Religion Flashcards

Question

Holm

Answer 1

Women are exploited by religion, Buddhism: Monks are more superior to nuns Orthodox Judaism: women are excluded from services Islam: women cannot enter places of worship Hinduism: only men can become Brahmin priests

Answer 2

religion acts as compensation for suffering faced in current life, helps maintain inequality, women vital for religion to continue ‘social control’, women socialise children and organise rituals

Answer 3

Egyptian feminist, imprisoned for beliefs, forced to undergo female circumcision, Arab women often sexually abused by male family members Argues religion only became patriarchal when men misinterpreted religion, in Old Testament Eve has the gift of knowledge.

Answer 4

Women are resisting patriarchal religious traditions, Islamic women can keep their family name in marriage, reformed Judaism allows female rabbis, Quakerism doesn’t oppress women

Answer 5

Veiling is usually seen as social control, Muslim women see it as a way of avoiding male oppression, when looking at religion we shouldn’t be ethnocentric

Answer 6

Women are socialised to be more passive, obedient and caring, qualities that are valued by religion. Women more likely to work part-time or be full-time carers, meaning they have more time to participate in religion

Answer 7

Taking care of family members increases religiosity

Answer 8

women are closer to birth and death, so question the meaning of life more

Answer 9

Organismic deprivation—women more likely to be of ill health and seek healing through religion. Ethical deprivation—women are more morally conservative so regard the world as being in moral decline, sharing the views of religion. Social deprivation—women more likely to be poor, religion attracts poor groups.

Answer 10

Big rise in NRMs over past 30 years Suggests that religion isn’t declining, simply changing Challenges the secularisation thesis

Answer 11

Three types of NRMs World affirming—fully accepts society’s norms and values; offers members ‘spiritual improvement’ via meditation; no formal collective worship; more individual control; New Age Movement; promises to improve current life instead of afterlife; Scientology.

Answer 12

neither fully reject or accept society; branch off from mainstream religions; members live normal lifestyles; often believe they are the ‘chosen elite’; Jehovah’s witnesses.

Answer 13

hostile to society’s norms and values; view the world as corrupt; encourage members to withdraw from society; regarded as ‘total institutions’ that are known for brainwashing; Jonestown: 909 mass suicides/murders.

Answer 14

fully accepts society’s norms and values; offers members ‘spiritual improvement’ via meditation; no formal collective worship; more individual control; New Age Movement; promises to improve current life instead of afterlife; Scientology

Answer 15

categories are too vague and ignore diversity between NRMs; world rejecting NRMs can’t exist as religions must have contact with the outside world to recruit

Answer 16

least organised, least required commitment, no formal meeting place, little interaction between members, participation via internet, e.g. UFO cult.

Answer 17

consultant-client relationship, cult provides a service, provides meaning and ways to improve current life, e.g. Scientology.

Answer 18

very organised, high commitment level required, make predictions and prophecies, strict rules, e.g.Moonies.

Answer 19

- Studied religion and spirituality in the town. - Lasted for two years. - Due to inadequate evidence, no consensus had been reached on the state of religion in Britain. - Town was the right size and a convenient distance away. - Counting church attendees, questionnaires. - Based on claims that religion is in decline but also in a state of growth. - Sacralisation= growth of religion. - 7.9% of Kendal were active worshippers. - Holistic spirituality is much more private, so harder to quantify. - Found holistic practices through noticeboards and word-of-mouth. - Tai chi, aromatherapy, yoga. - 1.7% of Kendal were active participants in holistic activity. - Traditional church going has been in decline, holistic activity has been on a pattern of steady growth. - Holistic religion will overtake traditional religion if it continues at its current growth. - Statistics gained from Kendal align with statistics gained from the rest of Britain, showing that the bond between Britain and the CofE might be overtaken by holistic movements soon.

Answer 20

Moonies study, people join religion due to relative deprivation.

