Assessment 1 Flashcards
Source analysis based on the following content: The differing ways in which religion is viewed in society and; How social factors impact on how people interact with religion
What does a Social Factor do?
The world in which a person lives creates a range of social factors that have the potential to either support, hinder or obstruct how a person and religion interact.
Example Social Factors and how they arise within societies
-A culture that focuses on material possessions and/orconsumption of goods
-Historical issues and events that inform and colour how people view religion
-The presence of social disadvantage or hardship such as poverty, poor health conditions or even war
-Social attitudes and philosophies that promote, marginalize or reject religion and/or religious matters; these can include, for example, some forms ofsecularism, militant atheism, and Christian humanism
-Political ideologies and administrations; for instance in a theocracy or in acommunist society
-People that inspire, motivate or direct how people should act and even think in relation to a religion (the leadership of such people, individually or collectively, could be conscious or unconscious).
-Other factors include theFamily, Social Media and Catholic Education
Define the Social Factor of Consumerism
Consumerism is a social attitude that an ever-expanding consumption of goods is advantageous to the economy. It is a social factor that affects religion because consumerism colors the way people search for meaning. Instead of viewing people or events for their intentions, dignity, or non-monetary value, Consumerism subliminally causes people to value each other on their contributions to the economy, how successful they are financially or in their career, and judge them on their material possessions.
Define the Social Attitude of Secularism
Secularism, in its original form, was not meant to cause people to be less likely to interact with religion, but protect religion, religious expression, and religiosity in the wake of liberalism, republicanism and deconstructing the establishment during the Enlightenment.
Secularism has seen the place of religion in society erode, and therefore has seen a decline of religion as a way to search for meaning.
Religious people seem to view secularism as if it is a disease! Politically minded people tend to view it as a progressive beyond a theory, and more as an attitude or philosophy.
“… secularism emerged in Christian Europe as a way of dissolving religious sectarianism, neutering the political ambitions of the Church and promoting religious freedom. The Australian constitution was drawn up in this context, and Australia was intended as a secular nation. However, this secularity was never intended to sanitise the public square of religion. It was “secular” in the sense of ensuring that sectarian divisions in the old world would not be imported into the new”.
Differentiate between Hard and Soft Secularism
Soft secularism tolerates the place of religion in society.
It is this toleration that sees religion take its place in Australian
society in areas like education, health, social security, and allows
religion certain benefits such as tax breaks of land holdings as a way of almost saying ‘thank you’ for making society more workable.
Hard secularism challenges the place of religion in society.
It is this challenge that sees the place of religion in Australia society in areas like education, health and social security become questioned, scrutinised and in doubt.
EXAMPLE ASSESMENT QUESTION: Explain how ONE social factor supports how people interact with a religion. (6 marks)
MARKING KEY:
Identify the social factor
Give an example illustrating this point
Clearly describe the relationship (cause and effect) with this factor and how or why it promotes/hinders/rejects a personal response towards a religion
What are Social Factors?
social factors are phenomena that colour the way people view and interact with the world in which they live. This phenomena also affects the way people view features of society - including religion.
