theories of religion Flashcards
(36 cards)
Durkheim: Sacred and Profane
All societies differentiate between the sacred and the profane and religion is based on this division. What is regarded as sacred provokes powerful emotions. Although sacred symbols vary from religion to religion they all perform the essential function of uniting believers into a single moral community.
Durkheim: Totemism
Durkheim studied the Arunta tribe and their religion of totemism. The society was divided into clans and each clan had its own totem; a sacred symbol which was the outward visible symbol of their clan and their God. He believed that rituals surrounding it represented the power of the group and thus reinforced the group’s solidarity and sense of belonging
Collective conscience
Sacred symbols represent society’s collective conscience which is the shared values that maintain order in society. Regular shared rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social integration. Participating in shared rituals binds individuals together, reminding them that they are part of a single community.
Cognitive functions
Religion is the origin of human thought and reason- it provides us with basic concepts such as time, space and causation. Religion provides shared knowledge and therefore a source of intellectual or cognitive capacities
Postmodernist criticism of Durkheim
Mestrovic argued that Durkheim’s ideas cannot be applied to a contemporary society because increasing diversity has fragmented the collective conscience, so there is no longer a shared value system to reinforce
America’s national faith
Bellah argues that America’s civil religion integrates society in a way that individual religions cannot. It sacralises the American way of life and binds together Americans from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds
Symbols of Americanism
Every American knows the story of Abraham Lincoln who was born in a log cabin and dying from an assassin’s bullet in 1865. Pictured on coins and sculptured in the marble in the Lincoln Memorial, he has become an almost mythical figure
Malinowski: times of life crisis
Events such as birth, puberty, marriage and especially death mark major changes and can be disruptive. Religion and religious ritual can defuse the notion of crisis at these times
Malinowski: uncontrollable and uncertain events
Unpredictable occasions are preceded by rituals to reduce anxiety. The Trobriand Islanders of the Western Pacific do not engage in religious rituals before fishing in the lagoon as it is safe however ocean fishing is more uncertain and dangerous and is always accompanied by a ritual of ‘canoe magic’.
Parsons: primary source of meaning
Religion answers the ultimate questions about the human condition and helps individuals adjust to crises and disappointments
Parsons: creates and legitimates society’s central values
Religion provides powerful guidelines for human actions and standards against which people’s conduct can be evaluated. Many norms in society are an expression and reflection of religious beliefs
Marx view on religion
Religion originated amongst primitive people in response to their fear of the unknown. Religion should have disappeared as people gained more rational understandings of the world, however the rise of industrial capitalism led to religion being taken over by the bourgeoisie and incorporated into RC ideology- justifies status quo and props up capitalism
How does religion promise a paradise of eternal bliss in life after death?
Engels argues the Abrahamic faiths provide a vision of heaven that makes life on earth more bearable- this is because it encourages people to anticipate something better. If people are hoping for something better in the afterlife they are more likely to conform in society
How does religion justify the social order and a person’s position in it?
Followers are told that God created and ordained the social structure- this lends sacred support for the status quo. This belief obscures and disguises human authorship and responsibility for inequality. Attempts to change the social order are seen as blasphemous- a rejection of God’s plan
How does US fundamentalist Christianity support marxist views?
US fundamentalist Christianity has been closely identified with conservative political groups, exerting influence over political decision making and the selection of candidates for political office
Evaluation of marxist view
Marx argues religion is a tool of oppression however critics argue he ignores positive functions of religion e.g. comfort. However marxists would argue this is exactly what marx recognised
Religion continues to have a role in communist societies and therefore must have functions independent of propping up capitalism
Gramsci
During different historical periods religions had emerged which expressed and supported the interests of the oppressed classes. He argued that religious beliefs could be popularized by proletarian intellectuals
Maduro
Maduro rejects the view that religion is always a conservative force arguing it has potential to be revolutionary. In the 1960s Liberation Theology emerged where Catholic priests increasingly demonstrated their autonomy from the bourgeoisie by criticising them and giving the oppressed a voice
evaluation of maduro
The liberation theology movement lost influence and in the 1980s the Church’s official attitude changed to a more conservative one. Pope John Paul II condemned liberation theology on the grounds that it resembled Marxism and instructed priests to focus on pastoral activities not political struggles
Turner
Religion is not always an important part of ruling class ideology. Drawing on historical events, he claims that in feudal times the peasantry were largely indifferent to religion. By comparison, religion played an important part in the lives of the ruling class, the feudal lords.
evidence of the patriarchy
Religion is an instrument of domination that serves men’s interests. Feminists argue that the secondary and subordinate role of women in Christian doctrine is also typical to most other religions. Armstrong argues that no major religions have been particularly good to women and are excluded from key roles in most of the world’s major religions
De Beauvoir
Religion can be used by the oppressors to control the oppressed. Men have control over religious beliefs and ‘man enjoys the great advantage of having God endorse the code he writes’. The code uses divine authority to support male dominance
El Saadawi
Oppressive practices in religion should be attributed to the dominant patriarchal ideology which allows men to distort religion to serve their own interests by justifying and legitimising the oppression of women. Religion started to become patriarchal through the misinterpretation of religious beliefs
evaluation: a historical perspective
Daly states that historically women have not always been subordinate or invisible in religion. Women were considered as central to the spiritual quest and there were very few effigies of God as a man.