Answer 21

Secularisation is the decline in religious practices, institutions and thinking

Answer 22

Science has replaced religion | Positivists argue that as society becomes industrial, religion declines and science thrives.

Answer 23

going down, churches are closing and being converted, church membership/baptisms/church marriages/clergy members in decline

Answer 24

- Most ethnic groups come from poorer countries with traditional cultures involving religious beliefs. - Ethnic groups use cultural transition as a comfort blanket.

Answer 25

when religion is used as a comfort blanket when to retain culture in a new environment

Answer 26

when people are willing to defend, fight and die for their religion (9/11)

Answer 27

cultural transition explains high levels of religion among 1st generation USA immigrants.

Answer 28

Religion offers support in a hostile environment

Answer 29

Religion can preserve culture and language. | -E.g: Pryce—studied pentacostalism in black communities acting as cultural transition and defence.

Answer 30

The older a person is, the more likely they are to be religious apart from under 15s due to parental pressure and over 65s due to sickness/disability two explanations for age difference in religion, the ‘ageing effect’ where people turn to religion as they get older (Kendall Project), the ‘generational effect’ where as society becomes more secular each generation gets less religious.

Answer 31

Individuals aspire to certain key goals such as living forever, higher IQ, more money; religions such as Scientology sell these ideas to people (cults for capitalism); this adds to the diversity of religious choice.

Answer 32

Evaluation of postmodernist views- assumes religion is personal choice but ignores how religion controls society.

Answer 33

secularisation is not happening, religion will never fully disappear because humans will always have supposed needs (the need to know about ultimate questions).

Answer 34

- The world is becoming more interconnected due to communication and transport improvements. - Societies and faiths come into closer contact, potential for conflict. - Religion can create changes in the economy.

Answer 35

- Globalisation has made India a wealthy country - Emergence of a new m/c who are educated, urban and work in banking/technology. - This m/c have abandoned their religion for science. - Some of the m/c still believe in the supernatural and pursue religious tourism (visit shrines and temples) - It is fashionable to be religious.

Answer 36

the Indian m/c believe in religion due to the contradiction between being wealthy and following Hinduism, they follow a version of Hinduism that justifies wealth to reduce guilt, by paying for visits to religious shrines. India’s successful economy is promoted as a result of their superior values by the media, led to a rise in ultra-nationalism, created a sense of civil religion: worship Hindu gods, learn Hindu science in schools, development of ‘magic’ weapons in Hindu texts, use cow urine to cure disease.

Answer 37

Fundamentalism = Evangelical Traditionalists who wish to return to the basics of their faith - Holy books are valid - Refuse other faiths - Our postmodern society allows us great choice, but some feel overwhelmed and turn to fundamentalism to cope. - Fundamentalism is easily confused with cosmopolitanism (modern) - Modifying beliefs in light of new information (reflective thinking), ie: Jehovah’s witnesses accept blood transfusions if it is their own blood. - Fundamentalists use modern methods to spread beliefs

Answer 38

fundamentalism usually found in monotheistic religions as polytheistic faiths have multiple gods so are more susceptible to misinterpretation. - In the West, F is often due to social changes, eg: CNR have emerged due to progressive views emerging. - F’s role is to restore religion to shape morality/law. - In the East, F’s role is to force western values on them which Eastern countries often resist with their own F, eg: Islamic Rev-1979.

Answer 39

Religion often at the centre of global conflicts such as 9/11 or the 7/7 bombings. - These conflicts have increased since the 1980s, start of globalisation. - Religion can create both solidarity and conflict.

Answer 40

these differences in religion create hostile relationships, led to increased military/economic competition, predicts the West is under threat and wars will increase, predicts anti-west military alliances.

Answer 41

Huntington stereotypes Eastern nations as inferior and fanatical

Answer 42

the real issue is with religion and sexuality, not with politics, East and West support democracy, but Eastern countries don’t support divorce, gay rights, abortion, gender equality.

