SOC Charles Hall Exam 3 (politics, religion, education)

Politics

Methods and tactics intended to influence government policy, policy related attitudes, and activites

Government

The formal, organized agency that exercises power and control in modern society, especially through the creation and enforcement of laws

Power

The ability to control the actions of others

Authority

The legitimate right to wield power

Authoritarianism

Is a political system that denies ordinary citizens representation by and control over their government

Monarchy

A government ruled by a king/queen

Democracy

A political system in which all citizens have a right to participate.

Disenfranchised

Stripped of voting rights, either temporarily or permanently

Gerrymandering

The redrawing of political districts to benefit one part over the other

Power elite

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

Pluralist Model

A system of political power in which a wide variety of individuals and groups have an equal access to resources and mechanisms of power

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Organizations that raise money to support the interests of a select group of organization.

Opinion Leaders

High-profile individuals whose interpretation of events influences the public

Education

The process through which society transmits its knowledge.

Tracking

The placement of students in educational “tracks” or programs of study that determine the type of classes they take.

Hidden Curriculum

Values or behaviors that students learn indirectly over the course of their schooling

Credential Society

A society that considers a degree or certificate to be necessary to attain a job and social mobility.

Charter Schools

Public schools that are run by private entities to give parents greater control over their students education

School Vouchers

Payment from the government to parents of students who attend failing public schools so they can afford private schooling.

Homeschooling

The education of children by their parents at home

Unschooling

A homeschooling alternative that rejects the standard curriculum in favor of student-driven types of learning

Early College High Schools

Institutions in which students earn a high school diploma and two years of credit toward a bachelor’s degree

Dual enrollment

Programs that allow students to be enrolled in college and high school at the same time

Community college

Two year institution that provides students with the general education and ability to transfer to a four year institution

Religion

Any institutionalized system of shared beliefs and rituals that acknowledge a relationship between the sacred and profane

Sacred

The holy, divine, supernatural

Profane

The ordinary, mundane, or every day

Monotheistic

Only believe in one god

Liberation theology

A movement within the catholic church to understand Christianity from the perspective of the poor

Religiosity

The regular practice of religious beliefs, often measured in terms of attendance of worship services and the importance of religious beliefs to an individual

Extrinsic religioisty

A persons public display of commitment to their faith

Intrinsic religiosity

A person’s internal religious life or personal relationship with the divine

Fundamentalism

The practice of emphasizing literal interpretation of texts and a ‘return’ to a time of greater religious purity; represented by the most conservative group within any religion

Evangelical

A term describing conservative Christians who emphasize converting others to their faith

Unchurched

A term describing those who consider themselves a spiritual but not religious and who often adopt aspects of various religious traditions

secular

separation between church and state, a secular society does not intertwine the two