Beliefs In Society Flashcards

Question

What does Thomas Kuhn point out?

Answer 1

Science operates within a paradigm

Answer 2

There is a set of assumptions about the world which new scientific theories and discoveries have to fit into

Answer 3

It’s not accepted unless there’s sufficient evidence for a paradigm shift. EXAMPLE - any new scientific discoveries need to fit into a paradigm that accepts that theories such as evolution or gravity are true

Answer 4

Rejects the existence of fossils as it undermines the creation story in the Bible

Answer 5

Maybe science is not such an open belief system as is suggest

Answer 6

Some religious organisations have changed their position in certain issues (e.g allowing women to become priests, changing attitudes towards sexual orientation etc)

Answer 7

Not only is science conducted within a paradigm that is very resistant to challenge, it’s also dependent on funding from various sources meaning research is often conducted with a view to reach a particular outcome that will assist the sale of a particular product EXAMPLE - scientists funded by oil companies have often been those to reach a conclusion questioning the extent of man-made climate change

Answer 8

Although in the UK there’s still an official state role for the Church of England, for the most part religion in western liberal democracies is no longer as closely linked with the government

Answer 9

There are often government scientists and scientific advice e.g on health issues, which is often pushed quite forcefully by the state and through the law

Answer 10

The product of socialisation - a set of norms and values that are widely shared. This is particularly the case with the Marxist concept of ideology. Various institutions, including religious organisations, transmit the bourgeoisie ideology, and this then becomes an accepted common sense among people. Functionalists describe a similar process only seeing the outcome as a widely beneficial shared set of norms and values.

Answer 11

Functionalists argue that religion is a conservative force and that this is a positive function for society and for individuals. They believe religion helps to create social order and maintains the value consensus.

Answer 12

Argue that religion performs important functions for society

Answer 13

Argues that it performs an important function for the individual

Answer 14

All agree that religion promotes stability and helps to preserve the status quo and prevent the upheaval and rapid social change

Answer 15

Conducted a study of the Arunta, an Australian Aboriginal tribe’s religious beliefs in order to establish the function of the beliefs and ceremonies and what is really signified. He argued that society divided into objects and activities into the sacred and the profane. The programs were everyday experiences with a clear function, while the sacred had a greater, collective significance. From his detailed study of ‘primitive religion’ he identified 4 key fictions of religion in society

Answer 16

1. Discipline 2. Cohesion 3. Vitalising 4. Euphoric

Answer 17

Religious rituals impose self-discipline, which encourages individual to behave sociably and not simply pursue their own selfish course of action, which would be anti-social and destabilising

Answer 18

The key function is social cohesion: worship brought the community together. Through worship people reaffirm and reinforce the bonds that keep them together

Answer 19

Durkheim also argued that religious belief maintained traditions, ensuring that the values that are passed down from generation to generation are kept vital and at the heart of the society

Answer 20

If members of society were ever to become frustrated or lose their faith, the religion serves to remind them of their place in something much bigger. Again, it prevents individuals from becoming anti-social

Answer 21

Concluded that when society came together to worship collectively, what they were really worshipping was society itself. Durkheim recognised that society was becoming less religious and more secular, but he argued that there was still secular function for religious belief

Answer 22

Argued that in some modern secular states, people worshipped society in a clear way without supernatural element of traditional religions.

Answer 23

His example is Americanism America’s religious symbols are the flag, national anthem, famous historical figures etc While this might not fit everyone’s definition of religion, it performs the same functions that Durkheim identified and promotes social cohesion, order, stability, and prevents radical change, again acting as a conservative force. People can all unite around ideas of the death of royal family members (e.g Princess Diana) or the idea of ‘god bless America’ without necessarily all worshipping the same god, or practising the same religion.

Answer 24

Argued that religions quite directly socialised people into shared values, which were often stated quite directly by the religion, such as the 10 Commandments in Judaism and Christianity. He further argued that religion answers the ultimate questions e.g why do good people suffer or die young - religions can offer answers in terms of tests of faith and rewards in the afterlife - gives meaning to what might otherwise seem a meaningless existence

Answer 25

Studied the religious practice of the Trobriand islanders. He noted that when the islanders were wishing on inshore, safe waters they did not practice religious ceremonies but they did when finishing on more dangerous waters. He concluded that religion had a psychological function: it helped individuals to deal with an anxious and stressful situation. These sort of unpredictable events can cause instability and disruption in society, so by performing this psychological function, religion also helped preserve the stability of society. In this way religion performs psychological functions for the individual

Answer 26

• Worsley (1956) has criticised Durkheim’ saying of the Arunta suggesting that he misunderstood certain aspects of the religion, particularly the idea of the separation between the sacred and profane and the significance of totems • Functionalist theories are outdated and arguably tell us little about religion today. They envisage a society with a single unifying religion that brought people together? Whereas in most developed, western societies today there is no consensus about religion. Even in countries where there is a state religion and significant levels of religiosity, religion is often a major factor in conflict, such as in serval Middle Eastern countries. • Malinowski’s study was unusual for a functionalist in that it was a participant observation. This was high in validity and very detailed, conducted over 4 years. However, from positivist perspective, it was unreliable and the conclusions couldn’t be generalised to other tribes or societies. • some would argue describing ‘Americanism’ as a religion stretches the definition of religion too far. It is clear that patriotism or nationalism does functions as a form of belief system or ideology and that it may well carry out some of the functions that Durkheim, Parsons or Malinowski ascribe to religion. However, is that enough for something to be considered religious, or does it not require some sort of supernatural element to it?

