Beliefs- religion and social change Flashcards
Force for social change- Weber
• Religious beliefs of Calvinism helped bring about major social change.
• Calvinist beliefs include:
• Predestination (God has predetermined who will go to heaven (‘the elect’) and nothing we do can alter that)
• Divine transcendence (God is so far above human understanding and no mortal can claim to know anything about him)
• Asceticism (abstinence, self-discipline and self-denial)
• The idea of vocation or calling (hard work would produce a psychological function that allowed them to cope with their salvation panic through their accumulating wealth).
AO3
✅ Weber took a different view to Marx, who believed that it was solely economic factors that encourages change, he believed that cultural aspects also took influence
❌ Tawney (1926) believes that the role of technology takes the vital influence in capitalism, not religious ideas.
Force for social change-Hinduism and Confucianism
• Weber argued that Calvinism was only one of the causes of modern capitalism, the process also needed such features as a number of material or economic factors.
• However there have been a number of other societies that have had a higher level of economic development but haven’t developed modern capitalism, this is due to the lack of a religious belief system like Calvinism.
• Both Hinduism and Confucianism lacked the drive to develop a modern capitalist system unlike many western cultures, therefore they didn’t undergo social change due to the other factors other thank Calvinism.
Religion and social protest- Civil Rights Movement- Bruce
• Argues that the black clergy were the backbone of the civil right movement, MLK played an important role in his speeches and rallies.
• Churches providing meeting places and sanctuary from threat or white violence
• Sees religion as an ideological resource to support protests and contribute to social change
• Taking the moral high ground
• Channelling dissent
• Acting as an honest broker
• Mobilising public opinion
Religion and social protest- The New Christian Right
• A politically conservative group that aimed to bring America “back to God”, they believed in traditional gender roles and campaigned against abortion, homosexuality and divorce.
• They used church owned media stations and televangelism to broadcast programmes aimed at recruiting new members (strong ties with Republican party)
• The New Christian Right was largely unsuccessful.
• Comparisons between both groups (CR and NCR) suggest that religiously motivated protests need to be consistent with those of wider society, they need to comply with mainstream beliefs about democracy, equality and religious freedom.
Marxism, religion and change
• Engels argues that although religion inhibits social change through its ideology, it can also encourage it e.g. preaching liberation from slavery and misery.
• Block sees religion as having a dual character, a view that religion recognises both positive and negative aspects of social change.
Marxism, religion and change- Liberation theology
• Within Latin America, there was deepening poverty, human rights violations etc.
• During the 1970s it was often only priests who took the side of the oppressed when dictators would torture and murder those to hold onto power.
• Liberation theology set out to change society by providing support groups, fought the oppression and protected many.
• The movement lost influence after the pope condemned liberation theology for resembling Marxism, however it created a legitimate change in how the poor were treated as it encouraged and supported social change.
Marxism, religion and change- Millenarian movements- Worsley
• Millenarian movements describe the belief in judgement day and the end of the world
• The appeal of millenarian movements was largely to the poor as they believed after their lifetime: of being oppressed would be rewarded in immediate gratification
• Many native ‘cargo cults’ who performed millenarian movements against the colonials who stole their material goods and land were the first ‘pre-political’ group who used this view of religion to fuel their protests and spread their views.
Marxism, religion and change- Gramsci and hegemony
• Was interested in how the ruling class used hegemony to maintain their control over the working class. Lower classes can create their own counter hegemony to challenge the ruling classe
• Argues that popular forms of religion can help workers see through the ruling class clergy can act as ‘organic intellectuals’ who teach the workers of their situation.
