SOC 1000 Unit 5 Vocabulary

politics

Methods and tactics that formally and informally shape attitudes and behaviors related to government policy and activities

education

the system that transmits formal and informal knowledge & expectations that help members of society functionally effectively

religion

A system of shared beliefs & rituals that identify a relationship between the sacred and the profane

government

An organization with the authority and power to make and enforce laws and enact policy to control an area of land or a group of people

authoritarianism

rule by one

monarchy

kingship, decisions are in the hands of one

democracy

people rule, we make decisions together

political disenfranchisement

the action of taking away the right to vote from a person or group

political attitudes

the attitudes of people to the areas of public life covered by political psychology

lobbying

the act of influencing legislation

pluralism

the fact that cultures are expressions of a variety of values, practices, and beliefs

power elite

a relatively small group of people in the top ranks of economics, political, and military institutions who make many of the important decisions in American society

voucher system

a plan in which each school-age child receives a publicly funded entitlement worth a fixed amount of money with which his or her parents can select a participating public or private schoo

private vs. public schooling

supported by tuition payments/dependent on local, state, and federal funding

charter and magnet schools

public schools funded by the government, but their governance structure differs from that of traditional public schools in that they are established under a charter run by parents, educators, community groups, or private organizations to encourage school autonomy and innovation

homeschooling

children being educated in their own homes, typically by a parent, instead of in a traditional public or private school system

distance education

any formal approach to teaching in which the majority of the learning process occurs while the teacher and the students are at a distance from each other

belief

idea held on the basis of faith

ritual

practice based on religious beliefs

sacred vs. profane

holy, divine, or supernatural/the ordinary, mundane, or everyday

religiosity

how religious are you?

fundamentalism

Emphasizing the literal interpretation of texts and return to a time of greater religious purity