beliefs in society Flashcards
(30 cards)
three types of religion
> theistic religion - belief of higher power that is sacred to the religion.
animism - belief in spirits and ghosts
totemism - focused on the worship of a symbol that represents the group
new age movements -spiritual belief that focuses on self development and fulfillment rather than a devotion to a higher power.
traditional view of science
> after the enlightenment, science replaced religion as the dominant ideology is western society
it is the pursuit of facts and objectivity.
aims to identify abuse and effect relationships that can be reliably tested.
Popper - science as an open belief system
> popper believes that science has become dominant due to its open system . this means that its open to criticism and challenge.
he argues that that science is built upon falsification. this means that something should be tested and potentially proven wrong through evidence.If a theory is proven wrong another theory will replace it.
Kuhn - science as a closed belief system
> kuhn believes that science is a closed belief system du to the paradigms ( pre existing framework that doesn’t encourage freedom of thought) that dominate it.
those who follow the guidelines tend to be rewarded whereas those who question how science should work tend to be ridiculed and marginalised.
religion as a closed belief system
religions claim they have the only correct worldview\it is argued that this prevents change as the traditional values of the religion aren’t flexible.
secularisation
some sociologists believe that this lack of flexibility has led to a decline in religious beliefs in societies.
ideology
a set of beliefs and values that usually revolve around a core principle . essentially the same as a belief system.
marxist view (ideology)
> science and religion are manipulated by the bourgeiose to maintain and reproduce social class inequality.
they are in place to justify the capitalist system and prevent a working class revolution.
this feeds into the proletariats false class consciousness.
feminist view
promotes patriarchy
. science and religion become male stream as they defined the male position of power by representing women as weak and impure.
for example in monotheistic religions Go is a man and sacred texts portray women negatively.
postmodernist view
Postmodernists believe that religions have lost all power to influence society. However the decline in religion is a social change in itself. they claim that any ideology that seeks to explain the truth is a mental narrative due to the fragmentation of society .
> these meta narratives are dangerous and they don’t allow individual thought and free will
functionalist durkheim - secondary socialisation
believed tht religion creates a collective conscience through secondary socialisation.
it teaches its followers norms and values of society.
religion reinforces the value consensus creating social order
durkheim - australian aborigines
he found that their religion was based on totemism.
to a community their chosen sacred symbol represents themselves as a society along with a higher power that protects them.
> therefore by worshiping their God they are also celebrating their own society.
By worshipping together religion provides the community with a collective conscience through secondary. this means they had a shared understanding of the norms values and beliefs that held their community together.
Malinowski - psychological functions
claimed that religion also provides society with psychological functions.
He argued that when faced with a life crisis religion can help you overcome this.
He referred to this as a rite of passage.
A rite of passage, such as a funeral, helps the community return to normality as quickly as possible therefore maintaining social order.
Bellah
Neo-functionalist Bellah argued that America has its own civil religion known as ‘Americanism’.
In order to avoid conflict and promote integration, the worship of the American culture unites its citizens better than any other religion.
For example, Americanism can be said to ‘worship’ the American flag.
A civil religion is a faith in Americanism or ‘the American way of life’ rather than one almighty God
Opium of the masses - Marx
Marx said religion was the ‘opium of the masses’ as it dulls the pain of oppression by giving its followers a temporary ‘high’ through promises of a better afterlife in order to distract them from their exploitation.
Lenin agreed, comparing religion to ‘spiritual gin’, an intoxicant that numbs the pain of oppression.
simone de beauvoir (feminism)
believes that religion successfully maintains gender inequality by tricking women into thinking that they are equal to men in the eyes of their God and that they will be compensated for any hardship in the afterlife.
armstrong (feminism)
studies how women are often blocked from positions in the top of the mainstream churches.
She studied the Church of England.
Women in the church have not been able to progress to the top religious positions.
This issue is not only confined to the Church of England as many other religions face the same issue.
weber- calvinism
Weber’s study, ‘The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ is a key example of how religion can lead to social change.
Weber believed that the development of Calvinism was highly influential in the creation modern capitalism. Before the emergence of Calvinism, Weber believed that capitalism existed in a different form to what we understand today.
Wealth was seen as a sign of greed and therefore possessing vast amounts of money was seen as sinful.
Instead Catholics would donate money to the Church as a sign to God that they were devoted believers.
Followers became anxious about whether they were part of ‘the elect’. They had no way in confirming their place and so devoted themselves to their work as a distraction.
Weber believed the emergence of Calvinism reflects what we know as the ‘spirit of capitalism’ as the pursuit of profit was seen as the main priority.
john calvin
John Calvin (founder of Calvinism) created his own sect of the Christian religion.
He changed the way that wealth was viewed by his followers.
calvinist beliefs
Predestination:
God decides who will enter the kingdom of heaven before birth. These people were known as ‘the elect’.
Divine transcendence:
No individual has the power to rival God or predict his wishes.
Asceticism:
Followers of Calvinism should deny themselves all pleasure that could distract them from their devotion to their faith.
Devotion to work:
The only way to please god was to devote themselves to their work.
Although, this will not change the after-life they are predestined for.
bruce
argues that religion promotes social change , depending on its actions and how society reacts to it.
this is shown in:
>the american civil rights movement - MLK used religion as an ideological resource meaning that he appealed to all christian’s regardless of other factors such as race. Bruce therefore says it was successful as it was a peaceful protest
> the new christian right- fundamentalist movement that is conservative in re and disagrees with the hangers that have occurred i american society.
criticism: they are unwilling to cooperate with other groups and distance themselves,
hervieu-leger
he believes that religions reluctance to change has also led to its unpopularity in todays world. there are many world views to compete with its teachings. this has led to a ‘cultural amnesia’ (collective disregard of cultural traditions,values and history)
lyon
he argues there is an emergence of a religious marketplace which has developed due to religious leaders turning to the media in order to publicise their belief system in order for it to survive.
church
large worldwide denomination
have professional clergy
multi layered hierarchy structure
