BINS Mini topic 6- Social groups & religiosity Flashcards
Social groups & religiosity
social group- e/m or white
gender- women or men
age- old or young
class- wc or mc
Gender & Religiosity
- Women express greater interest & commitment
- Higher participation rates in rituals & ceremonies
- See private prayer as imp
- Join NRMs & NAMS
however, recent trend has been a decrease, by over 16% in rel practice among women ages 30-45.
Reasons for greater religiosity
Miller and Hoffman- gender socialisaion- women brought up to be passive, obedient and nurturing- these qualities valued by religion so appeal to women
Miller & hoffman- employment patterns- as women are more likely to part time - more time to pp in religious activities
Halman and Draulans- gender roles in the home- women take on responsibility for childrens moral upbringing. practicing religion- part of installing moral values
Davie- women associate god with love & caring- qualities associated w feminity make religion appealing to them, men associate god with control so this makes religion unappealing to them.
Davie- women closer to death- due to childbirth & helping elderly. brings them closer to ultimate questions ab meaning of life.
greater life expectancy- women live longer- more likel to be widowed & living alone- may turn to religiojn as a source of support and comfort.
Bruce- more likely to join NAMS bc of experience of child rearing- makes them less aggressive and more caring. NAMS emphasise maintenance of wellbeing (herbalism, meditation) women are attracted to it
Heelas & woodhead- 80% of kendall holsitic mileu were woen- women are associated w nature and healing
Glock and Stark- women more likely to exp mat dep and sects offer salvation. women also expereicne social dep- lack of power and status can gain status through evangelical goals (recruiting new members), organismic deprivation physical & mental problems- sects offer healing. ethical dep- people may feel soc is in a moral decline so retreat into sect with moral guidelines
Aldridge- NAMS offer a pos view of feminity (christianity chaste V. whore) NAMS reawakened goddess thus giving women a central role. mc middle-aged women
Woodhead- women respond in a variety of ways
home centred- traditional christian bc christainity affirms priorities.
jugglers- NAMS
work centred- abandon religion bc doesnt fit in w schedule & secular outlook on life
C++++
recent trend has been a 16% dec in women ages 30-45 in religiosity
reasons;
- Brierley- womens inc involvement in paid employment and dom labour leaves little time for religion
- Brown- since the 1960s women have been rejecting traditional gender roles & trad religons that promote these gender roles
- Aune- women are rejecting religion as a result of the influence Feminism which challenged trad christian views ab womens roles, paid emp- juggling emp, dom labour & religion is too demanding so church activity is one activity to suffer- fd- as many religions dont approve of family forms such as cohabitation, lpf, same sex
Why are women attracted to NRMS/ NAMs
Sects- women pp in more sects. one reason- women more likely to exp mat det & sects offer a promise of salvation.
Glock & Stark- women experience social deprivation- lack of power & status- can gain satsifaction through evangelical goals e.g recruiting new members
organismic deprivation- physical & mental problems- sects may feel society is in a moral decline & so retreat into sects with strict moral guidelines.
Cults- women may feel need for self improvement & cults offer advice for this. home-centred nature of cultic activities may appeal to women.
Nams- tend to afford status to women and promote womens closeness to nature through child bearing and rearing.
Ethnicity & Religiosity
people of muslim, hindu, a-c christian religions more religious in comparison to white christians in the UK
- higher attendance rates to pow & more likely to describe religion as important in their lives
- growth in no. of mosques & temples, while churches are closing
- inc in faith schools for minority ethnic religions
A-C & Asian religious groups
A-C
- main religion amongst A-C in UK christianity, many first generation migrants were christian before they arrived but found services in British churches boring and too dogmatic as well as facing racism.
- As a result they developed pentecostalism which to this day is the fastest growing group within christianity.
- pentecostalist services are very vibrant, family centred and high entertainment value as they involve clapping, singing, dancing, call-and-response interaction between the pastor and the congregation.
- other a-c, young men- turned to rastafarianism when faced with racism as a sign of their rejection of the racist society.