Answer 27

Marx described religion as the opiate of the masses.

Answer 28

Religion acted like a drug, cushioning the workers from the true misery of being exploited in capitalist society.

Answer 29

Proletariat should rise up against the bourgeoisie in a revolution. Religion was one of the ways in which the bourgeoisie maintained control: part of the ideology.

Answer 30

Spiritual gin

Answer 31

He argued that the ruling class used religion cynically to create a mystical fog which obscured reality for the working class - very similar to the idea of it being an opiate.

Answer 32

Argues religion is a part of the ideological state apparatus. Along with education and the media, it transmits the dominant ideology and maintains false class consciousness

Answer 33

Suggested that religion had a dual character, performing this conservative function but also having the potential to drive social change.

Answer 34

• Marxist and functionalist views are in one resort very similar. They observe religion as preforming a similar function, but one sees it as a positive thing and the other as a negative thing - means some of the criticisms of functionalist view are equally applicable to Marxist view: where religious practice is a minority pursuit (western democracies) religion doesn’t have the power to act as an opium of the masses or as a spiritual gin. Sports or celebrity gossip is more likely to preform that role today. • many of the teachings of various religions appear to contradict the values of capitalism - they can contradict the idea that wealth is admirable and earned and the rich are people to feel deference towards. Other religions have similar teachings, criticising the greedy and praising the lowly. Whole a rejection of materialism might have the impact that traditional Marxists suggest it could also encourage people to see the ruling class and capitalists as ungodly. This is why neo-Marxists consider the possibility that religion could have a dual character and could act as a conservative force or catalyst for change

Answer 35

Most feminists argue along similar lines to functionalists and Marxists that religion acts as a conservative force, maintaining the status quo. For feminists, the status quo is a patriarchal society.

Answer 36

Saw it as exploiting and oppressing women. She argued that religious faiths encouraged women to be meek, put up with inequality, exploitation and suffering and doing so will bring rewards in the afterlife

Answer 37

• through religious scripture/teachings • through religious ceremonies and practices • through the structure and power-relations of religious organisations

Answer 38

• in several religions, women are presented as temptresses who distract men from the serious business of worship. In the bible, it is the first woman, Eve, who disobeys god and then goes in to tempt Adam and bring about his downfall too • in many religious teachings across a wide range of religions, women are given the role of nurturing, caring and giving birth. While these roles are presented positively and as essential, they reinforce the gender norms in society and the patriarchal power structures. If women choose not to conform to gender stereotypes, they are not only deviating from gender norms but deviation from God’s will too. • religious texts are full of male gods

Answer 39

• in several religious organisations men and women worship separately • in many religions both menstruation and pregnancy are treated as impure or ungodly e.g in Islam, women who are menstruating aren’t allowed to tough the Koran

Answer 40

• there is a traditional gender division of Labour in many religious organisations with an expectation that women will serve tea and cakes after the service • although some religious organisations do have women in senior positions, they are certainly the exception rather than the rule, and in most cases this is the result of relatively recent reforms.

Answer 41

• not all feminists agree that religion is essentially patriarchal, arguing that many early religions featured prominent goddesses and other female figures. Instead they argue that patriarchal societies have changed religions in order to ensure they reflect and reinforce patriarchal values. Armstrong (1993) argued it was the development on monotheistic religions which imbued religion with a patriarchal and sexiest core - various goddesses were replaced with male prophets. • Linda Woodhead argues that religion is not necessarily sexiest or patriarchal and writes of a ‘religious feminism’. She argues that many Muslim women choose to wear a veil and see it is a positive and liberating choice. • others have suggested that religion is becoming increasingly female-dominated, particularly in western democracies. Attendance at religious services is much more common among women.

Answer 42

• overall, religion can only act as a conservative force if most people in society believe in it, and indeed if most people in society believe the same things. Secularisation and diversity in contemporary society significantly undermines this role for religion, whether you see it in a positive light (functionalists) or negative force (Marxists & Feminists). Religion can only engender a collective conscience or a false consciousness through widespread faith. As such, many argue that the idea that religion acts as a conservative force is an outdated one. • religious beliefs are not always in step with the dominant ideas prevalent in society. As such, if people are persuaded to share those religious beliefs, they come to hold an alternative view and therefore might be at the forefront of demanding social change.

Answer 43

Through religion, people learn the norms and values of society. This can be viewed as positively (functionalists) as ensuring a value consensus in maintained. Alternatively, it can be viewed negatively, as transmitting the values of a powerful group in society in order for them to maintain power and control.

Answer 44

Religion must be powerful. Sociologists argue that in modern western democracies religion has largely lost that power. Marxists and feminists see it as a role that maintains the power of powerful groups and helps to subjugate those who are not powerful. They would argue that society remains stratified, that social differentiation is secured, through religion acting as in ideological weapon.

Answer 45

Focus of this study was that religion was an engine of social change. He identified features of the Calvinist Protestant religion which he argued had the unintended consequence of playing a major role in kick-starting capitalism.

Answer 46

A Protestant religious movement from the 16th Century

Answer 47

Ascetism Predestination

Answer 48

A philosophy of self-denial: the idea that Christians should lead an austere life, without luxuries.

Answer 49

The idea that it has already been decided who will go to heaven and who will go to hell and there’s nothing you can do about this during your time on earth. Good deeds, repentance etc won’t save you

Answer 50

It fails to perform many functions that sociologists like Parsons or Malinowski suggested religion should perform, because it offers little comfort. It contributed to a sense of anxiety, sometimes described as salvation panic

Answer 51

Would look for signs from God that they were among those who were going to heaven. They increasingly came to see success as a sign, and therefore threw themselves into their work.

