chapter 10

Chapter 10: Social Institutions: Politics, Education, and Religion

Opening Questions

• Opening Question 1:

  • Question: Which statement is true about the relationship between social institutions and our everyday lives?

  • Options:

  • A. Social institutions function at the macro level to shape our everyday lives.

  • B. Our everyday interactions help to construct social institutions.

  • C. All of the above.

  • D. None of the above.

• Opening Question 2:

  • Question: The ability to control the actions of others is called:

  • Options:

  • A. power.

  • B. the government.

  • C. politics.

  • D. authoritarianism.

• Opening Question 3:

  • Question: Which theoretical perspective might note that in the United States, most top positions within major social institutions are occupied by a small concentrated group of elites, and thus, the average person has little decision-making power at the societal level?

  • Options:

  • A. structural functionalism.

  • B. conflict theory.

  • C. symbolic interactionism.

• Opening Question 4:

  • Question: Before leaving their house each morning, Taylor puts on a chain with the Star of David on it. This exemplifies Taylor’s:

  • Options:

  • A. extrinsic religiosity.

  • B. intrinsic religiosity.

  • C. extrinsic spirituality.

  • D. intrinsic spirituality.

Chapter Outline

• What Is Politics?

• What Is Education?

• What Is Religion?

What Are Social Institutions?

• Definition: Social institutions refer to systems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals in specific areas of social life.

• Characteristics:

  • Social institutions cannot be physically visited; they are structures rather than places.

  • They operate at both macro and micro levels. Macro-level influences shape everyday interactions, while micro-level interactions help construct these institutions.

• Examples: Politics, education, and religion are examples of social institutions that intersect and interact to shape daily life.

10.1 What Is Politics?

• Definition of Politics: Methods and tactics intended to influence government policy, policy-related attitudes, and activities.

• Politics encompasses managing a government as well as the attitudes and activities of groups and individuals.

• Political Participation:

  • Voting is one form of political participation.

  • Other forms include protesting or joining social movements, e.g., Black Lives Matter.

Political Systems: Government

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

• Concepts:

  • Power: The ability to control the actions of others.

  • Authority: The legitimate right to wield power.

  • Example of Authority: A police officer, whose power is legitimized and backed by the state.

Total Power

• Authoritarianism: A system of government by and for a small number of elites, lacking representation for ordinary citizens.

• Types of Authoritarianism:

  • Dictatorship: A form of authoritarianism where the leader gains power through strategies like family succession, illegitimate elections, or military coups.

  • Totalitarianism: The most extreme form of authoritarianism, seeking to control every aspect of citizens’ lives, both public and private.

Monarchies and the State

• Monarchy: Government ruled by a king or queen with succession kept within the family.

  • Types of Monarchs:

  • Absolute Monarchs: Have complete authority over their subjects.

  • Constitutional Monarchs: Powers defined by a political charter and limited by a governing body, such as a parliament.

Democratic Government

• Democracy: A political system where all citizens have the right to participate.

• Even nominally democratic nations may not represent all citizens equally.

Voting and the Three Branches of Government

• U.S. Government Structure: Comprises three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—organized to limit each other's powers.

• Key Issues:

  • Disenfranchised: Individuals stripped of voting rights, either temporarily or permanently.

  • Example: Many states disenfranchise incarcerated individuals convicted of a felony.

  • Gerrymandering: The practice of redrawing voting district boundaries to advantage a particular political party.

Voting in the 2020 Election

• The 2020 election saw the highest voter turnout in 120 years, spurred by policies facilitating early and mail-in voting.

• Voter participation in the U.S. is notably lower than in similar democratic nations.

Who Rules America? The Power Elite

• Power Elite: A small group at the top of economic, political, and military institutions who make significant decisions affecting American society.

• Implications of a concentrated power elite suggest that the average person has little chance of wielding real power, irrespective of effort or lifestyle choices.

Who Rules America? Pluralism

• Pluralist Model: A political power system where diverse individuals and groups have equal access to resources and mechanisms of power.

• Claims that the architecture of laws, policies, and courts acts as checks and balances, preventing any one group from dominating.

Interest Groups

• Special Interest Groups: Organizations that raise and spend money to influence elected officials or public opinion.

• Political Action Committees (PACs): Groups that collect funds to support specific interests.

• The 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee allowed unlimited spending by non-campaign entities, resulting in the rise of "Super PACs."