Asian
- Tend to be Hindu, Sikh and muslim
when they first arrived in Britain they had to establish their POW as there very few already in existence.
for 1st gen migrants, religion provided a sense of community and identity
however some values associated w these religons are difficult to sustain amognst younger gen who has been raised w british norms & values. e.g hindu caste system clashes w british equality legislation & values.
Reasons for E/M greater religiosity
- Davie- maintenance of social solidarity- em use religion to help them maintain tradition & group solidarity, e.g pow act as community centres & promote cultural values & traditions.
- Modood- maintenance of SS- religion provides em w source of socialisation and advice n the face of adversity e.g racism in wider soc
- Knott- social dep, marg, st frustration- can all account for high levels of religiosity among em as religon can provide source of identity, status and community . em tend to be poorest due to racism in emp market- religion offers theodicy of dispriveledge.
- Family pressure- asian families- close-knit & extended. results in pressure to conform to religious values & behaviour
social identity- religion provides indidivuals w markers of identity- customs, dress , food- can be used to assert identity status and culture.
- Jacobson- a sense of identity- religious identity- provides young people w stability & secuirt when there is inseuerity in other aspects of life eg employment
- Bruce- cultural transition- easing onselef into a new culture- religon provides support & sense of community. for immigrants & to deal w racism. A-c not welcome in white chruches so turn to pentecostalism.
- Pryce- bristol- a-c community- pentecostalism provided cultural defence & transition. some turned to rastarfiranism
C+- modood- second gen is much less observant and see religion as less imp than their parents e.g young muslims drinking alcohol. this is bc they have been socialised into mainstream culture so their ethnic identity & religion are not important to them.
C+- Johal- younger generations have forged a hybrid identity - Brasian- by blending the asian & british cultures. they do this by adopting selective elements of their parents religon w/ a strong element of personal choice.
AGE & Religiosity
- The older they are the more likely to attend religious services
- However- exceptions- under 15s (forced to attend), and over 65s (too ill to attend).
- decline of youth is so concerning that archbishop of canterbury advised priests toinvolve musicians findign ways to appeal to teenagers. e.g holding services in non-church locations e.g disused pubs.
Why are Young people less religious than older people
1- disengagement- as people age they become detached from the rest of society, makes them socially isolated so religous org provide a form of social support- so older people more religious.
2- religious socialisation- older people more likely to be socialised by the family and education system into practicing religion.
3- ill health & death- old people closer to death, so turn to religion for comfort, coping, meaning and support.
4- declining attraction of religion- mainstream religious organisations are increasingly unattractive 2 young people- find services boring, repetitive and old fashioned & out of touch with young people. young peoples values are at odds w what religions find contraversial e,g contraception, abortion, same sex marriage. also its old fashioned
5- secualisation- lyotard- trad religions lost influence over people so young people less religious bc no longer believe in meta narratives but can pick & mix what they believe
6- declining religious edu- attendance at sunday schools declining- children no longer socialised into religious beliefs.
7- pragmatic reasons- have more enjoyable & interesting things to do e,g shopping
8- Voas & Crockett- 2 explanations
a) ageing affect- turn to religon as they get older bc approaching death
b) generational effect- as soc becomes secular, each new gen is more secular than the one before.
9- rationalisation & multi faith soc- davie- 16-34 less likely to believe in god than those over 5– bc brought up in a time of rationalisation & during when britain multi cultural.
Young people are NOT less religious than older people
1- expanded religious marketplace- Lynch- young people are turning away from trad conventional religon bc growing exposure to a variet of religious ideas which they may find more attractive. therefore replacing trad R with NRMS.
2- privitisation of belief- young people more likely to BWB. therefore not less religious just dont attend POW
3- secular spirituality- Lynch- finding new forms of religioisty in secular aspects of life e.g football.
Age groups & NAMS & NRMS
young people- more likely to join sects. world rejecting NRMS. bc they have no dependants makes it easier to withdraw from the world. more likely to be margianlised & sects offer a theodicy of dispriveledge.
middle aged- join cults/NAMS/World affirming NRMS. bc less likely to feel relatively deprived but want to improve their lives here and now, so find world affirming nrms/nams appealing.
Class & Religiosity
No specific content for this- need to use sociological knowledge ( check ppt for exam qs)
