1.1 Explaining belief systems

Question 1

Religious

Answer 1

spiritual, scared

Question 2

Secular

Answer 2

worldly, not sacred

Question 3

Social Construct

Answer 3

something that is defined by society and that changes according to time and place

Question 4

Animism

Answer 4

an early form of religion that sees humans, animals and plants as all having spirits or souls

Question 5

Objective

Answer 5

free from bias or subjectivity; based on fact, not emotions

Question 6

Subjective

Answer 6

biased; based on personal views or feelings

Question 7

Rationalism

Answer 7

the view that knowledge must be based on reason

Question 8

Relativism

Answer 8

the idea that all forms of knowledge are of equal status

Question 9

Natural Selection

Answer 9

Darwin’s theory of the survival of those organisms best suited to their environment. The process involves favourable genetic characteristics becoming more common in successive generations, and unfavourable ones becoming less common.

Question 10

Paradigm

Answer 10

a mode of viewing the world which underlies the theories and methodology of science in a particular period of history

Question 11

New Age

Answer 11

a broad movement in Western culture that emphasises the individual’s responsibility for their own spiritual development

Question 12

Holistic Milieu

Answer 12

the climate of New Age activities

Question 13

Collective Conscience

Answer 13

a set of values and moral attitudes shared by everyone in a society

Question 14

Totemism

Answer 14

the worship of an object or animal that has divine significance

Question 15

Anomie

Answer 15

a state of normalessness

Question 16

Civil Religion

Answer 16

a secular religion that unites people in multi-faith societies by instilling a spiritual patriotism

Question 17

Social Control

Answer 17

keeping the population in line

Question 18

Ideological Apparatus

Answer 18

a mechanism for promoting the views and interests of the ruling class

Question 19

False Consciousness

Answer 19

the illusion instilled into the working class that the capitalist system is fair for everyone in society

Question 20

Hegemony

Answer 20

the ideological control that the ruling-class elite have over the masses

Question 21

Patriarchal Ideology

Answer 21

the universal system of male domination over women

Question 22

Ethnocentric

Answer 22

seeing your own culture as superior to others, and using it to judge different norms and values unfavourably

Question 23

Theodicy of Privilege or Non-Privilege

Answer 23

a religious explanation of social inequality

Question 24

Caste System

Answer 24

a class structure based on Hinduism, where a person’s status is fixed at birth according to the family’s social position. Social promotion and demotion is through reincarnation, depending on the person’s behaviour in this life

Question 25

DIY Cocktail

Answer 25

a personalised religion comprised of aspects of different faiths

Question 26

Universe of Meaning

Answer 26

the collection of shared meanings that make up social reality

Question 27

Plausibility Structure

Answer 27

the social basis for the continuation of society