Top 10 Spenders on Lobbying, 2022

• A list of lobbying clients with their corresponding spending amounts:

  • National Association of Realtors: $81,738,132

  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce: $81,010,000

  • Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America: $29,226,000

  • American Hospital Association: $27,086,084

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield: $26,937,752

  • Amazon: $21,380,000

  • American Medical Association: $21,060,000

  • Business Roundtable: $20,410,000

  • American Chemistry Council: $19,820,000

  • Meta: $19,150,000

Sociological Perspectives on Social Institutions

In the Future: New Representatives Change the Face of Politics

• The 2022 midterm elections saw a record number of women and people of color winning congressional seats, although both demographics are still underrepresented relative to the overall population.

• The question remains whether this shift will lead to substantial changes in the political process itself.

The Media and the Political Process

• The media's role in U.S. politics is significant, especially in the Information Age.

• Examples: Social media's influence in movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo.

• Opinion Leaders: High-profile individuals whose viewpoints affect public interpretation and reception of events.

• Simulacrum: An image or representation that lacks meaningful reflection of reality but is perceived as real.

Patriotism and Protest

• Despite the legal rights surrounding free speech in the U.S., critics of government actions may be labeled unpatriotic by supporters.

• Post-2001 concerns about U.S. intelligence were dismissed at first but affirmed by later congressional investigations.

• The issue is whether it is unpatriotic to critique government actions during crises or advocate for changes in unjust systems.

10.2 What Is Education?

• Definition: Education is the process through which societal academic knowledge, cultural values, and societal expectations are transmitted to individuals to enable effective societal participation.

Education and the Reproduction of Society

• Founders held that universal education for citizens is advantageous; public education was transformed from a luxury to a necessity.

• Education has the potential to improve life chances, yet also perpetuates social inequality.

• Key Concepts:

  • Tracking: Assigning students to different educational paths (e.g., college preparatory, remedial) affecting class types taken.

  • Hidden Curriculum: An indirect learning of values and behaviors through the educational experience.

Classic Studies of Education

• Rosenthal & Jacobson: Found that teacher expectations can influence student performance positively.

• Jonathan Kozol: Highlighted inequalities in school resources based on neighborhood wealth; poor schools lack adequate resources.

• Credential Society: A society prioritizing degrees and certifications as essential for employment and social mobility.

The Present and Future of Education

• A 1983 report indicated a crisis in the U.S. education system, pointing to declining standardized test scores.

• Common Core State Standards (2010): A voluntary program relying on standardized testing to evaluate student and teacher performance.

• Research connects poverty to academic underachievement, suggesting systemic failures within public education.

Charter Schools and School Vouchers

• Charter Schools: Publicly funded schools managed by private entities to enhance parental control over education.

• School Vouchers: Government funds aiding parents in affording private school for children from failing public schools.

• Both methods utilize public funds for privatized education, and evidence for success in academic performance is limited.

Alternatives to Traditional Schooling

• Homeschooling: Education provided by parents at home.

• Unschooling: A variation of homeschooling focusing on unstructured learning initiated by the child, with parental guidance.

• Critics express concerns regarding the social isolation of homeschooled individuals.

• By 2017, an estimated 1.7 million U.S. students were homeschooled, representing about 3% of the school-age population.

Early College High Schools and Dual Enrollment Programs

• Early College High Schools: Institutions that enable students to earn a high school diploma and additional college credits simultaneously.

• Dual Enrollment: Programs allowing high school students to take college classes for credit in both high school and college contexts.

• Both approaches contribute positively to subsequent academic achievement in postsecondary education.

Higher Education

• Community College: Two-year institutions catering to foundational education and facilitating transfers to four-year colleges.

• For-Profit Colleges: Often criticized for high student debt and poor graduation rates, along with dubious recruitment practices targeting minorities.

• Online education has surged in prominence due to the internet and the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the Job: A College Degree: What's It Worth?

• The skillset and diploma obtained through college are valuable but subject to devaluation due to increasing college attendance rates.

• There is debate over whether the financial benefits of a college education outweigh the costs associated with obtaining one.

10.3 What Is Religion?

• Definition of Religion: An institutionalized system of shared beliefs and rituals that acknowledges a relationship between the sacred and the profane.

• Components:

  • Beliefs: Faith-based propositions and ideas.

  • Rituals: Practices influenced by these beliefs.

  • Sacred: Refers to that which is holy or divine.

  • Profane: Pertains to the ordinary and mundane aspects of life.

Theoretical Approaches to Religion

• Structural Functionalism: Studies how religion shapes behaviors, gives meaning to life, and fosters community bonds.

• Symbolic Interactionism: Emphasizes how individuals create religious meanings and incorporate religion into their daily lives.

