Concise

Question 1

What is an open and closed system?

Answer 1

• Open system (e.g. science) are pen to criticism and testing (Popper).
• Closed systems (e.g. religion) resist change and aren’t easily falsifiable.

Question 2

Popper

Answer 2

Science advances through falsification - hypotheses must be testable and open to refutation.

Question 3

Kuhn

Answer 3

Scientific progress occurs via paradigm shifts - dominant frameworks are replaced when anomalies accumulate.

Question 4

Althusser

Answer 4

Religion functions as an ideological state apparatus perpetuating false class consciousness.

Question 5

Gramsci

Answer 5

Introduced the concept of hegemony - ruling class maintain control through cultural and ideological means including religion.

Question 6

Durkheim

Answer 6

Religion reinforces social solidarity and collective conscience through shared rituals.

Question 7

Parsons

Answer 7

Religion provides a value consensus and helps individuals cope with unforeseen events.

Question 8

Malinowski

Answer 8

Religion addresses psychological functions helping individuals deal with stress and life crises.

Question 9

Marx

Question 10

Engels

Answer 10

Acknowledged that religion can inspire revolutionary change despite its role in maintaining the status quo.

Question 11

Simone de Beauvoir

Answer 11

Religion perpetuates gender inequality by promoting the idea of women’s subordination as divinely ordained.

Question 12

El Saadawi

Answer 12

Argued patriarchal systems gave distorted religion to oppress women.

Question 13

Woodhead

Answer 13

Recognised that while religion can oppress it can also offer women empowerment and a sense of identity.

Question 14

Weber

Answer 14

The Protestant ethic and spirit of capitalism: Calvinist beliefs (asceticism, predestination)contributed to the development of capitalism.

Question 15

Berger

Answer 15

Religion provides a ‘sacred canopy’ offering a universe of meaning to help individuals make sense of the world.

Question 16

Churches

Answer 16

Large, established religious bodies with a bureaucratic structure and inclusive membership.

Question 17

Sects

Answer 17

Small, exclusive groups often in opposition to mainstream society typically led by a charismatic leader.

Question 18

Denominations

Answer 18

Midway between churches and sects, more accepting of societal norms than sects.

Question 19

Cults

Answer 19

Loose-knit, individualistic religious movements without a strict doctrine.

Question 20

New age movements

Answer 20

Emphasise self-spirituality and individualism, often eclectic and consumer-orientated.

Question 21

Wilson

Answer 21

Defined secularisation as the process whereby religious thinking, practices and institutions lose social significance.

Question 22

Bruce

Answer 22

Argues that modernity leads to the decline of religion due to rationalisation and technological advancement.

Question 23

Voas and Crockett

Answer 23

Identified a generational decline in religious belief and practice in the UK.

Question 24

Gender

Answer 24

Women generally more religious than men.

Question 25

Miller and Hoffman

Answer 25

Women more religious than men men due to socialisation and roles emphasising caring.

Question 26

Voas

Answer 26

Found 34% of women are atheists or agonist if compared to 54% of men.

Question 27

Ethnicity

Answer 27

Minority ethnic groups in the UK tend to be more religious.

Question 28

Ferguson and Hussey

Answer 28

Found that (except for Sikhs) women in all major religions are more likely than men to practice their religion.

Question 29

Age

Answer 29

Religious belief and practice tends to increase with age. Younger generations are less likely to affiliate with a religion.

Question 30

Giddens

Answer 30

Globalisation leads to increased religious pluralism and challenges traditional religious authority.

Question 31

Huntington

Answer 31

Proposed the ‘clash of civilisations’ thesis suggesting that future conflicts will be between cultural and religious identities.

Question 32

YouGov survey commissioned by he Bible society in 2025

Answer 32

Found a 50% increases in church attendance in England and Wales over the past 6 years particularly among gen z men. This resurgence is inked to the search for community and stability.

Question 33

Weber

Answer 33

Religious ideas can lead to social change - protestant ethic contributed to the rise of capitalism.

Question 34

Liberation theology

Answer 34

A movement within the Catholic Church in Latin America that combines Christian principles with political activism to address social injustice.

Question 35

British social attitudes survey 2023

Answer 35

Only 38% of the UK now identify as Christian.

Question 36

Rise of Gen z Christianity 2024-25

Answer 36

Especially among young men (YouGov/ Bible society 2025).

Question 37

Global Pentecostalism

Answer 37

Fastest-growing Christian denomination worldwide - aligns with Weber’s theory.

Question 38

Bauman

Answer 38

Religion is now a consumer choice in a ‘liquid modern’ world.

Question 39

Lyon

Answer 39

Disneyization- religion is disembedded, relocated into the media.

Question 40

Beck

Answer 40

Risk society - religion may help manage new global anxieties.

Question 41

Examples of NRMs

Answer 41

- Moonies - Hare Krishna - Scientology

Question 42

Intersectionality

Answer 42

How gender, ethnicity and class shape religious experiences

Question 43

Hybrid identities

Answer 43

Young Muslims navigating modernity and tradition.

Question 44

Substantive definition of religion

Answer 44

Belief in a supernatural power (Weber).

Question 45

Functional definition of religion

Answer 45

The social or psychological functions religion performs (Durkheim)

Question 46

Social constructionist definition of religion

Answer 46

What people consider religion in specific contexts (Aldridge).

Question 47

EVauation of 3 defintion

Answer 47

- substantive = ethnocentric. - Functional = too broad. - Constructionist = avoids imposing definitions but makes comparison harder.

Question 48

Evaluation of Popper

Answer 48

Kuhn - science isn’t always open - can be dogmatic due to paradigms.

Question 49

Evaluation of Marx

Answer 49

Neo-Marxists argue religion can be a once for resistance e.g. Liberation Theology in Latin America.

Question 50

Evaluation of Durkheim

Answer 50

Postmodernists argue we no longer share collective values - too diverse (Lyon).

Question 51

Evaluation of feminists

Answer 51

Too negative - ignores agency and change within religions.

Question 52

Evaluation of Weber

Answer 52

Marxists argue capitalism caused Calvinism.

Question 53

Evaluation of globalisation affecting religion

Answer 53

Globalisation also revives fundamentalism (Bruce).

Question 54

Evaluation of types of religious organisations

Answer 54

Wallis’ typology criticise as too rigid - boundaries are blurred today.

Question 55

What are NRMs and how are they classified?

Answer 55

- World-rejecting (Moonies) - World-accommodating - World-affirming

Question 56

Evaluation of NRMs

Answer 56

Postmodernism - reflect individualisation and identity-seeking.

Question 57

What characterises New Age beliefs?

Answer 57

Self-spirituality, detraditionalisation, personal growth (Heelas).

Question 58

Evaluation of New Age movements

Answer 58

Bruce - lack structure to survive long term.

Question 59

Evaluation of secularisation in the UK

Answer 59

Davie - ‘believing without belonging’ not decline but transformation.

Question 60

Hervieu-Leger

Answer 60

Spiritual shopping and cultural amnesia

Question 61

Evaluation of religion and postmodernism

Answer 61

Religion hasn’t disappeared it’s just changed form.

Question 62

Evaluation of religion as a force for social change

Answer 62

Often religion supports the status quo (Marxists).