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Sociology > Beliefs > Flashcards

Beliefs Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

How can and can’t religion be harmful?

A

+ people can pick and choose which parts to believe and follow
+ followers can become exploited by their leaders
- brings people together and motivates them to be good people

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2
Q

substantive definition of religion

A

in order for a religion to be a religion it must believe in a God or supernatural being

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3
Q

Weber - substantive definition

A
  • religion is only a religion if there is a belief in a superior power that cannot be explained scientifically
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4
Q

evaluation of substantive definition

A
  • some religions have numerous or no Gods eg. atheism
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5
Q

functional definition of religion

A

a religion needs to perform functions in society

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6
Q

Durkheim - functional definition of religion

A
  • The sacred and the profane are more important than a God. ‘Sacred’ - evoke feelings of awe and wonder eg. Christian cross. ‘Profane’ - ordinary things
  • Totemism - The Arunta tribe worshipped a sacred totem - brings society together reinforcing social solidarity
  • Collective conscience - shared norms/values/beliefs established through religious rituals eg. Sunday Mass helps people feel part of a community
  • Cognitive function - intellectual abilities - without a God we wouldn’t think about time, space, matter, substance etc.
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7
Q

criticism of Durkheim view on religion

A
  • Worsely - there is no clear division of the ‘sacred’ or ‘profane’, totemism doesn’t apply to all religions
  • Mestrovic (postmodernist) - cannot be applied to contemporary society as it’s so fragmented, there is no single shared value system
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8
Q

Yinger - functional definition

A

religion performs functions such as answering existential questions eg. what happens after death?

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9
Q

constructionist definition of religion

A

focuses on how members of a society define their religion, why the followers believe the religion exists and why they follow it
focuses on the individuals - interpretivist approach

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10
Q

Aldridge - constructionist definition

A

Scientology is a religion but some government denied its legal status

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11
Q

evaluation of constructionist definition

A
  • could be problematic as everyone has their own opinions and definitions of religion
  • unreliable and ungeneralisable
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12
Q

Malinowski - functionalist view on religion

A
  • agrees with Durkheim but religion also performs psychological function
  • life events eg. birth, death, puberty can bring uncertainty/tension - religion eases this eg. Judaism has Bar/Bat Mitzvah for puberty
  • Trobriand tribe - before dangerous ocean fishing they’d perform rituals to ease tension - if anyone died it was due to the ‘will of God’
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13
Q

Malinowski view on religion - criticism

A

Western society’s demonstrate how religion is not needed to perform this function

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14
Q

Parsons functions of religion

A
  1. socialises people into moral guidelines eg. priests, ministers emphasise moral codes ‘Do not kill’
  2. helps individuals adapt to change - during grief they provide emotional support through Holy readings etc. Can provide guidance for future eg. Christian marriages - priest offers guidance to be loving and caring
  3. provides meaning to life situations eg. why there is suffering and poverty - people questioning things can destabilise society, religion provides answers eg. Heaven/Hell
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15
Q

criticisms of Parsons view on religion

A
  • scientific breakthroughs are answering existential questions making some lose faith but society is still stable
  • society is diverse and people’s mindsets are changing so people may not agree with religious values
  • negative aspects of religion exist - religious wars cause conflict
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16
Q

Bellah view on religion

A
  • religion is being replaced with ‘civil religion’
  • civil religion that includes cultural norms, values, beliefs help promote an identity based on the national way of life
  • Those migrating to USA learn their culture through religious teachings
  • Civil religions promote the ‘American way of life’
  • USA promotes American values through religion eg. pledge of allegiance
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17
Q

criticism of Bellah view on religion

A
  • this is not an example of religion but of nationalism
  • this concept goes against the substantive definition
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18
Q

Marx view on religion

A
  • ruling class control production industry as well as distribution of ideas through church, school, media etc.
  • religion is ideological weapon used by ruling class to legitimate suffering of the poor
  • misleads the poor into believing their suffering is virtuous and they’ll be rewarded in the afterlife - false consciousness
  • religion is a product of alienation - under capitalism, workers are alienated as they don’t own what they produce, they have no freedom so turn to religion for a sense of belonging and hope
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19
Q

Lenin view on religion

A
  • it is ‘Spiritual Gin’ given to the masses by the ruling class to confuse them and keep them in their place by creating a ‘mystical fog’
  • religion legitimates the power of the ruling class by making it appear divinely ordained eg. in 16th century it was believed Kings were God’s representative
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20
Q

criticism of marxist view on religion

A
  • religion also performs positive functions eg. Durkheim - social solidarity
  • Althusser - rejects idea of alienation as it’s romantic view with no real evidence - we have free will
  • religion doesn’t necessarily function as ideology to control people - we can choose what to follow
21
Q

feminist view on religion

A

religion is patriarchal institution that reinforces inequality and inferiority of women.
1. religious organisations are male dominated - eg. women cannot become priests/rabbis
2. places of worship segregate women and men eg. muslim women can’t touch Quran on period
3. sacred texts often only feature men or male Gods or present women in negative way eg. Jesus’ disciples
4. religious laws give women less rights than men eg. muslim women told to cover body/ hair

