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Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts.
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Beliefs in Society
Sociological explanations of ideology, science and religion, and their relationship to social change and stability.
Religious Organizations
Religious organizations including cults, sects, denominations, churches and New Age movements.
Social Groups and Religious Beliefs
Relationship between different social groups and religious/spiritual organizations, movements, beliefs and practices.
Religion in the Contemporary World
Significance of religion and religiosity in the contemporary world, including secularization and globalization's impact.
Substantive Definition of Religion
Definitions that involve belief in a supernatural power that cannot be explained rationally or scientifically
Weber
Max Weber's View
Argued that true religion involves belief in God or gods.
Functions of Religion
Providing psychological support, community, and rewards in an afterlife.
Religion and Social Norms
Supporting the morals or behavior norms of a society.
Richard Dawkins
Describes himself as a 'Cultural Christian' without believing in God.
Functional Definitions
Define religion in terms of social and psychological functions.
Durkheim's View
Argued religion promotes stability, social solidarity, and collective conscience.
which tribe did Durkheim study
Arunta tribe
remote indigenous tribe in Australia
four main functions of religion
discipline
cohesion
vitalising
euphoric
Sacred and Profane
Division between things considered sacred and things considered profane.
Discipline Function
Religious rituals impose self-discipline and encourage sociable behavior.
Cohesion Function
Shared worship brings the community together, creating social cohesion.
Vitalising Function
Religious belief maintains traditions and values passed down through generations.
Euphoric Function
Reminds people of their place in a society bigger than themselves.
Parsons' View
Socialisation into the value consensus of society is a key function
Religion Answers Ultimate Questions
Answering life’s 'ultimate questions' that science cannot.
Structural Differentiation
Specialised state institutions replacing the original functions of the church
Malinowski's View
Religious rituals provide psychological support in times of transition, stress, or danger.
psychological benefits
preserve stability
maintain the status quo
Malinowski’s study
a community in the Trobriand Island
during ww1
observed that religious practices and rituals of the islanders varies according to how safe or threatened they felt
Canoe Magic Rituals
Practiced when fishing in dangerous waters, providing psychological support.
Neo-functionalist View
Psychological benefit for individuals and stability for wider society.
Civil Religion
Bellah
Essential social function of creating unity and a sense of belonging in secular states.
unity is based around the worship of society itself
‘Americanism’ has become the civil religion in the USA- making the ‘pledge of allegiance’ to the flag every morning
Unity in Civil Religion
Unity based around 'sacred' symbols not linked to any one religious tradition, but instead around 'worship' of society itself.
Americanism
Symbols of society such as the American flag, national anthem, Statue of Liberty, and historical documents.
USA in 2025
Deeply divided, making it harder for a unifying civil religion to function
due to Presdient Trumps USA
Rise of the "Nones"
Suggests traditional religious elements may resonate less in liberal areas.
Movements like Black Lives Matter
Incorporate moral language and national ideals, functioning as alternative civic faiths.
Marxist Views of Religion
Essentially a conservative force that reproduces and legitimizes inequalities between social classes.
Althusser's View
Religion is part of the Ideological State Apparatus maintaining ruling class power.
religion acts as a conservative force
it maintains the status quo
Karl Marx
Described religion as the 'opiate of the masses'.
cushioned people from fear, alienation and desperation
creates a false consciousness
Lenin's View
Religion as 'spiritual gin' obscuring working-class oppression.
obscures the reality of working oppression and alienation behind mystical fog
Role of Religion
Religion acted as compensation and social control, preventing revolution.
Caste System in Hindu Countries
Carried out a similar function in keeping the poorest people in society in their place.
Friedrich Engels
Religion has a dual character, both maintaining the status quo and challenging it.
Ernst Bloch
Religious beliefs can create the desire to build a utopian future.
Feminist Views of Religion
Religion maintains patriarchal control in society.
acts a conservative force
has an ideological function in society
Simone de Beauvoir
Exercises patriarchal control over women through:
scriptures- Ephesians 5:22
ceremonies- segregation
power relations- women are not permitted to lead worship
Control over Women
Traditional religions have strict doctrines around the role of women, restricting their fertility and autonomy.
Feminist Counter-Arguments
Many religions featured prominent goddesses and other female figures.
Karen Armstrong
Development of monotheistic religions imbued religion with a patriarchal core.
Nawal El Sadaawi
Religions are not the direct cause of women’s exploitation; the cause lies in patriarchal societies.
Linda Woodhead on Hijab
Many Muslim women choose to wear it as a positive and liberating choice.
Typology
Classifying religious organizations and movements.
Definition of a Church- according to the typology of Troeltsch
Traditional established organisation with close links to the state and a significant institutionalised role within society i.e. the CofE in the UK
Membership of Churches
Churches tend to have a large inclusive membership, often through infant baptism meaning most people are born into a church
Churches and Truth
Churches traditionally claimed a monopoly of the truth.
Galileo challenged the Church’s teachings on the universe
Galileo
Led him to dispute the geocentric model of the universe.
