Beliefs In Society Flashcards

Question

Cultural defence

Answer 1

Religion provides a focal point for the defence of a struggle against an external force such as hostile foreign power

Answer 2

Religion provides support and a sense of community for ethnic groups

Answer 3

1962 - 40% of Americans attended church on Sundays American religion has remained popular by becoming less religious

Answer 4

Predestination - God has predetermined who will go to heaven and who will go to hell Divine transcendence - creates a salvation panic Asceticism - self denial, devoting themselves to God Calvinists accumulate wealth and invest it, creating capitalism

Answer 5

The ruling class maintain their control over society through the use of ideas Hegemony - using religion to maintain control

Answer 6

There for everyone whenever it needs to be ‘Believing without belonging’

Answer 7

We are now in a period of re-enchantment - growing vitality of non traditional religion

Answer 8

Spiritual shopping Holistic milieu of spirituality

Answer 9

People are naturally religious and it is human nature to seek rewards Churches operate like companies selling goods in a market Competition leads to improvements in the quality of religion

Answer 10

More women than men say that they have a religion More women than men say that religion is important to them Women are more likely than men to practise their religion

Answer 11

Women are more often associated with nature More attracted to new age movements Gives them a higher status and sense of self worth Less time consuming than traditional religion

Answer 12

Black people are twice as likely to attend church than white Most ethnic minorities originate from poorer countries - offers support in a hostile environment

Answer 13

Every word of the Bible is literally true Seperate themselves from the rest of the world Movements aim to draw attention to the threat to their beliefs and values - reactions are aggressive Keen to use modern tech to achieve their aims Believe the ‘last days’ will soon be upon us Attracted to conspiracy theories

Answer 14

Davie - those who hold traditional orthodox beliefs are threatened by modernity Giddens - fundamentalism is a product of globalisation, provides certainty in an uncertain world

Answer 15

Cosmopolitanism is open to new ideas and lifestyle is see as a personal choice Giddens directly contrasts it with fundamentalism

Answer 16

Bauman - fundamentalism is a response to postmodernity, which brings uncertainty and an awareness of risk Castells - resistance identity = defensive reaction of those who feel threatened and retreat into fundamentalist communities Project identity = the response of those who are forward looking and engage with social movements

Answer 17

Ignore hybrid movements ‘Fixed on fundamentalism’ - ignores developments Lumps all types of fundamentalism together

Answer 18

Polytheistic religions lack a single all powerful deity so have much more of a scope for different interpretations

Answer 19

In the west - fundamentalism is a reaction to change taking place within a society In the third world - fundamentalism is a reaction to changes being thrust upon a society, triggered by modernisation and globalisation

Answer 20

Davie - 2 phases of modernity : first phase gave rise to religious fundamentalism - enlightenment secularised society and fundamentalism was a reaction to this Second phase gave rise to secular fundamentalism - product of insecurity, leading to a loss of faith Hervieu-Léger - fundamentalism is a form of recreated memories in late modern societies

Answer 21

Religion has been at the centre of a number of global conflicts Globalisation increases the contacts between civilisations, increasing the likelihood of conflict

Answer 22

Poland was under communist rule, and the Catholic Church was suppressed, but for many Poles it continued to embody Polish national identity

Answer 23

Western capitalist powers have had influence on Iran - a revolution was led by religious leaders

Answer 24

A vast majority of India’s middle clans remain religious, believing in the supernatural Only 5% said that their religiosity had declined Nanda notes it is becoming fashionable to be religious Rejects existential insecurity as am explanation Rejects the idea that religiosity is a defensive reaction

Answer 25

Hinduism legitimates a triumphant version of Indian nationalism ‘Our people are not perfect but our culture is superior to others’ Worship of Hindu gods has become the same as worshipping the nation India

Answer 26

Religion has played a role similar to the come Calvinism played in the development of capitalism Redding - values encourage hardworking, self-discipline and commitment to self-improvement, which is similar to the Protestant ethic

Answer 27

Berger - Pentecostalism in Latin America is a ‘functional equivalent’ to Weber’s Protestant ethic Demands an ascetic way of life, emphasising hard-work

Answer 28

Christianity has globalised itself Christianity accompanied colonisation Able to incorporate beliefs Able to appeal to the poor in developing countries who make up the majority of the population

Answer 29

Scientists set out to try and falsify existing theories, deliberately seeking evidence that would disprove them

Answer 30

Scientific knowledge builds on the achievements of previous scientists to develop a greater and greater understanding of the world around us

Answer 31

Scientific knowledge is not private property Knowledge grows through sharing

Answer 32

Truth of scientific knowledge is judged by a universal, objective criteria and not the scientist who produces it

Answer 33

Committed to discovering knowledge for its own sake makes it harder for scientists to practice fraud

Answer 34

Every idea is open to questioning, criticism and objective investigation No claim is regarded as sacred

Answer 35

Religion claims to have special, perfect knowledge of the absolute truth

Answer 36

There are a number of ‘get out’ clauses that prevent them from being disproved

Answer 37

Regarded witchcraft as a psychic power Control mechanism Doing harm unintentionally Use religion to maintain the cycle Find excuses for certain things not working

Answer 38

Each idea in the system is explained in terms of another idea within the system

Answer 39

Belief systems reject alternative worldviews by refusing to grant any legitimacy to their basic assumptions

Answer 40

Set of shared assumptions Tells scientists what reality is really like, what problems to study

Answer 41

The scientist’s job is to fill in the details - paradigm lays down broad outlines

Answer 42

Faith in the truth of the paradigm has already been undermined by anomalies Only then do scientists become open to new ideas e.g. Darwin and evolution

Answer 43

Scientists study or socially construct an artificial world - water is specially purified, animals specially bred

Answer 44

Scientists are the same as everyone else - flawed Have to persuade others to accept their interpretations A scientific fact is just a social construct

Answer 45

Science is one of a number of meta narratives that falsely claim to posses the truth Serves capitalist interests