Answer 52

Because of Ascetism and the idea that people should make themselves useful, it was business at which Calvinists might be successful, and when they were successful, instead of spending the money on luxury items, they reinvested the money into their businesses. Making money and reinvesting it in order to make money was the origin of the values and spirit of capitalism

Answer 53

• even Weber himself acknowledged that Calvinism was not the only factor responsible for the development of capitalism. He believed it to be a significant factor, but acknowledged that there would have been others • Weber has been accused of holding a ‘debate with the ghost of Marx’. While Marx saw capitalism as the product of material relationships and religion as something which reflected those material interests, Weber sought to turn it on its head, by suggesting that economic change could be driven by religious beliefs and values. • Weber’s conclusions have received some criticism. Eisenstadt (1968) argues that capitalism did occur in places where there was no Calvinism. • others have pointed out that there were places were Calvinism was very strong where there was very little development of capitalism and indeed hostility to commerce. • some have questioned Weber’s understanding of Calvinism and other religions and therefore his explanation is incorrect on a theological level Weber was an interactionist

Answer 54

Religion had a dual character and could act as a conservative force but it was also possible for it to challenge the status quo and encourage social change

Answer 55

Hinduism - kept the maintenance of the caste system (social classes) but also inspired huge social change in the Indian nationalist movement & particularly the principles of non-violence and self-renunciation

Answer 56

Wrote about The Principle of Hope and argued that religion did offer people the idea of a better sort of society. Although he thought that religious faith was misplaced, he did see in it a hope for a better sort of society and a belief that people should be able to have dignity and live a good life

Answer 57

Wrote about the way in which bourgeoisie maintained power in capitalist society’s. He argued that through culture, the bourgeoisie was able to maintain hegemony: a dominant set of ideas that come to be seen as common sense. He agreed that religion played a part in that and contributed to the hegemonic control of the ruling class however didn’t think this was the only role religion could play. Religion could be useful for building a counter-hegemony, led by organic intellectuals & popularise ideas that ran counter to those of the ruling class and helping build rebellion and protest

Answer 58

• the role of Martin Luther king in the US civil right movement • Liberation theology in Latin America

Answer 59

As an example of how religious organisations could provide guidance to the working class and the oppressed as they struggle with the ruling class

Answer 60

Locally performed a revolutionary role in countries like El Salvador in the fight against their military dictatorships. A key example is Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador. Initially Romero was concerned about priests in his diocese working alongside the poor, helping them to organise groups and participating in political campaigns. However, he became increasingly angered by the oppressive nature in El Salvador and the brutal repression of the poor. As archbishop, Romero used his platform to speak out against the government, denouncing state killings. He also set up various schemes to assist the victims and their families

Answer 61

Religious figures and religious organisations not working hand-in-hand with the state and ruling class as a conservative force

Answer 62

• some question how central religion was to the Civil Rights Movement. Although king was a clergyman, the movement was multi-faith and broadly secular • even though neo-Marxist views are arguably outdated in that they see religion as being socially very significant, whether it be a conservative force or an engine of social change. Those sociologists that argue there has been a rapid process of secularisation would question whether religion today plays an especially significant role in either way, conservative or reformist.

Answer 63

Islamic revolution 1979 in Iran

Answer 64

Iran became very westernised and a largely secular, liberal society. However, it was run by a very wealthy elite which got rich on oil profits while most lived in poverty. Much of the resentment against the Shahs regime was expressed in terms of anti-western sentiment and fuelled and increase in religion fundamentalism. It was this movement that led to the revolution of 1979 and while it was removing a regime that was widely resented across Iran, many would see the social change as being regressive rather than progressive. The revolutionary change was seen as conservative.

Answer 65

Religion is able to be an engine of both progressive and regressive social change. US civil rights = progressive change but New Christian Right in the US = regressive change

Answer 66

The role of terrorist groups such as ISIS

Answer 67

• issues with the extent to which religion was really the engine or the catalyst of the change. In societies, where religion is central to social life it is always likely to play some part in social change, but does it CAUSE it? Some argue it was political activism and legal and constitutional developments that brought civil rights reform to the USA rather than the religious beliefs of the campaigners. • for religion to be effective as a conservative force or an engine of social change, it must be a significant force in society. Secularisation theory suggests that this is not the case in contemporary society.

Answer 68

Whether religion is engaged in conserving the status quo or driving social change has much to do with who holds the power in society.

Answer 69

Some manner of religious organisation

Answer 70

The different branches of the Christian church

Answer 71

Churches and sects Identified churches as large organisations and sects as small ones and noting various social differences between the 2

Answer 72

• they claim a monopoly over the truth - claim that their position is true and that the views of religious groups are false • they are closely connected to the state. • they have a developed, hierarchical structure. There will be clear lines of seniority in the clergy and hold a number of rules and regulations. Churches tend to make relatively few demands on their members. In this way active membership can generally fit around a normal, working life, making it accessible to people from a range of social backgrounds • churches are mainstream, conservative organisations that seek to defend the status quo. They seek to be open and universal but are attractive to those on high incomes (ruling class) who have interest in preserving society as it is and resisting social change • people are often born into a church, rather than choosing it. Indeed, they are likely to be included in the church before they are old enough to understand it’s teachings.

