BIS: Topics 1-4 Mock Flashcards
Topic 1: Ideology, Science and Religion
Q: What did Durkheim argue about religion’s function?
A: Religion provides meaning and social cohesion.
Evaluation: Overlooks how religion can create division, such as between religious groups or within societies (e.g., Northern Ireland).
What is Marx’s view of religion?
A: It is an ideology that legitimates inequality and maintains the status quo.
Evaluation: Neo-Marxists argue religion can challenge oppression (e.g., liberation theology in Latin America).
According to Althusser, how does religion serve capitalism?
A: As part of the ideological state apparatus, it controls ideas and maintains power.
Evaluation: Critics argue this underestimates the role of human agency and religious movements that resist power
What do feminists argue about religion?
A: It reinforces patriarchy (e.g., De Beauvoir, Daly).
Evaluation: Liberal feminists argue religion can be empowering for women, with reform and reinterpretation (e.g., female priests in the Church of England).
How does Bruce critique science and religion?
A: Science has replaced religion as a dominant belief system, but religion persists because it fulfils emotional needs.
Evaluation: Critics argue Bruce underestimates how both science and religion can coexist in people’s lives.
What does Berger argue about religious pluralism?
A: Pluralism creates a “crisis of credibility” for traditional religions as people are exposed to diverse beliefs.
Evaluation: Berger later revised his view, arguing that pluralism has strengthened religion by encouraging competition and adaptation.
Topic 2: Religion as a Conservative Force
What did Durkheim argue about religion and society?
Religion promotes social solidarity and shared values.
Evaluation: This ignores religious conflict and the diversity of beliefs in modern societies.
How did Parsons see religion’s role?
A: As a source of value consensus and social order.
Evaluation: Secularisation theorists argue religion’s influence on value consensus has declined in modern, diverse societies.
What is Malinowski’s view of religion?
A: Religion helps individuals cope with life crises.
Evaluation: Criticised for being too focused on emotional support and ignoring religion’s structural functions.
How did Marx describe religion’s function?
A: As the “opium of the people,” dulling pain and oppression.
Evaluation: Religion can also be a force for social change, as seen in civil rights movements (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr.).
What role does religion play in Gramsci’s concept of hegemony?
A: It can reinforce ruling-class ideology but also challenge oppression through counter-hegemony.
Evaluation: Provides a more nuanced view than traditional Marxism, showing religion’s dual role.
How do feminists critique religion?
A: It perpetuates gender inequality but can also be a tool for reform (e.g., Armstrong, Woodhead).
Evaluation: Some argue this perspective overgeneralises, ignoring how women may voluntarily embrace traditional religious roles.
Topic 3: Religion, Renewal and Choice
What is Stark and Bainbridge’s rational choice theory?
Religion persists because it offers compensators for unmet needs.
Evaluation: Criticised for being overly focused on individual choice and ignoring the social and cultural context of religion.
What does Davie mean by “believing without belonging”?
A: People have private religious beliefs but don’t attend organised worship.
Evaluation: Critics argue this underestimates the impact of secularisation, as private belief may still decline over time.
What does Lyon say about religion in a postmodern society?
A: Religion has become consumer-oriented, with people engaging in “spiritual shopping.”
Evaluation: Critics argue this view neglects the continued significance of traditional, institutional religion for many people.
