beliefs - religion and social change Flashcards
what are the roles of religion in society?
Conservative force - Preventing social change and supporting traditional values
Social force - Encouraging society to change
Religion as a conservative force - functionalist Durkheim
Religion helps promotes socal solidarity through ceremonies and artifacts e.g totenism bringing collective worship, helps prevent anomie from disrupting social stability and maintains the status quo.
Modern society example - Worshipping america to promote social solidarity and conservative force of american values.
Religion as a conservative force - functionalist Parsons
Function of religion is to provide answers to questions that could destabilise an individuals committment to society e.g death? Even the inexplicable can be explained by god’s will.
Religion as a conservative force - Marxism
Through ideological functions of religon e.g spiritual gin, afterlife etc, the working class are brainwashed into thinking inequality is god’s will or god given and preventing proletariat revolution. example- Christian hymns involving verses about being served justice in heaven or being poor was given by god.
Religion as a conservative force - feminism
Main function of religion is to maintain patriarchy in male dominated society. Religion interpreted by men to benefit men and stops women challenging patriarchal system through ideolgies - they’ll be provided with psychological rewards if they accept their roles, preventing social change of gender equality. e.g Christianity, god being all powerful, all loving and all knowing used to justify womens subordination
Evidence of religon as a conservative force
New Christian right in the USA - reverting to traditional values of anti abortion laws, challening womens role in the workplace and same sex marriage.
Roman catholic church - traditional sexual morality opposing sex before marriage
Religion as a conservative force - Evaluations
-Many religions divided into different denominations which offers hope for change
-Dual character
-Impacts of globalisation shows religion becoming more progressive
Religion as a force for social change - Neo marxism - Dual character
Engles - religion hinders change through disguising opression however also can preach liberation e.g from slavery and misery. Religion is in the superstructure maintaining and shaping society but also in the base as it’s an institution owned by the beourgiosie
Social change - what is liberation theory & who
Maduro - Religion has some independence from ruling class economic system which can be used for revolutionary change
social change - example of liberation theory
-Latin American Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador was originally a conservative leader but began to speak up against the fascist ideolgies and military regime of the state killings. He helped victim’s families and organised people in their resistance, wishing for revoultion before being assassinated in 1980.
Social change - Neo marxism - Bloch
Principle of hope - Religion may prevent change but can inspire protest and rebellion
Shows images of utopia and a ‘perfect life’ which can display what needs changing and encourage to change society for the better.
Social change - Neo marxism - Gramsci
Although religion contributed to hegemonic control of the ruling class it could also help develop counter-hegemony e.g religious leaders could take on role of organic intellectuals and become educators and leaders of ideas that counter the ruling class ideolgies to help build rebellion and protest.
Social change - how can religion be used to challenge patriarchy
Religion is largely patriarchal but others suggest a new version of society could be reimagined through spirituality.
Daly- Goddess religions reject patriarchal values
social change - how does growth of goddess religion challenge trad religions
Woodhead- growth of these various forms of religon provides women self esteem and confidence and create own idea of the world as not surrounded by traditional christian values. Then able to challenge patriarchy.
Social change - Weber and calvinists
Calvinists believed in predestination- idea that God has already decided who will go to heaven and nothing can change this. Believed that those who had wealth were ‘chosen’ and god built values based on hard work and purity.