Answer 73

Troeltsch characterised sects as organisations that broke away from a church because they were dissatisfied with its teachings or practices. This would be a small-scale schism with the sect formed by dissatisfied members of a congregation rather than a split towards the top of the hierarchy SECTS: •. Claim a monopoly over the truth and are often hostile to other religious organisations • don’t have a complex hierarchy, instead usually being led by a charismatic leader • they are small • they demand total commitment from members, and therefore aren’t accessible without significant sacrifices • they are usually hostile to the state and to mainstream society (Wallis called this world-rejecting) • often made up of marginalised, deprived groups such as those on low incomes or from minority-ethnic groups • tend to grow quickly but can also decline very quickly & death if charismatic leader can lead to end of sect

Answer 74

The halfway house between sect and church is described as a domination. • they aren’t closely connected to the state and will comment and campaign on social issues • their membership is larger than a sect but smaller than an established church • they have some hierarchy but less than an established church • they often do not claim a monopoly of the truth, being quite accepting of other denominations, churches and religions

Answer 75

Shincheonji (New Heaven New Earth)

Answer 76

• it’s often the case with typologies that reality never quite fits with the theory. Many religious organisations have some elements of more than one type. Also, organisations change over time or between different places. I’m countries where the Roman Catholic Church is the dominant or established religion it fits the church typology quite neatly, whereas in somewhere like the UK it might have more of the characteristics of a denomination. In some countries, like iraq or Sweden, the Catholic Church is very small • Steve Bruce (1995) questions whether Troeltsch’s typology did church still applies to contemporary society. He points out that in modern societies we now have religious pluralism meaning it’s much harder for churches to claim a monopoly over the truth. He points to how the Church of England is not always a conservative force anymore, often taking critical positions about government policies and campaigning for change. Others have pointed out that religion pluralism has led to a decline in churches but a growth in other forms of religious organisation • Roland Robertson pointed out increasing disagreements between established churches and governments, partly as a result of secularisation in society and governments being less concerned about the attitudes of churches and also as a consequence of globalisation • in modern western societies, it is less usual for most people in a society to belong to a church. For example, in the UK, the Church of England has fewer than 1 mil active members

Answer 77

Argued that many religious and spiritual organisations operating in contemporary society don’t fit into any of the categories. This has led to the development of typologies of cults and other New Religious Movements

Answer 78

Cults differ from sects in that they are individualised, loosely-organised, tolerant and make very few demands on their adherents. For Wallis, cults don’t claim to have found the truth, nor do they condemn those who are not part of their group

Answer 79

• world affirming new religious movements • world accommodating new religious movements • world rejecting new religious movements

Answer 80

World affirming NRM - or cults- seek to offer their members spiritual enrichment. They often don’t include belief in a god and generally make few demands on their members. Instead they offer personal fulfilment, meditation and ways to turn individuals into better people. However, some world-affirming cults are more organised and have greater demands on their members, such as Scientology

Answer 81

World-accommodating NRM separate life into spiritual and worldly spheres, focusing on the spiritual. They neither affirm nor reject the world, but they do adapt in order to ensure they can peacefully live within it.

Answer 82

A world rejecting NRM is one that sees the world as inherently evil or corrupt. They think that the way society is currently organised is against the will of god and needs to radically change. E.g millenarianism is a belief system whereby adherents are waiting for a moment of radical change

Answer 83

• Audience cult • Client cult • Cult movement

Answer 84

Stark and Bainbridge look at religions and spiritual movements as if they were business organisations, referring to participants/adherents/congregants as customers or clients. An audience cult is one where the participant is a passive consumer. People might attend lectures, read books or buy DVDs to hear a particular message or consume a particular set of ideas. There’s no necessary ongoing relationship or expectations.

Answer 85

A client cult is one where the cult has a relationship with its adherents akin to a doctor/patient relationship. The cult is a service provider and the clients enter into a prolonged relationship as they might do with a therapist. It’s not like a sect or church however, as they will choose when, how often and for how long they wish to receive these services

Answer 86

A cult movement is one which doesn’t simply provide one service, but looks to fulfil all the spiritual needs of their costumers. This relationship then becomes more like a traditional church, demonstration or sect, with the clients being more like members of a congregation. They are more likely to identify themselves as a member of the group and as a believer. Within this typology there is still a wide range of organisations with some expecting more commitment than others.

Answer 87

Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead

Answer 88

The Spiritual Revolution: why religion is giving way to spirituality (2005)

Answer 89

The church and chapel type religiosity in the town: who attended religious ceremonies, how often and where?

Answer 90

7.9% of the towns population attended one of its 22 churches on one Sunday in November

Answer 91

Interviewed members who attended the church about the meaning of church to them, and the researcher attended the church services. They also gave out distributed questionnaires in the churches (not a representative sample)

Answer 92

Mapping all non-congregational activity in the town that might reasonably said to have a spiritual dimension.

Answer 93

Survey to try and capture data about the majority of Kendal’s residents who were neither members of the congregational domain nor the holistic milieu. Only a small minority of people surveyed expressed having no religious or spiritual belief at all

Answer 94

Concluded that non-congregational spiritual activities were increasing rapidly while traditional congregational activity was declining. They found that the holistic milieu was particularly popular with middle-aged women.

