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Beliefs In Society Flashcards

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1
Q

Sacred vs profane - Durkheim

A

The sacred - things set apart and forbidden, inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, taboos and prohibitions
The profane - things that have no special significance

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2
Q

Totemism - Durkheim

A

Worship of a sacred totem = worship of society
Inspires feelings of awe, power over the group
study of the Arunta

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3
Q

Psychological sense over the uncontrollable - Malinowski

A

Lagoon fishing - safe and uses a predictable and safe method and ritual
Ocean fishing - dangerous and uncertain, accompanied by ‘canoe magic’ - rituals to ensure a safe and successful expedition
Gives people a sense of control and reinforces group solidarity

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4
Q

Life crises - Malinowski

A

Events such as birth, puberty, death, marriage mark major and disruptive changes in social groups
Religion helps to minimise disruption
Provides ritual to get us through them

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5
Q

Civil religion - Bellah

A

American way of life - binds Americans together
A belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society
Involves loyalty to the nation state

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6
Q

Functional alternatives - Merton

A

If one institution fails, others can pick up the roles
Non-religious beliefs and practices can perform similar functions to organised religion

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7
Q

Lenin & Marx

A

‘Spiritual gin’
‘Opiate of the masses’
Religion feels good but it keeps them passive, controlled and is bad for them
By ‘dulling the pain’ religion can prevent revolution

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8
Q

‘Dual character’

A

Religion is the ‘heart of a heartless world’ - Marx
‘Alienation’
There is something almost genuine in the comfort some people get from it

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9
Q

Liberation theology - Maduro

A

Three factors prompted priests within the Catholic Church to take a more radical, political stance:
Deepening rural poverty
Human rights abuses
Growing commitment among catholic priests to an ideology supporting the poor and opposing human rights violations

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10
Q

Maduro & Löwy

A

Maduro - religion can be a revolutionary force that brings about change
Löwy - questions Marx’s view that religion always legitimises social inequality

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11
Q

Civil rights movement

A

Black campaigns for equal rights
Church provided leadership (MLK), organisation, practical support and a value system

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12
Q

The New Christian Right

A

Fundamentalist Protestant Christian movement
Campaigning for hardline Christian influences on politics (abortion, marriage etc)
However they do not cooperate effectively

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13
Q

Stark and Bainbridge - 3 types of cult

A

Audience cults - does not involve formal membership, little interaction between members, participation may be through the media
Client cults - based on a relationship between a consultant and a client
Cultic movements - more organised, demand higher levels of commitment, exclusive

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14
Q

Why do new religious movements grow?

A

Marginality
Relative deprivation - middle class people may feel spiritually deprived
Social change
Growth of world-rejecting NRMs
Growth of world-affirming NRMs

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15
Q

Denomination or death - Niebuhr

A

Sects are world-rejecting organisations that come into existence because of a schism
The second generation lack the commitment
Death of the leader - charismatic leader dies and the sect collapses or a more formal leadership takes over and becomes a denomination

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16
Q

World-rejecting movements - Wallis

A

Clearly religious with a clear notion of God
Highly critical of the outside world
Restricted contact with the outside world
Have conservative moral codes

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17
Q

World-accommodating movements - Wallis

A

Breakaways from mainstream churches or denominations
Neither accept nor reject the world
Seek to restore religious purity

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18
Q

World-affirming movements - Wallis

A

Not highly organised
Accept the world as it is
Tolerant of other religions
Entry is through training

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19
Q

Weber - secularisation

A

Medieval catholics believed that the world was an enchanted garden
Protestantism imagine a more remote God, disenchanting the world - rationalisation

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20
Q

Bruce - secularisation

A

Industrial revolution brought social and geographical mobility
Urban communities were ‘looser’

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21
Q

Parsons - secularisation

A

Structural differentiation - religion loses functions to other institutions
Religion became more purely ‘privatised’

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22
Q

Berger - secularisation

A

‘Sacred canopy’ - protected medieval Catholic Churches
Protestant reformation shattered this

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23
Q

Cultural defence

A

Religion provides a focal point for the defence of a struggle against an external force such as hostile foreign power

