Religion Sociology

Religion-What is it?

· Sociology not interested in what is true and false in religions

· Rather, religion’s role in society (as independent and dependent)

· Religion: a system of beliefs and practices around sacred things that unties adherents into amoral community (Durkheim; functionalist)

DQ: What are things that religions share?

Ø Creations myths

Ø Explanations about what happens when you die

Ø Rules and guidelines

Ø “Golden Rule”

Religions Separate the Sacred from the Profane

· Sacred v. Profane:

i) Sacred: extraordinary things endowed with special status, which are often used for worship and kept separate from the profane: the sacred inspires us with feelings of awe and wonder

ii) Profane: the things of mundane, everyday life

· But some religious groups emphasize immanence—the idea that God/ the divine is everywhere and in everything

i) such religious groups complicate the distinction between sacred and profane

ii) ex: Sufism-Islamic mysticism

iii) ex: Zikr: the practice of remembrance

The Noble Eightfold Path

The Division of Wisdom

I. Right Understanding

II. Right Thought

The Division of Ethical Conduct

III. Right Speech

IV. Right Action

V. Right Livelihood

The Division of Mental Discipline

VI. Right Effort

VII. Right Mindset

VIII. Right Concentration

Biggest Religion in the World

· 31% Christians, 24% Muslims, 16% Unaffiliated, 15% Hindi, 7% Buddhist, 6% Folk Religions, 0.8% Other, 0.2 Jews

Sociological Theories of Religion

Marx & the Conflict Approach

· Conflict theorist

· “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of the heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

· Argued that religion was used to keep workers from questioning their oppressed position in everyday life by promising them riches in the afterlife

Weber’s Interpretive Sociology of Religion

· Verstehen—“understanding or interpretation”; studying society by placing yourself into others’ shoes and figuring out their thoughts & motivations

· Noticed major social change: rationality replacing tradition

a) Why? Emergence of capitalism

b) But where did capitalism come from?

c) Took stronger hold in countries with higher proportions of Protestants. Why?

· The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904)

a) Lutheranism and “the calling” + Calvinism and predestination (work for the sake of work)

Durkheim & the Functionalist Model

· Argued that the sacred reflects society. What might that mean?

i) Society (and social collectives) causes us to sense that there is something “bigger than ourselves” out there (or forces more powerful than ourselves)

ii) Religious force is a feeling that society inspires in its members, which members understand as an external force

iii) Rituals: activities that inspire this feeling in individuals, causing them to feel like a part of the community and to internalized a community’s beliefs

iv) Collective Effervescence: when rituals are so intense that we temporarily lose our sense of individuality

· Durkheim was a functionalist and believed that religion provided social solidarity or union for people to come together and develop norms

Secularization or Simply Speculation

· Secularization Theory: theories that gained popularity in the 1960s projecting that religion would decline in importance (pointed to the role of rationality, science, pluralism, etc. in undermining religion)

· Pluralism & Berger’s “sacred canopy” Thesis:

a. Religious pluralism—the presense and coexistence of numerous distinct religious groups in one society

b. Berger and the “Sacred Canopy”

· v. Finke & Stark’s “religion as a marketplace” model

a. rational choice theory of religion:

§ competition  better (religious) products

§ congregations as "franchises” and pastors ministers as “entrepreneurs”

§ therefore, pluralism strengthens religious commitment

b. members exchange time and money for “supernatural compensators”

§ promises of future rewards, like salvation or eternity in heaven

Reflexive Spirituality and the Challenge to Secularization Theory

· Secularization theories also challenged by the idea of reflexive spirituality

· Reflexive spirituality: a contemporary religious movement that encourages followers to look to religion for meaning, wisdom, and profound thought and feeling

i. RATHER THAN absolute truths on how the world works

ii. Idea that logic/reasoning/science can inform us about some of life’s challenges but CANNOT provide ultimate or transcendent truth

iii. No tension between science and faith

The Heterogeneity of American Evangelicals

· Evangelical Protestant: distinguished by four main beliefs:

1. The Bible is without error and should be interpreted literally

2. Salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ

3. Personal conversion is the only path to salvation (born again experience)

4. other people must also be converted

· Fundamentalist Protestants: generally, share beliefs 1-3 with evangelicals, but tend to separate from the world rather than engage in it

· Mainline Protestants: usually do not interpret the Bible literally

Political Preferences of US Religious Groups

· Mormons are the most republican religion in the US

· All us adults are slightly more democratic leaning