Answer 95

• there were reasons given for choosing Kendal, but it is arguably not typical of religiosity in the UK. Particularly, it is a predominantly white British population and so the greater religiosity of minority-ethnic groups isn’t reflected. Nor is the growth in non-Christian religions in the UK, such as Islam. • Kendal is quite a middle class town. Whether the trends recorded in Kendal would be present in less prosperous, multicultural small towns let alone in city centres is highly questionable. • defining the holistic milieu was highly problematic

Answer 96

Suggests that new age movements have grown as a result of an apparent failure of science as a belief system. He argues that while the enlightenment and rationalisation led to people dismissing traditional religions, they increasingly found that science didn’t prove the answers they needed either. There was a sense that science, reason and development would solve the worlds problems, but in fact create more problems. Drane then argues that people are turning away from science and looking within themselves and turning to spirituality

Answer 97

• as with the typologies for churches, denominations and sects, real organisations tend to be harder to pin down in reality than in theory. Most organisations have features of several of the types, or move between them • some question to what extent some of these organisations should be considered religious at all. Some of the holistic, spiritual and new age movements are ideas that people dip into or try out without any real organised belief or commitment. People might read their horoscopes every week but more for entertainment than through faith that they contain any truth • Bruce (1995) dismisses the idea that new age belief is a feature of postmodernism, instead characterising is a product of modernism: an extreme individualism that is not really religion at all.

Answer 98

Through: • the census • church census • surveys • data held by religious organisations themselves

Answer 99

While the census asks people to note their religion, it is likely the ‘head of the house’ might note the religion of all members (this may be inaccurate) People might not take the census remotely seriously e.g 2001, 390,000 Britons declared themselves as Jedi Knights, making it the 4th largest ‘religion’ in the UK

Answer 100

A church census looks at who is attending church (or other religious institutions) on a given date. This doesn’t necessarily give a complete picture as the census date might artificially inflate attendance; not all religious organisations are likely to be included; people may have religious faith but not attended or attend for reasons other than religious faith

Answer 101

They aren’t the same thing and therefore involve different measure

Answer 102

Whether people believe in a religion; hold a religious faith

Answer 103

The extent to which they participate in religious activities You can hold religious belief while displaying little or no religiosity

Answer 104

In many western democracies, including the UK, the % of people claiming to belong to a particular religion is much higher than the number who regularly practice their faith

Answer 105

Likely to inflate their memberships in order to retain the impression that they are significant social institutions

Answer 106

Religiosity was strong among the working class, tying into Weber’s idea of a theodicy of disprivileged and also the traditional Marxist view that the purpose of religion was to act as an opiate or spiritual gin for the masses.

Answer 107

Argue that religion performs different functions for different classes, for the ruling class it legitimates their position and their success, and for the working class it offers hope for reward in the afterlife.

Answer 108

Religiosity is higher in middle class. A survey from 2015 suggested that 62% of church goers are middle class

Answer 109

Religion offers opportunities for social networking which the middle class make use of, rather than that there is necessarily a greater amount of religious faith among the middle class

Answer 110

The Anglican Church - seen as the religion for the ruling class

Answer 111

Roman Catholic Church and Methodist church - mostly due to geographical areas where the faith is well established

Answer 112

Appeal to the middle class - might be due to sense of spiritual deprivation. Bruce (1995) argued that spiritual needs seem more important to those who have few material needs (working class) however others have pointed out that middle class individuals can still feel relatively deprived and therefore seek answers for why they are not as successful as some of their peers

Answer 113

Reasons: • theodicy of disprivilege - religion offers compensators such as rewards in the afterlife • financial/social support and welfare • sense of belonging and community Activity: • denominations • sects

Answer 114

Reasons: • spiritual deprivation/relative deprivation • social networking • tradition and social desirability Activity: • cults and new age movements • traditional churches

Answer 115

Women are significantly more likely to attend church than men and are also more likely to self-report being religious - church census 2005 showed 57% women and 43% men

Answer 116

Traditional view is that women’s expressive role is a good match with religious faith. Raising a child in their religion and taking them to church was seen as part of that role. Also women’s proximity to childbirth, child rearing, caring for the sick and caring for the elderly gives them reason to pray and seek spiritual support and guidance. Furthermore, women having been marginalised in domestic roles have them more time to devote to religion whereas men had little time away from work and therefore were more likely to spend it on leisure persuits rather than going to church

Answer 117

• women live longer than men - older people are significantly more religious than young adults and there are simply more older women • men and women are socialised differently and women are socialised to be more compliant and passive. Religion expects compliance, conformity etc. men are socialised to be more dominant and therefore, while they take leadership positions in church, they are less happy to simply accept what they are told from the pulpit

Answer 118

Argue women are sold a false ideology by religious teachings which encourages them to believe that they will get their reward in heaven and should therefore be committed and devoted to their faith

Answer 119

More likely to get involved in religious sects. Glock and Stark (1965) put this down to women experiencing more deprivation than men, because of patriarchy. As such, this is a similar explanation for why working class and minority-ethnic groups are more likely to join sects as well

Answer 120

More recently, women are more likely to get involved in cults and new age movements than men are. Men have drifted away from the main established religions at a faster rate than women, but they tend not to have replaced this with alternative spiritual beliefs, whereas women are attracted to what Woodhead and Heelas called the holistic milieu. This is particularly so for middle class women. It might be that women who have lost faith in traditional religions turn to such belief systems for the same reasons women have traditionally been more religious. May also be because women do not see such practices as religious at all, but instead in terms of therapy, weight loss and exercise and are more attracted to such activities than men are

Answer 121

Suggest that attitudes to risk between genders is a key factor. Their research suggests that men are more willing to take risks than women and higher levels of religiosity are evident among the risk averse. They argue this is because lack of religion is Risky- risks not going to heaven

Answer 122

Suggested that churches have become feminised. She argues that secularisation has had a bigger impact on men than women. This is echoed by Bruce - he suggests that as religion becomes more a private matter than a public one, it appeals more to women, particularly women who preform a domestic role and look after children

Answer 123

• the data that these conclusions are based on can be questioned. Women would appear to attend church more than men, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are more likely to believe in their chosen faith. Women may attend church for other reasons (friendship etc) and men who don’t attend church may still have a religious faith • there might be other reasons why women are more likely to respond to surveys that they have a religious belief. Perhaps because of the historic association between faith and women, they see it as a socially desirable and therefore answer surveys accordingly. Young men may have the oooo sue response and worry that religious faith is not socially desirable or might be seen as ‘uncool’ • some sects are very male dominated and can have quite extreme and conservative views about the role of women in society. As such, one might expect fewer women to be attracted to such sects.