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24
Q

Cultural transition

A

Religion provides support and a sense of community for ethnic groups

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25
Secularisation in America
American religion has remained popular by becoming less religious
26
Calvinist beliefs - Weber
Predestination - God has predetermined who will go to heaven and who will go to hell Divine transcendence - creates a salvation panic Asceticism - self denial, devoting themselves to God Calvinists accumulate wealth and invest it, creating capitalism
27
Gramsci - hegemony
The ruling class maintain their control over society through the use of ideas Hegemony - using religion to maintain control
28
Spiritual health service - Davie
There for everyone whenever it needs to be ‘Believing without belonging’
29
Lyon - re-enchantment
We are now in a period of re-enchantment - growing vitality of non traditional religion
30
Heelas and Woodhead - spiritual shopping
people have a choice as consumers of religion holistic milieu of spirituality - the environment of a new age movement
31
Religious market theory - Stark & Bainbridge
Churches operate like companies selling goods in a market Competition leads to improvements in the quality of religion
32
Gender and religiosity
More women than men say that they have a religion More women than men say that religion is important to them Women are more likely than men to practise their religion
33
Women and the new age
Women are more often associated with nature More attracted to new age movements Gives them a higher status and sense of self worth Less time consuming than traditional religion
34
Ethnicity and religiosity
Black people are twice as likely to attend church than white Most ethnic minorities originate from poorer countries - offers support in a hostile environment
35
Characteristics of fundamentalism
Every word of the Bible is literally true Seperate themselves from the rest of the world Movements aim to draw attention to the threat to their beliefs and values - reactions are aggressive
36
Fundamentalism and modernity
Davie - those who hold traditional orthodox beliefs are threatened by modernity Giddens - fundamentalism is a product of globalisation, provides certainty in an uncertain world
37
Cosmopolitanism
open to new ideas and lifestyle is see as a personal choice
38
Responses to postmodernity - Bauman & Castells
Bauman - fundamentalism is a response to postmodernity, which brings uncertainty and an awareness of risk Castells - resistance identity = defensive reaction of those who feel threatened and retreat into fundamentalist communities Project identity = the response of those who are forward looking and engage with social movements
39
Beckford’s criticisms
Ignore hybrid movements ‘Fixed on fundamentalism’ - ignores developments Lumps all types of fundamentalism together
40
Monotheism and fundamentalism
Polytheistic religions lack a single all powerful deity so have much more of a scope for different interpretations
41
The ‘clash of civilisations’
Religion has been at the centre of a number of global conflicts Globalisation increases the contacts between civilisations, increasing the likelihood of conflict
42
Cultural defence - Poland
Poland was under communist rule, and the Catholic Church was suppressed, but for many Poles it continued to embody Polish national identity
43
Cultural defence - Iran
Western capitalist powers have had influence on Iran - a revolution was led by religious leaders
44
Hinduism and consumerism - Nanda
A vast majority of India’s middle clans remain religious, believing in the supernatural Only 5% said that their religiosity had declined Nanda notes it is becoming fashionable to be religious Rejects existential insecurity as am explanation Rejects the idea that religiosity is a defensive reaction
45
Hindu ultra-nationalism - Nanda
Hinduism legitimates a triumphant version of Indian nationalism ‘Our people are not perfect but our culture is superior to others’ Worship of Hindu gods has become the same as worshipping the nation India
46
Capitalism in East Asia
Religion has played a role similar to the come Calvinism played in the development of capitalism Redding - values encourage hardworking, self-discipline and commitment to self-improvement, which is similar to the Protestant ethic
47
Pentecostalism in Latin America - Berger
Pentecostalism in Latin America is a ‘functional equivalent’ to Weber’s Protestant ethic Demands an ascetic way of life, emphasising hard-work
48
Pentecostalism - global and local
Christianity has globalised itself Christianity accompanied colonisation Able to incorporate beliefs Able to appeal to the poor in developing countries who make up the majority of the population
49
Falsification - Popper
Scientists set out to try and falsify existing theories, deliberately seeking evidence that would disprove them
50
The cumulative nature of scientific knowledge - Popper
Scientific knowledge builds on the achievements of previous scientists to develop a greater and greater understanding of the world around us
51
Communalism - Merton
Scientific knowledge is not private property Knowledge grows through sharing
52
Universalism - Merton
Truth of scientific knowledge is judged by a universal, objective criteria and not the scientist who produces it
53
Disinterestedness - Merton
Committed to discovering knowledge for its own sake makes it harder for scientists to practice fraud
54
Organised scepticism - Merton
Every idea is open to questioning, criticism and objective investigation No claim is regarded as sacred
55
Closed and sacred nature of religious belief
Religion claims to have special, perfect knowledge of the absolute truth
56
Closed belief systems - Horton
There are a number of ‘get out’ clauses that prevent them from being disproved
57
Azande witchcraft - Evans-Pritchard
various misfortunes encountered in daily life may be attributed to the action of witches
58
Circularity - Polyani
Each idea in the system is explained in terms of another idea within the system
59
Denial of legitimacy to rivals - Polyani
Belief systems reject alternative worldviews by refusing to grant any legitimacy to their basic assumptions
60
Paradigms - Kuhn
Set of shared assumptions Tells scientists what reality is really like, what problems to study
61
‘Normal science’ and puzzle solving - Kuhn
The scientist’s job is to fill in the details - paradigm lays down broad outlines
62
Knorr-Cetina - science
Scientists study or socially construct an artificial world - water is specially purified, animals specially bred
63
Woolgar - science as a social construct
Scientists are the same as everyone else - flawed Have to persuade others to accept their interpretations A scientific fact is just a social construct
64
Lyotard - science & capitalism
Science is one of a number of meta narratives that falsely claim to posses the truth Serves capitalist interests
65
measuring religion
practice belief affiliation
66
defining religion
substantive - content of religion constructionist -how people define it themselves functional - what religion does as an institution
67
Ernst Bloch: the principle of hope
religion is an expression of this religions offer people the idea of a better sort of society
68
Pryce - Afro-Carribeans in Bristol
Pentecostalism helped African Caribbean’s to adapt to British Society, playing a kind of ‘protestant ethic’ role in helping its members to succeed by encouraging self-reliance and thrift, and giving people mutual support and hope of improving their situation

Sociology (6 decks)

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