Chapter 10; Religion Flashcards
belief
something one accepts as true, regardless of whether it is or not
what is a belief system and what are the components of a belief system
a network or set of interrelated beliefs shared among groups of people, have 3 components:
1. claims about the nature of reality
2. ethical and moral claims
3. technologies
religion
a united system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things
Religious patterns
at least 22 major world religions
what are the top 3 religious groups?
- Christianity ( with Catholicism is the largest sub religion of Christianity and largest religion in the world) 31%
- Islam 21%
- Hinduism 15%
religious affiliation
identifying with a particular religion
religious attendance
attendance at organized religious services
religiosity
combined measure of religious affiliation, attendance, private participation, and importance
Implications of Religion
for adults it is associated with less stress/anxiety, better physical/mental health, and access to more social capital
It has the same benefits for kids in addition to better performance in school and closer relationships to family, as well as a protective affect against likelihood of turning to drugs and alcohol
social capital
resources in the form of accumulated social networks, 2 forms:
bridging capital: resources accumulated through interactions with our religious groups that we can use outside the religious realm,ex. resources that steer away from substance abuse
bonding capital: a sense of community and belonging as well as a social identity
what did marx mean by religion is an opium of the people?
the oppressed proletariat escape their lives through religion as a source of comfort and it also masks the inequalities and exploitation they are experiencing
conflict perspective on religion
it is an agent of social control
maintains/reproduces social inequalities
Interactionist perspective
the protestant religious doctrine enabled capitalism as it established economic activities as a moral vocation. It also emphsized predestination: the belief that what would happen to your soul in the afterlife was predetermined, thus accumulation of wealth was a sign of salvation
normative structure of science
a set of norms that are embedded in the institution of science; include:
norm of communism
norm of universalism
norm of disinterestedness
norm of organized skepticism
communism
notion that scientific knowledge is to be freely shared with others