Answer 124

• 22% of those who identify as Christian were over 65, compared to only 3.9 Muslims • 88% of Muslims were under 50 • those who said they had no religious belief tended to be young with over 1/3 being under 25

Answer 125

The average age of church goers increased from 37 to 49 between 1979 and 2005

Answer 126

• more aware of their own mortality, wanting to book a place in the afterlife • religious practice was more common when they were young and they were socialised to be religious in a way younger people aren’t • religious organisations offer a social life and support network for people who have become more isolated and disengaged from wider society

Answer 127

• religious institutions are unattractive and boring • greater competition - both in terms of a spiritual supermarket and in terms of other pursuits and other secular sources of inspiration e.g sport, celebrities - Lynch (2008) • Bruce points to the decline in religious education. There’s been a huge decline in Sunday schools from a situation when over half the children in the UK attended one.

Answer 128

Found that the age group with the lowest church attendance was 15-19.

Answer 129

The oldest believers struggle to attend ceremonies because of health or mobility issues or lack of transport

Answer 130

Very mixed Sects often appeal to young adults as they offer companionship and community, a sense of belonging New age movements and cults often Middle Aged, middle class women

Answer 131

• the census data on ‘no religion’ and Christianity is likely to understate the scale of this issue. A small but significant group of young people completing the census opted for various ‘comedy’ religions rather than state that they had no religion. Furthermore, a number of people identified as Christian without really having much, if any, religious belief and without practising the faith • the data for Muslims is questionable, religious faith and observance tends to be seen as very important in Muslim families and there may be assumptions about the religious belief of family members that would be entered into the census form without necessarily reflecting people’s private beliefs.

Answer 132

Almost all minority ethnic groups in the UK are more religious and show higher levels on religious our then the white British majority - found by Tariq Modood at al (1997) in the results of a social survey confided in mind 1990s

Answer 133

Evidence to suggest that young Muslims in the UK had a greater knowledge of their religion than their parents did

Answer 134

Did find some evidence Of declining religiosity among some Asian men

Answer 135

• Bruce writes about cultural transition. This is the idea that minority-ethnic groups could use religion and religious institutions to assist the process of immigration. When people came to a new country, with very different belief systems and unfamiliar traditions, building religious communities helped to support them and to reduce the shock of the transition from one way of life to another. • Bruce suggest an alternative - cultural defence. This is where immigrant communities or other minorities use religion to defend themselves from the hostility of the majority population. It’s not a case of bringing something from a country or origin in order to ease transition, but instead building a safe community away from racism. • Johal (1998) has suggested that religious identity is increasingly important in a multi-cultural and multi-faith society. This ties in with Modood’s findings about British Muslims and is supported by Grace Davie (1994) who suggests that religious identity provides a sense of belonging and cultural identity.

Answer 136

1. greater levels of religiosity Ik countries of origin. New immigrants to the UK often come from countries which are less secular than the UK and bring their religious faith with them. Similarly, with more established minority-ethnic communities, people often maintain connections with their country of origin, perhaps through family, and keeping hold of their religious faith can be a key part of that connection and association 2. Membership of a religious group providing a sense of community and identity 3. Maintaining cultural identity and tradition 4. Religious socialisation: children come under pressure to maintain the religious traditions of their parents 5. A way to deal with oppression (cultural defence)

Answer 137

• Apostasy - abandoning their beliefs in order to try and fit into a hostile environment • accommodation - adapting their beliefs to make them more in tune with the values of the new environment • renewed vigour - increased religiosity and observance in response to a hostile environment

Answer 138

• statistical data on this is convincing, but all such data must be questioned. They represent a social construction rather than a social fact. Religiosity is seen as very important in some minority-ethnic groups and therefore lack of religious faith would be a highly deviant viewpoint to admit to. This might disguise levels of atheism. Similarly, religious organisations carry a greater social significance in some minority-ethnic communities, as a community hub and service provide, rather than purely as a place to pray • Bruce’s explanations - cultural transition and cultural defence - suggest high levels of religiosity are not down to high levels of religious belief, but other social factors. • areas which have seen high levels of polish immigration have seen an increase in the congregations in their Catholic Churches

Answer 139

Brian Wilson (1966) described secularisation as ‘the process whereby religious thinking, practices and institutions lose their social significance’

Answer 140

English church census suggests that 50% of the adult population attended church in the 1850s, compared to just 7.5% in 2000

Answer 141

Used surveys to show a significant decline in belief in god and the afterlife

Answer 142

Talked about the process of rationalisation and the disenchantment of the world. He writes about how, in the Middle Ages, the world was an enchanted garden populated with angels and demons, spirits and ghosts. He argued that the enlightenment period, with its great strides forward in science and philosophy, began the processes of rationalisation and disenchantment where people would increasingly seek for rational explanation for phenomena, rather than blame divine intervention.

