Churches Flashcards
Characteristics
Large, inclusive organisations that support the values of society:
In statistical terms church membership is significant. Some churches have a world-wide membership e.g. 1 billion Roman Catholics, 1 billion Muslims.
Churches are also inclusive and have an involuntary membership. e.g. children born of parents who belong to the Church of England are counted as members and in baptism they are automatically recruited before they are old enough to understand the faith. They do not actively choose to be members and they do not have to show how religious they are.
Churches accept the norms and values of wider society as they allow members to have free dealings with others, although members may be asked to behave in a religious manner when dealing with other people.
The church supports the state and ‘usually stabilises and determines the political order (Troeltsch) e.g. In Ireland the church is influential in legislation (abortion) and education. In the UK the Queen is both Head of State and Head of the Church of England, which is the ‘established church’ of the country (official religion). Churches are said to be more ideologically conservative and support the status quo.
A03: Is this description of churches appropriate for the 21st Century?
Steve Bruce argues that the concept of ‘The Church’ is not relevant in modern society. He says from the Reformation of 1517 competing religious views developed which led to a religious pluralism. It became difficult for the state to support one religion and for any church to claim a monopoly on beliefs. For these reasons Bruce claims it is more accurate to describe the Roman Catholic Church and Church of England as denominations rather than churches.
Moreover, churches are not always ideologically conservative. On many occasions the church has spoken out against government policy. Eg condemning the war in Iraq; criticising the government’s policy towards making the unemployed work for benefits.
Neo Marxists and Liberation Theology also show how the church can become a focus of opposition to the state