22
Q

Armstrong - criticism of feminist view on religion

A
  • early religion viewed women highly eg. mother nature, female priests in middle east
  • during rise of monotheistic religions, this was pushed aside and this imbued religions with their sexist core
  • various goddesses and priestesses were replaced with male prophets
23
Q

Woodhead - evaluation of feminist view on religion

A
  • the hijab in Islam has been misinterpreted by Western societies
  • Muslim women choose to wear a veil and see it as a positive and liberating choice
  • in very restrictive middle-eastern societies,women use face veils to allow them to enter employment and empower themselves
24
Q

Weber view on religion

A

religion can bring about a force for change - Calvinism can help bring about social change
- in modern capitalism, people are focused on individual profit rather than consumption - ‘spirit of capitalism’
- this is similar to Calvinism:
- predestination: God has decided who is saved before birth
- God is transcendent: no one can ever understand why things happen as it’s beyond human capacity - salvation panic - they are predestined and can’t reach God bc he is transcendent
- Asceticism: abstaining from something
- Vocation: they were called to do God’s work
- Calvinists deny themselves luxury so they accumulate lots of wealth which was reinvested into their business
- this demonstrated the ‘spirit of capitalism’
- calvinism promotes capitalism in society

25
Q

evaluation of Weber view on religion

A
  • Kautsky - Weber overestimates religion and underestimates economic factors - Calvinism came around in 16th century but capitalism has been around for longer
  • Scotland had large calvinist population but were slow to develop capitalism
26
Q

Bruce - how did American Civil Rights movement use religion to cause social change?

A
  • It was led by Dr Martin Luther King who aimed to end racial discrimination and segregation in the USA
  • started by Rosa Parks in 1955 who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person
  • the church provided safe meeting places away from white oppression and threat
  • religion was an ‘ideological resource’ to provide protesters with beliefs they could use for motivation
  • Eg. using moral high ground - the black clergy pointed out hypocrisy of the white clergy’s teachings - ‘love thy neighbour’ but this didn’t apply to black people
27
Q

Bruce - how do New Christian Right movement use religion to cause social change?

A
  • aimed to ‘make America great again’ and bring it back to God
  • aim to make abortion, gay marriage, divorce illegal
  • want to replace sex education with ‘creationism’ in schools
  • use the media to spread their links and recruit new members using social media and church-owned stations - televangelism
  • has been very unsuccessful as people find it hard to agree with their extremist views
  • people don’t like others dictating their lives and enforcing their beliefs
28
Q

Crockett - secularisation

A
  • analysed research UK in 1851 and found over 50% population attended church on sundays compared to 7.5% in 2000
  • the 19th century was the ‘golden age’ of religion
29
Q

Office for National Stats changes in religion 2011 - 2021

A
  • For 1st time in census in England and Wales, less than half population describes themselves as Christian - 46.2% compared to 59.3% in 2011
  • no religion was 2nd most common response after Christianity increasing from 12% to 37.2%
30
Q

evidence for secularisation

A
  • 2015 - only 5% adult population attended church on Sundays
  • church weddings and baptisms declined - 1971 - 60% weddings in church, 2012 - 30%
  • baptisms decreased by 50% since 1964
31
Q

Weber - rationalisation explanation of secularisation

A
  • people now, are thinking in rational ways rather than using religious thinking
  • in medieval times, people adopted the catholic teachings of the world - that it was an ‘enchanted garden’ consisting of angels, devils and supernatural forces - God changed the course of events through miracles
  • people thought they could influence these changes through religious practices
  • there has been a ‘disenchantment’ of religious views because of the growth of science and technology that gives us rational explanations of events
32
Q

Parsons - structural differentiation explanation of secularisation

A
  • industrial revolution caused structures in society to change and religion to decline in 2 ways
    1. disengagement - the church no longer has influence over education, social welfare, law, now the state has control
    2. privatisation - religion has become separate from wider society - only carried out in the home/family - it’s a personal choice
33
Q

social and cultural diversity explanation of secularisation

A

decline in community:
- pre-industrial society - communities shared values through religious rituals
- now communities are declining
industrialisation:
- industrialisation made society more diverse, breaking it up
- lack of social cohesion weakened religious thinking
decline in cultures and lifestyles:
- religion relies on the existence of a practising community
- in modern society, people come from different jobs and lifestyles with different beliefs

34
Q

criticism of social and cultural diversity explanation of secularisation

A
  • despite breakdown of communities and increased diversity, many still view religion as part of their identity
  • people don’t have to interact physically to be a religious community - eg. zoom calls in covid 19
35
Q

