Beliefs in society essay topics Flashcards
(11 cards)
Evaluate the usefulness of functionalism in our understanding of Religion
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Durkheim - religion collective conscience + social intergration.
A02: arunta tribe totem rituals reinforced loyalty to single moral community
A03: PM mestrovic ; fragmentation - **Malinowski **: psychological function
A02: Trobriand islanders practice religious ceremonies when in danger.
Prevents societal disruption
A03: ignores negative aspects e.g oppression of women and poor
3.** Parsons value **- (sacralises and legitimises societal values e.g USA) and meaning (answer ultimate questions)
A03: shows how religion helps both society and the individual
- **Bellah **: Civil religion. American God, rituals and symbols = social solidarity
A03: Not a substantive religion
Evaluate the usefulness of Marxism in our understanding of Religion
- Religion as an ideology: Marx religion is the opium of the people. quotes from the Bible = suffering is god given and virtuous - false class consciousness. Lenin -spriritual gin intoxicates w/c and obscures reality
A03: cant explain the existence of religion in non capitalist societies like Cuba - Religion as a product of alienation: capitalism is dehumanising. Religion is generated from suffering not imposed from above as a spiritual compensation for real world suffering “heart of a heartless world”
A03: Less alienated workers in modern society because people don’t work in factories - Gramsci: Religion and hegemony. Religion offers a vision of a fairer world: counter hegemony(socialist values)
A03: recognises how religion can be a source of oppression AND liberation. “Obey your leaders and submit to them” - Althusser - religion as an ISA
A02: reinforcement of norms like obedience and submission maintains capitalist dominance
A03: overly structuralist. religion has different meanings for different groups of people
Evaluate feminist views on the relationship between religion and the patriarchy
- Religion reinforces gender roles : scriptures sacralise patriarchy.
A02: “wives be subject to your husband as to the lord” = maintenance of patriarchy, as it creates the illusion of patriarchy being god given
A03: El - Sadaawi. Religion itself isn’t patriarchal, its men’s cultural control over the interpretations of scripture - Controls women’s body and sexuality.
A02: catholicism bans contraception and islam genital mutilation restricts women’s sexuality.
A03: Woodhead: churches way of responding to unease female liberation causes them. - Women in religious organisations:
El sadaawi: religion is male dominated. Orthodox Jews and Catholic Church exclude women from hierarchy, interpretion is male
A03: Secularisation: Church of England female vicars since 1992 - Women are seen as temptresses:
A02: worship separately n islam and orthodox judaism, dress code to deter lust e.g hijab = control. eve is cause of sin on earth
A03: Badawi: Women now have more choice e.g choice in veil - Women are a male possession: Men ‘give away’ the bride, Sadawii: mutilation to preserve virginity. Islamic polygamy only favour men.
A03: marxists agree that religion maintain the subordination of women: Marx: benefit R/c, Feminists: Benefits men
Role of religion in social change
- Religion is a conservative force to prevent social change
A02: creates a value consensus to prevent collapse from selfishness and
opposes changes to freedom e.g gay, divorce, contraception..creates a false class conciousness to justify subordination of women, upholds tard beliefs
A03:
2: Weber and the birth of capitalism, change in the economic structure of society. Protestant work ethic = capitalism
A03: in 16th century places like India were economically developed but religion prevented the development of capitalism: Hinduism Is other worldly and encourages engaging in the spiritual world not material
3: Neomarxism, religion, social change
Bloch: ‘principle of hope’ , images of utopia. Engels: dual character
A02: 1970s South America: Catholic priests liberation theology. Vatican failed to help poor. Encouraged change and the usage of force when necessary. took the side of the oppressed when dictators used force to hold power
A03: maduro and gramsci: church is a vessel for change where protests are banned
- Can be used to challenge mainstream beliefs and values” à can inspire social protest. The role of the black clergy during the civil rights. Religion and social protest
A02: american civil rights movement. Bruce: black clergy helped to end segregation. Moral legitimacy, sanctuaries from white violence, appealed using shared christian values. Religious orgs can help by taking the moral high ground
however the new hristian right show that religion isnt alwayss successful in bringing about social change but its because of their negative message according to bruce
Religiosity and social groups(20 marks)
- Religion and social class.
Marin: m/c use church to network
w/c attracted to denomination
Bruce: New age cults are M/c
psychological and opium - w/c
2.Religion and gender: Miller and hoffman- socialisation and characteristics and risk aversion.
woodhead: new age beliefs - women’s individual sphere
A03: amongst Jews hindus and muslims, men are more religious than women.
3: Religion and ethnicity: Bruce cultural transition: cope W stress of migration e.g hindus and muslims build mosques and temples. religiosity declines after settling.
Cultural defence: protect identity and culture in racist environments e.g black rejecting white church and making pentecostal denominations
less than 20% of black peole in London yet over 1/2 church goers are black
- Religion and age:
Voas and Crockett explanations for age differences: 1. the ageing effect, the period cohort effect and secularisation(generational effect)
middle age m/c like and can afford cults
Secularisation and religion:
- weber and rationalisation:
- religion declines in importance as increased modernity is incompatible with religion. Disenchantment of religion and the world. rational ways of thinking dominate religious ones and individualism means religion is a choice. tradition,custom and ascribed staus is less important.
