising centre of the movement

• Religious leaders like Martin Luther King Jr were pastors who used Christian values to support civil rights, and his speeches often referred to biblical messages of justice and love,

• religion provided the movement with motivation and a community.

Evaluation of Civil rights movement

• it helped change laws, but not fully social equality

Islamic Fundamentalism and social change

• religion can fuel resistance to western values or political oppression

• In the Iranian revolution, the Shah ( a western-backed monarch) was overthrown by a revolution led largely by islamic leaders.

• replaced a secular monarchy with an Islamic Republic

evaluation of Islamic Fundamentalism

• can also lead to new forms of oppression such as religious authoritarianism