Berger - religious diversity explanation of secularisation

A
  • during middle ages, church held sole power - no competition as everyone lived under a ‘sacred canopy’ so greater plausibilityas no one questioned their faith
  • after protestant reformation - new denominations and faiths arose
  • society was fragmented
  • this created a ‘crisis of credibility’ for religion
36
Q

Wilson - explanation for church attendance staying at around 40% in USA since 1940

A
  • people would attend church because it is seen as the norm, rather than them holding strong religious beliefs
  • religion has become superficial
37
Q

Hadaway et al - study on secularisation in USA

A
  • church attendance being 40% since 1940 didn’t match up with churches’ own stats - if this figure was true, churches would be full and they’re not
  • Interviewed people and counted no. of people at church services in a county in Ohio
  • found attendance level claimes by interviewees was 83% higher than researchers’ estimates of church attendance in the country
  • there is tendency to exaggerate churchgoing since 70s - when opinion polls matched churches’ stats eg. San Francisco study in 1972 - opinion polls exaggerated church attendance by 47% but 1996 - exaggerated by 101%
38
Q

Bruce - ‘secularisation from within’ in USA

A
  • emphasis on traditional Christian beliefs and glorifying God has declined and religion in the USA has become ‘psychologised’ - turned into a form of therapy enabling it to fit in with a secular society (rest of the world)
39
Q

Bruce - religious diversity in USA

A
  • there is a trend towards ‘practical relativism’ in Christian Americans - acceptance of other holding beliefs that are different to their own
  • churchgoers have become less dogmatic (opinionated)
  • people are less concerned about what others are doing in relation to religion
40
Q

Lynd and Lynd - evidence of practical relativism

A
  • in 1924 94% agreed that Christianity is the one true religion that all people should convert to
  • in 1977 41% agreed with it
41
Q

Bruce - religious diversity in USA - erosion of absolutism

A
  • we live in a society where so many hold views that are different to ours, it undermines the assumption that our own views are completely true
42
Q

new forms of religion - obligation to consumption - Davie

A
  • previously people were obligated to go to church, in modern society it’s a personal choice whether they do or not
  • there is no longer coercion involved
  • religion is becoming privatised as people are reluctant to belong to organisations - ‘believing without belonging’
  • growing trend towards vicarious religion - churches are seen as a spiritual health service
  • churches are free for everyone to use when they need eg. funerals, weddings, mourning of Princess Diana
43
Q

evaluation of Davie - new forms of religion

A

+ in 1927 72% babies baptised, in 2019 8% were
- Voas and Crockett - 5750 respondents from survey showed church attendance and a belief in God was declining
- Bruce - if you’re not willing to go to church, this indicates a decline in belief

44
Q

New forms of religion - spiritual shopping - Hervieu-Leger

A
  • there has been a decline in church attendance bc of cultural amnesia (loss of collective memory)
  • previously children were taught abt religion so it was passed on through generations
  • now parents let children decide what they want to believe in
  • therefore consumers of religion have become ‘spiritual shoppers’
  • religion is a personal spiritual journey that people choose
  • pilgrims: people following a path of self-discovery through individual therapy
  • converts: people joining a religious group to get a strong sense of belonging
45
Q

+ evaluation of Hervieu-Leger - new forms of religion

A

+ there is evidence in modern society that traditional beliefs are declining as people are becoming more concerned with individual choice
+ in 1970s over 70% children baptised, in 2019 7% were

46
Q

new forms of religion - postmodern religion - Lyon

A
  • globalisation and increased importance of the media has changed the nature of religion
  • we live in a media-saturated society that has led ideas to become disembedded - media lifts them out of their original context
  • as a result, religion has become de-institutionalised - it’s no longer the norm
  • there has been a growth of consumerism - we construct our identities through what we consume
  • we can pick n mix elements of different faiths to suit our tastes and make them part of our identity
47
Q

evaluation of Lyon - postmodern religion

A
  • the idea of spiritual shopping challenges traditional religions - having free will to choose from a wide range of religions threatens the sacred canopy
    + having new religions isn’t the end of the world - religion isn’t declining, just evolving
48
Q

new forms of religion - spiritual revolution - Heelas and Woodhead

A
  • we are experiencing a spiritual revolution - numerous books, courses, consultations, therapies that help individuals work on their spiritual journey
  • there has been a growth in the spiritual market
  • Heelas and Woodhead - did a study in Kendal, Cumbria to see if traditional religion has declined and spirituality is growing
  • they concluded that spirituality is growing bc there is a shift away from doing your duty and obeying external authority (God) to exploring your inner self
  • traditional relgions demand obedience but this is out of tune with the current culture
  • evangelical churches are more successful than traditional churches bc it focuses on spiritual healing, growth
49
Q

criticisms of new forms of religion - Bruce

A
  • despite the growing trend in individualised religions, there is a gap left behind of traditional religious beliefs eg. in Kendal in 1851 14,500 church attenders, now only 270 people
  • in Kendal, only 32% parents involved in new age beliefs, passed them down to their children - future generations won’t be spiritual

Sociology (5 decks)

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