A03:wilson supports this, people prefer truths that can be objectively measured, religion is based on faith
2.Bruce - a technological world view. look to science to explain events. technological solutions give people control and are reliable. Religion survives when technology is least effective.
A03: Postmodernists say society is starting to mistrust science due to failures e.g global warming, air pollution
- Parsons structural differentiation. disengagement of religion from other institutions. functions of religion are transferred to other institutions and become disconnected from wider society (the Church loses its importance) Bruce: religion has become privatised. Believing without belonging more individualisation = choice in religiosity.
A03: Postmodernists claim institutions are not clearly bounded of functionally distinct due to fragmentation - religious diversity : Berger: ‘Crisis of credibility’ secularisation is due to too many religion. Countries used to have one dominating religion but too many in the uk = who to believe
A03: Beckford: opposing views may strengthen a religious groups commitment to existing beliefs
“Evaluate the impact of globalisation on religion in the contemporary world.” (20 marks)
- Religious fundamentalism:Almond et al -this arises where trad beleifs are threatened by modern society Attractive today- rigid beliefs= certainty in an uncertain world. response to more choice and diversity and retreat back to faith based answers A02: new christian right campaigning against gays,abortion and trying to church + state
A03: Giddens contrasts fundamentalism with cosmopolitanism - Davie Secular fundamentalism:
not confined to religion e.g politicians protecting conservative values
A02: 2015 far right French councils stopped serving pork alternatives claiming they want religion out of the secular sphere + ban hijab
A03: lacks evidence for widespread secular fundamentalism. secularism and religion co exist peacefully in some modern societies
3.Huntington - clash of civilisations: Civilisations transcend national borders = conflict and us vs them culture. A02: tension w/ islamic countries and the west is evidence of civi. Conflict DT incompatible world views e.g 911, terrorism
A03: Armstrong :hostility to the west isn’t due to islam fundamentalism but western foreign policy e.g Israel
- Helland: globalisation has led to religion online and online religion. Davie: believing without belonging due to beliefs are disembedded from physical churches (lyon). worship is transported to online digital space. as it’s not attached to the church and can be adapted for peoples own purposes.
a03: hoover says that online religion is a supplement to church not replacement
religiosity and age
- Voas and crocket explanation for why older people are more religious: The ageing affect: concern with the afterlife.
- period/ cohort effect: some people grew up in a time period where religion was necessary e.g war
- generational effect: each generation becomes more secular than the one before. Gill notes children aren’t recieving a religious socialisation anymore.
- why young people are less religious: Brierly found 87% Yutes found church boring and old fashioned. theres many controversial issues: abortion, gay right, divorce, contraception, sex before marriage. stigma around these are declining in modern society but not in religion
- Davie - believing without belonging. young peoples belief is more privatised but they are still religious
Religion and social class
Marin - m/c see church as a chance to network and seem respectable which explains why their church stats are high and their beliefs are low. pew research centre : atheists are less trustworthy that rapists
w/C favour denominations as they mistrust trad religion like anglicism as they associate it with royalty and authority, prefer non conformist. denominations offer compensators like rewards in the afterlife. offers belonging and financial/ social support and welfare.
sects: recruit disadvantaged members of society and require them to give up their previous life. people w too much to lose aren’t attracted to sects
Weber: theodicy of disprivelege : a religious explanation and justification of working class poverty and suffering
bible quotes
A03: attendance is low so w/c aren’t even there to get the explanation
bruce new age cults are M/C. they desire spiritual growth as their material desires have been satisfied and crave more. interest depends of having enough money to buy into the services that the cults offer. appeal to uni educated m/c women because they see potential
Ethnicity and religion
Brierly - over 1/2 church goers are black even though less than 20% of people in London are black
cultural defence - bruce says religion is a source of identity + culture in uncertain hostile racist conditions. blacks were christian when they came to the uk but were rejected by the white church so they joined black led churches
Pryce argues that Pentecostalism is a highly adaptable, ‘religion of the oppressed’. Pentecostalism helped African-Caribbean immigrants adapt to British society
cultural transition - bruce says its a means of coping w the street of migration. when Indians and Pakistanis came to the uk there was no mosques and temples and they had to build them in the face of opposition which reinforced the social solidarity. provides a familiar group in a new environment
John birds: 5 reasons why minorities are more religious than whites:
1. minorities originate form societies of high religiosity
2.religion provides community and solidarity to find a potential marriage partner
3. Em - cultural defence and cultural transition
4. socialisation: strong pressure on children to maintain religious commitment
5. religious beliefs can help to cope with opression
religion and gender
Davie: women feel closer to god as they are involved in the creation of life through birth and caring for the elderly(death) they are more likely to reflect on the mystery of creation .
Miller and hoffman: risk is a factor in religiosity. men tend to be willing to take more risks than women including not being religious which is a risk as it can lead to failure to get into heaven
miller and hoffman: women are socialised into being submissive and nurturing which Is traits that are compatible with religiosity. men who have these traits are more likely to be religious
woodhead : new age beliefs are attractive to women as they appeal to the ‘individual sphere” bypasses the expressive and and instrumental sphere and creates a new identity for w/ women. its abt personal development and self discovery rather than obedience to someone else e.g yoga