Answer 143

In terms of changing religious beliefs and an increasing separation between religious belief and everyday existence: the idea of a non-interventionist god who was on the outside, looking in.

Answer 144

How there’s no longer a shared sacred canopy. Because of pluralism - the existence of a wide range of ideas and belief systems - and rationalisation, people are no longer United by a shared set of beliefs, as they were in previous eras. Furthermore, the wide range of different stories that claim a monopoly on the truth undermines the plausibility of it all. They can’t all be there, so perhaps none of them are

Answer 145

Bruce argues that people have developed more rational ways of thinking and a technological worldview

Answer 146

Structural differentiation. Increasingly other institutions have taken on many of the functions that religion use to preterm. The most obvious one is the state, which has taken over historical religious functions such as education and health but also increasingly provide funerals, marriage ceremonies etc. as a result of this, it inevitably loses its social significance and therefore is again part of the process of secularisation

Answer 147

Secularisation from within where some religions have themselves become significantly more secular, perhaps to fit in with the modern world or to remain relevant. ( e.g views on women)

Answer 148

• there’s no reliable measurement of church attendance. Church census data and congregation counts only reveal how many attended on a particular day. If there were previous knowledge about the date, this could boost attendance in order to reflect well on the church. When data is provided by a religious organisation itself, it’s likely to present itself in a positive light. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that when people complete questionnaires asking about their church attendance, they overstate how often they attend. • church attendance doesn’t necessarily correlate with religiosity, so a lot depends on how one chooses to define secularisation. After all, church attendance in the 1850s was not just about religious belief but also social interaction and social status.

Answer 149

sociologists like Grace Davie argue that, rather than religion declining it is instead changing. Davie argued that today people believe without belonging. The idea is that belief has become more privatised. There is evidence to suggest that people maintain religious belief but choose to keep their beliefs private, rather than join and participate in a traditional religious organisation davie further suggested that people practice their religion vicariously. Professional religious figures (like priests) practice religion on behalf of believers who remain at home. People still turn to religion for baptism, weddings and funerals and for festivals like Christmas and Easter

Answer 150

David Lyon added to this with the idea that people could ‘pick and mix’ religious beliefs as if they were purchasing consumer commodities. Such an approach to religion takes place outside churches, mosques or temples.

Answer 151

Bruce counter-argued that pick and mix is a very weak form of belief and that most people today neither believe nor belong.

Answer 152

Argued that there has been significant desecularisation of the world and that western academies did not predict this because they were blinded by their own atheism. Berger believes the world has become more religious in recent years Berger argues that secularisation theory is Eurocentric and the nature of contemporary religion, globally, is pluralism rather than secularism. There is penalty of evidence that religious belief is growing rather than contracting. The percentage of people in the world who are religious is increasing

Answer 153

Agree with Berger that secularisation theory is Eurocentric and they put this down to ‘religion market theory’ or ‘rational choice theory’. They argue that there was no ‘golden age’ of religion and that religiosity remains largely constant, because people are naturally religious and it meets various humans needs. They further argue that religious organisations act like businesses, selling a product. Where there is competition then the churches will try make themselves attractive. They argue as churches decline, new products come onto the market (sects, cults) which eventually leads to diversity and a religious ‘revival’. They use this argument to explain why religion has remained strong in the USA. No one church has ever been dominant there, there’s always been lovely completion.

Answer 154

Doesn’t explain why religion has remained very strong in societies with one dominant faith such as in the Middle East

Answer 155

Propose an alternative explanation called Existential security theory which suggests that religion remains a key part of societies where there is a lack of economic security. This explains why developing countries have retained high levels of religiosity - religions fills in the void as a compensator

Answer 156

The process of globalisation: how society has become more interconnected across the world, economically, culturally and politically

Answer 157

1. Particularism 2. Universalism 3. Marginalisation

Answer 158

Religion has increasingly been used as an avenue for anti-globalisation activity. While one feature of globalisation is a sort of cultural homogenisation (the creation of a single, global popular culture) religion is often seen as the opposite of that: a symbol of how people are culturally different from one another, rather than the same.

Answer 159

A rise in fundamentalism and is a feature of political conflict in many areas of the world

Answer 160

While small fundamentalist groups might emphasise their difference from other people, the major religions have increasingly focused on eBay unites them. Far from the feared clash of civilisations, religious leaders emphasise shared values and common concerns

Answer 161

Beyer also notes that religion is increasingly marginalised in contemporary society, playing lass part in public life, although this may well be Eurocentric view and may be caused by other social changes rather than globalisation

Answer 162

Through the way religions have made use of global communications. Religious groups are able to take advantage of modern technology to recruit new members, spread the word and keep in contact with other members of the religion.

Answer 163

Much less attached to national identity than it once was. Most of the main world religions are international in character and while some countries still have clear state religions, it is certainly less a feature of a national identity in the West than it use to be.

Answer 164

India. Meera Nanda (2008) argues that Hinduism is closely related to Indian nationalism. In a survey, 93% of Indians considered their culture ‘superior to others’ and increasingly Indian national identity and Hinduism are seen as effectively the same thing. Hinduism has become what Bellah called a civil religion. Through the worship of Hindu gods, Indians are worshipping India itself.