Answer 43

- Many see science as evidence of secularisation - Faith in god replaced by faith in science - Science helps us explain, predict and control the world

Answer 44

science is an open belief system, theories are open to criticism, science is ruled by the falsification theory.

Answer 45

- All science is controlled by those in power. - All science is manipulated and exists for a hidden purpose. - Feminists argue that science controls women’s bodies - ‘The medicalisation of women’ - Doctors tell you when to have a caesarean or not.

Answer 46

- Science can only thrive if it receives support from other institutions. - Marxists claim that although science is an ideology, its existence is to benefit capitalism through industry. Communism-science is not private knowledge, findings are published. Universalism-the truth of science is judged by objective criteria. Disinterestedness-being committed to knowledge for its own sake instead of practicing fraud as data can be checked by others. Organised Scepticism-every idea is open to criticism and questioning.

Answer 47

- Set of beliefs where claims cannot be challenged. - When beliefs are questioned, they have a get out of jail card for every question. - This reinforces the belief system and prevents it being disproved. - E.g: the virgin pregnancy

Answer 48

science is based on a set of shared assumptions (a paradigm). - Scientific education is a process of being socialised into believing the paradigm. - Challenging paradigms brings ridicule.

Answer 49

sociology deals with facts, collects, interprets and predicts behaviour; quantitative, objective data can be gathered; sociology also accumulates knowledge; follows strict scientific procedures; causal connections are made to predict behaviour; both try to develop theories that explain the world objectively.

Answer 50

people have free will so can’t be predicted; statistics aren’t objective when distorted by powerful institutions; definitions are subjective; sociological theories aren’t precise; observations and measurements of society aren’t possible due to our own stereotypes and interpretations; science is based on agreed paradigms, sociology is based on conflicting theories.

Answer 51

- A worldwide or a set of ideas and values - In other words a belief system - Ideologies can be distorted, false, or mistaken ideas about the world – one sided or bias view.

Answer 52

- Society only benefits men - Every institution is patriarchal - Social rules are made by men… to benefit men - An ideology can contain ideas that prevent change by misleading people about the reality of their social situation.

Answer 53

Equality will never work as it is against human nature - Victim blaming ideas – “the poor are dumb and lazy” theory of meritocracy - Racist ideas about ethnic/religious inferiority divides workers, this preve

Answer 54

Gramsci refers to R/C ideology as hegemony - W/C can develop ideas and challenge the R/C as they have a dual consciousness - = a mixture of R/C ideas and W/C ideas

Answer 55

every nation should be independent; national loyalty and identity more important than class and religion; a nation is an ‘imagined community’ that binds millions together; e.g: Nazi Germany.

Answer 56

nationalism is a form of FCC that divides the international w/c; nationalism encourages workers to believe they have more in common with their national r/c than workers of other countries; this false idea persuades the w/c to fight wars for the r/c.

Answer 57

- Nationalism integrates individuals together. - Nationalism is a civil religion that unites everyone. - E.g: collective rituals using the American Flag.

Answer 58

nationalism is a relatively new idea (1700s); industrial revolution and globalisation has created nationalism; modern countries and their r/c use nationalism to motivate their population in times of crisis; E.g: COVID.

Answer 59

- Work conducted between WW1-WW2 - All belief systems are partial or one sided worldviews - 2 types of belief system - Ideological thought ideology — justifies keeping things as they are, reflects the interests of privileged groups such as the capitalist class - Utopian Thought ideology — justifies social change. It reflects the exposition and interests of the under class and offers a vision of how society can be organised differently. - Mannheim sees all ideologies as creations of groups of intellectuals which attach themselves to different social groups. o Eg. Trade unions – teachers, factory workers - Because they only represent that group they only provide a partial sided view of society -Opposing views can cause conflict - The W/C need to create a free floating intelligentsia - Rather then represent one group they can explore all ideologies - present a total worldview ideology that represents the interests of the whole of the W/C.

Religion Flashcards

(90 cards)