• Conflict Perspective: Views religion as a tool for subjugation and oppression.

• Monotheistic: Describes religions that worship a single divine entity.

Liberation Theology

• Definition: A movement within the Catholic Church focused on interpreting Christianity from the vantage of the impoverished and oppressed, aiming to combat injustices.

Religiosity

• Definition: Regular religious practice, often gauged through worship service attendance and significance of beliefs for individuals.

• Extrinsic Religiosity: Public displays of religious commitment.

• Intrinsic Religiosity: An individual's personal and internalized relationship with the divine.

In Relationships: Can a Relationship with God Improve Your GPA?

• Young Americans are increasingly secular, yet some findings indicate a resurgence in spirituality among college students.

• Research from UCLA suggests that spirituality can positively impact traditional college metrics, including academic achievement and psychological health.

Religious Composition of the United States and the World

• United States:

  • Unaffiliated: 22.8%.

  • Other faiths: 1.8%.

  • Buddhist: 0.7%.

  • Muslim: 0.9%.

  • Jewish: 1.9%.

  • Hindu: 0.7%.

  • Mormon: 1.6%.

  • Catholic: 20.8%.

  • Protestant: 46.5%.

  • Other Christian: 1.7%.

• World:

  • Hindu: 15.1%.

  • Unaffiliated: 16%.

  • Muslim: 24.1%.

  • Buddhist: 6.9%.

  • Folk religion: 5.7%.

  • Other religions: 0.8%.

  • Jewish: 0.2%.

  • Christian: 31.2%.

Religious Trends

• Fundamentalism: The practice of interpreting religious texts literally and advocating a return to earlier religious pure states; often represents the most conservative factions within any faith.

• Evangelical: Refers to conservative Christians focused on conversion efforts to gain more followers.

• Unchurched: Individuals identifying as spiritual but not religious, often amalgamating elements from various religious traditions.

Second-Largest Religious Tradition in Each State (2010)

• A survey highlighting the second-largest religious adherents across various states, indicative of diverse religious landscapes.

A Secular Society?

• Secular: Denotes non-religious; a secular society distinguishes between church and state and does not endorse a particular faith.

• While the U.S. aims to maintain religious freedom through church-state separation, contradictions exist, such as the expectation for political leaders to adhere to Christianity, noted in government schedules accommodating Christian holidays.

The Importance of Institutions

• Social institutions are pivotal structures in society, influencing various life aspects.

• The interrelations of politics, education, and religion create significant impacts, often unnoticed.

• Understanding how institutions shape lives while also being influenced by individual experiences embodies the concept of the sociological imagination.

Review Questions

• Question 1: The placement of students into different educational programs of study, such as remedial classes or college-prep classes, is called:

  • A. tracking.

  • B. intrinsic education.

  • C. the hidden curriculum.

  • D. simulacrum.

• Question 2: Values or behaviors that students learn indirectly during education is referred to as:

  • A. tracking.

  • B. intrinsic education.

  • C. the hidden curriculum.

  • D. simulacrum.

• Question 3: Public schools operated by private entities for increased parental control over education are known as:

  • A. charter schools.

  • B. early college high schools.

  • C. home schools.

  • D. tracking schools.

• Question 4: Attendance at a religious service exemplifies __ religiosity.

  • A. intrinsic.

  • B. secular.

  • C. liberation.

  • D. extrinsic.

• Question 5: Emphasizing literal religious text interpretation and a return to greater religious purity is termed:

  • A. fundamentalism.

  • B. liberation theology.

  • C. secularization.

  • D. intrinsic religiosity.

• Question 6: Which theoretical perspective states that social institutions represent the interests of the powerful?

  • A. structural functionalism.

  • B. conflict theory.

  • C. symbolic interactionism.

Discussion Questions

• Discussion Question 1:

  • Explore the constitutional pluralism in U.S. politics and contrast it against influences of the power elite, while identifying barriers to democracy.

• Discussion Question 2:

  • Discuss personal involvement in community politics, regardless of self-perceived political engagement.

• Discussion Question 3:

  • Reflect on personal experiences within education, including tracking and the possibility of hidden curricula.

• Discussion Question 4:

  • Design a study to assess religiosity among college students, considering how your approach may differ based on intrinsic vs extrinsic focuses.

• Discussion Question 5:

  • Select a social institution and analyze its impact on everyday life, along with feedback loops from individual interactions.

Credits

• This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 10 of The Real World, Ninth Edition. More resources can be found at https://digital.wwnorton.com/realworld9.

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