Bureaucratic hierarchical Structures
Churches have bureaucratic hierarchical structures such as archbishops, bishops and priests
Paid Clergy
Churches have professional paid clergy who often get benefits i.e. accomodation
Ties to the State
Churches tend to be closely tied to the state, with historic responsibilities.
Demands on Members
Churches make relatively few demands on their members.
Conservative Force
Churches act as a conservative force, maintaining the status quo.
Steve Bruce
Troeltsch’s definition may have been true up until the 17th century, but is no longer useful.
the CoE does not simply act as a conservative force anymore i.e. supporting climate action
Roland Robertson
Increasing disagreements between the established state church and governments due to secularization.
Sunday trading act of 1994
Definition of a Sect
Religious organizations that had broken away from a church.
Sects and Truth
Claim a monopoly over the truth and are hostile to other organizations.
Sects Leadership
Do not have a complex bureaucratic hierarchy.
Commitment to Sects
Demand total commitment from their members, often involving sacrifices.
Sects and Society
Usually hostile to the secular state, the established church, and mainstream society.
Recruitment by Sects
Actively recruit people from marginalized groups.
Weber on sects
large number of impoverished people join sects due to the promise of salvation in the afterlife
Theodicy of Disprivilege
Belief that salvation in the afterlife may be granted as a reward for earthly poverty.
Weber
Extreme Views in Sects
Adopt views which are ‘extreme’ and fundamentalist in nature.
Lifecycle of a Sect
Depends on a number of factors:
when the orignial leader dies it might die out
if its survives it may become more formal
Niebuhr
Sects such as Methodists and Baptists had gradually become more formal and ‘churchlike’.
Denominations and the State
Comment and campaign on social issues, but not closely connected to the state.
Membership of Denominations
Membership is larger than a sect but smaller than the established church.
Hierarchy in Denominations
Have some degree of bureaucracy and hierarchy.
Denominations and Truth
Do not claim a monopoly over the truth.
wallis
there are 3 types of New Religious Movements
World-Affirming NRMs
Offer members spiritual and personal enrichment
without requiring belief in a supernatural god.
methods to becomes ‘better’ people in their own efforts
Focus of World-Affirming NRMs
The ‘self’ is considered to be the final authority.
Landmark Organization
Offers a model of transformative learning to participants.
World-Accommodating NRMs
Separate life into spiritual and worldly spheres, focusing on the spiritual.
World-Rejecting NRMs
Organizations see the world as inherently evil or corrupt and seek radical change.
The Peoples Temple
leader: Jim Jones
Founded: 1950s
promoted socialist and Christian ideals
rejected mainstream society- viewed it as corrupt
became increasing authoritarian and isolated
Jonestown Massacre 1978
Shincheonji
Leader: Lee Man-Hee
Founded: 1984
world rejecting
believes its leader is the “promised pastor” prophesied in the Bible
rejects mainstream Christianity
teachers only its own member will be saved in the end times
criticised for secretive recruitment tactics
during Pandemic, leader faced backlash for insisting attendance at church, leading to Covid spreading and people dying
The Branch Davidians
Followed leader David Koresh, who claimed to be a messianic figure.
Religious Market Theory
Stark and Bainbridge
Traditional religion may be declining, but remained strong in the USA
people make rational choices in a competitive marketplace.
Audience Cult
S&B
Participant is a passive consumer attending seminars or reading books.
no expectation of an ongoing relationship
Client Cult
S&B
Cultivates a doctor/patient relationship with its followers
client still has choice over the services
Cult Movement
S&B
Attempts to fulfil the ‘spiritual’ needs of its clients.
becomes like a religious denomination
clients become more like members of congretion
Religion and Social Change
Sociologists disagree about the extent to which religion causes social change.
Secularisation Theory
religion is unlikely to be the catalyst for social change in a diverse pluralist society in which people hold a variety of different beliefs, or no particular beliefs at all.
euocentric view
too focused on the decline of Christianity in western Europe
neglects religions such as Islam which is gaining strength in the 21st centry
The Protestant Ethic
Calvinism played a key role in the development of capitalism in Europe.
Predestination
Individuals seek signs of their “elect” status through wordly success and hard work and they became convinced that success in business
salvation panic
Weber vs. Marx
Economic change driven by religious beliefs and values.
Dual Character of Religion
Although religion often acted as a conservative force, it could also challenge the status quo and support social change
Ernst Bloch's View
Religion could offer people the hope of a better society (utopia).
Hegemony
Gramsci
Bourgeoisie dominated society through ‘culture’.
religion reinforced this
Gramsci
Religious leaders could take on the role of organic intellectuals.
Liberation Theology
Performed a political role in protecting people from military dictatorship.
Revd Martin Luther King Jr
Took a leading role in the civil rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s.
Social Class and Religion
Extremely difficult to investigate in a diverse multi-cultural society.
Varying Definitions of Social Class
Difficult and can lead to inconsistent findings.