theories of religion Flashcards
(17 cards)
Durkheim- functionalism
Religion acts as social glue.
It separates the ‘sacred’ and the ‘profound’- the ‘sacred’ evoking powerful feelings, which can only be done by society.
Arunta clan example- worshiped ‘totems’, which reflected society- represented a ‘class conscience’ (shared norms and values)
Durkheim and Mauss- functionalism
Religion is the origin of human thought, reason, and science.
e.g. Christianity says that God created the world at the ‘beginning of time’
Malinowksi- functionalism
Religion completed psychological functions:
- when the outcome is important but uncontrollable and thus uncertain (lagoon vs ocean fishing)
- at time of life crisis
Parsons- functionalism
In addition to Malinowski, religion:
- creates and legitimates society’s central values by making them sacred
- gives a primary source of meaning by answering the ‘ultimate’ questions
Bellah- functionalism
‘civil religion’ unifies society
e.g in American with ‘Americansim’
Mestrovic- criticism of functionalism
We no longer have one unified moral community
Marx ‘religion as an ideology’- marxism
Religion legitimates the suffering of the working class as inevitable and god-given.
- Christianity: it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the gates of heaven
- Divine Right of Kings: legitimates middle class power
Marx ‘religion and alientaion’- marxism
Religion is a product of the suffering that alienation causes, acting as consolation.
Religion acts as an opiate to dull the pain of exploitation with no solution.
Lenin- marxism
Religion is a ‘spiritual gin’ that confuses the w/c and keeps them in place
Althusser- criticism of marxism
Rejects alienation as scientific and based on the romantic idea of human’s having a ‘true self’.
Simone de Beauvoir- feminism
Christianity is used to justify the subordination of women
- eve was made second, women are regarded as the ‘second sex’
- eve ate the forbidden fruit, women experience pain during menstruation
Armstrong ‘religious organisations’- feminism
Women’s exclusion of priesthood is evidence of their marginalisation
Woodhead ‘priests’- feminism
Exclusion of priesthood is facts of the church’s deep unease for the emancipation of women
Armstrong ‘early religions- feminism
Early religions often placed women at the centre.
El Saadawi- feminism
Religion isn’t inherently patriarchal, it’s used by men to oppress women
Woodhead ‘religious forms of feminism’
‘Religious forms of feminism’ are ways in which women use religion to gain greater freedom and respect
Gilliat-Ray- feminism
Young British Muslim women use the hijab to gain parental approval to enter further education
-see the hijab as a symbol of liberation