Answer 165

Suggest that globalisation has led to the rapid spread of some religious organisations

Answer 166

Points out the growth of Pentecostalism ( a Christian denomination). Martin contrasts Pentecostalism with Catholicism. Martin argues that various features of Pentecostalism endear it to people in poorer parts of the world in an era of globalisation. First, people choose to join the church rather than being born into it. Second, it’s viewed as being of the side of the poor. Third, it’s not associated with state or government whereas the Catholic Church is often closely connected to the state. Finally, it is less hierarchical than the Catholic Church

Answer 167

Martin presents one way in which religious institutions themselves have responded to globalisation whereas giddens presents another which is becoming more apparent in contemporary society

Answer 168

Fundamentalism

Answer 169

A ‘pattern of religious militancy’ led by ‘self-styled true believers’ and identified their cause as being directly opposite to secularisation

Answer 170

Argues that globalisation has caused significant levels of insecurity for people and that fundamentalist religion offers very simple answers. In a world of confusion and uncertainty, faith with very clear rules and absolute truths have proved very attractive

Answer 171

Fundamentalist religion is where religious texts are taken entirely literally (such as he did creation story in bible) and provide a strict set of rules which people should live by. Because views clash with norm in society, fundamentalist religion often highly political (far right)

Answer 172

It is a conservative force yet proposes significant social change. Fundamentalists want to change contemporary liberal, pluralistic society into a conservative and traditional society

Answer 173

As well as potentially causing social change, it is a significant cause of conflict, both with other religions and with other followers of the same religion who don’t support the fundamentalist interpretation

Answer 174

• some sociologists point out that fundamentalist religion is nothing new, it is just more noticeable we a result of globalisation and in contrast to the largely secular liberal beliefs in Western Europe today • while certain countries have witnessed desecularisation where fundamentalist movements have replaced more secular norms, there are many other places which have seen largely fundamentalist religion in place for many years. Furthermore, what is not considered fundamentalist Christianity, for example, would’ve historically been seen as quite mainstream Christian views • Karen Armstrong (2000) rejects the idea and points out that fundamentalist movements are not throwbacks to medieval religion but thoroughly contemporary. Medieval religion was very mysterious whereas fundamentalist movements make use of technology and the methods of modern social movements to achieve their goals • if growth of fundamentalism is a reaction to globalisation, it’s also a reaction to secularisation

Answer 175

Describes how religion has become disembedded in postmodern society: it is no longer embedded in religious organisations or in a particular country or culture and beliefs aren’t embedded in their original contexts. This allows people to pick and mix lots of different belief systems - take what they like and reject what they don’t like. In this way religion becomes a matter of choice and therefore should be viewed as consumption rather that obligation - fits in with idea of growth of holistic milieu Major factor = technology - TV and internet has taken religion out of churches and into channels and websites - this allows religion to become more privatised - links to Davies idea of believing without belonging.

Answer 176

If religion is not about a shared set of beliefs but instead a private individualised belief, then it can’t lead to a collective conscience. If religion is about meeting the individual’s needs and wants as a product to be consumed, then it will not ensure self-discipline and control. People worshipping an entirely individualised, privatised religion are not worshipping society itself

Answer 177

Related through the way religion is a source of identity. In a society where other sources of identity are breaking down - gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality - religion can be an attractive source of identity and can become its primary function. A source of identity was never considered as a function for religion by Durkheim or Marx, because societies were assumed where most people were religious and most people believe in the same religion. In a diverse, pluralistic and globalised society, that isn’t the case and therefore religions new role is a source of identity.

Answer 178

Rejecting metanarratives, like Marxism theories or scientific theories, means that religion is just another narrative, competing with all the others. This is a challenge to secularisation theories because it’s saying religious ‘truths’ are as true as scientific ones. The idea that people can choose their own truth is another factor in a resacrilisation of society.

Answer 179

Argued that in modernity people were looking for theories that were always right: universal truths, but in postmodernity people would find the belief or theory or truth that helped them at that time in that place.

Answer 180

• Berger was correct that secularisation theory is Eurocentric and religion is growing in other places - for the vast majority of those religious people, religion is still largely traditional and carrying out its traditional functions. Many argue that secularisation is wrong not because religion has changed, but because it’s largely stayed the same • while televangelism and preachers on YouTube are examples of religion changing, it’s possible that Lyon overstates their significance. Most of the audience at home will also attend religious ceremonies as these things are marketed at a religious audience. • there’s still quite a lot of evidence that, in western liberal democracies, secularisation theory is accurate. Although there’s been a growth in new age movements, they don’t come close to challenging the popularity of major religions or atheism. Many of those who costume new age ideas are happy to consider themselves Christian or are clear that they have no religious faith. Those ‘believing without belonging’ and worshipping vicariously through professional clergy might not really believe much at all (Bruce)

Answer 181

Religion has become more about identity in a way it traditionally was not

Answer 182

It’s assumed that economic development and prosperity goes hand in hand with secularisation. It’s also suggested that increased religiosity is a reaction to globalisation among the poor and marginalised - the ‘losers’ in the new global system

Answer 183

Globalisation has come to India and brought with it rapid economic growth and a fast growing middle class. However Nanda reveals a large increase in the religiosity of this new middle class - Nanda argues as Indians become richer, they donate money to their temples and go on pilgrimages. Nanda therefore argues that globalisation has helped to fuel Hindu nationalism in India and that this has been driven from the successful middle class STRONG EVALUATION AGAINST SECULARISATION THEORY

Answer 184

People argue that Hindu nationalism has deeper roots than globalisation and question the existence of a causal relationship between the two. These critics suggest that globalisation and economic development is likely to lead to sexualisation in India too

Answer 185

A ‘big story’ which sets out to explain how the world works