Exam 1 Flashcards
Gary Becker
economist
Rational Choice Theory
Niches=Stable Preferences and functions leading to generating predictions when changes occur
Sociologist should not give in to these assumptions of the required shift in preference
Starke and FInke Agree
believed that social scientist should take into account that stable preferences are the key to the rational choice approaches to social theory
Laurence Iannaccone
- Student of Gary Becker
- He is the pioneer for Religion and Economics
- He tries to answer the Question as to what might motivate people in high demand groups
- He develops a solution to the free rider problem
- That is to be conservative bc conservatives believe that everyone needs to contribute and take part in church if these expectations are not met then there must be two options. That is either comply or leave to accepted elsewhere. This way the free riders are filtered out of the equation.
Karl Marx
- Sociologist that dealt with class conflict
- He stated religion a seeing the “opium” of the masses
- He and Engles believed that religion was for the slaves and the lower/poorer classes
- He stated religion to be a “retarding force”
- He believed that religion would be wiped out by modernization
Emile Durkheim
- Sociologist that believed that “God” was society.
- That is that society worshipped themselves
- One of the two themes that dominated social science theories
- which is that gods are illusions generated by sociological processes
- Durkheim believed that religion would be wiped out by modernization
Max Weber
- 1 out of 3 founding creators of sociology
- argued that there was elective affinity
- –That is described the relationship b/w teaching of the Protestant faith and capitalism enterprise
- He then explained how the privileged groups in society gravitate towards the religion that justifies and validates the advantages they have accumulated in there advantaged state.
- He then argues that the deprived groups in society embrace religions that have ascribed value to and re-explain their unfortunate state, which than promises the reverse state in the after life.
George Simmel
- German Sociologist
- “Religion is a sedative for the turbulence of the soul”
- –This is meaning that religion is something of a tranquilizer or pain killer to what is really happening in your life. An escape from reality and the negative that one deals with in one’s life.
- He states that if one has many troubles in this life than in the next his faith will be greater.
- This is a connection to Weber in that it keeps that status quo of capitalism
- this is also a connection to Marx who states that elision is the “opium” of the masses
- then even connecting to Durkhiem who generally states that society is God. Also based on w=one of the points that social scientists study, which is that God is an illusion of one’s sociological processes
name some churches
United Methodist
United church of christ
Episcopal church
Evangelical Lutheran church in America
Name some Sects
Assemblies of God
Presbertarian church American
Seventh-day Aventis
Southern Baptist Convention
Churches vs. Sects
Churches:
-Larger and more educated individuals attend these
-accept the environment they exist in
-is necessary to keeping the existing social order
Sects:
-goal is to overcome sinfulness
-smaller and less educated individuals
-does not accept the environment they exist in
-living up to the divine commandments
Church of Jesus Christ and Signs Following
-Ultra strict Niche
-“otherworldly”
-avoid wordily pleasures
-separation is characteristic of this group
-Dangerous religion
_appalachia’s serpent handlers who lift snakes up above their heads in the name of God
-they refer to Mark 16 where is refers to people lifting up serpents
-If they get bit and poisoned then it is up to God whether they should be healed by him or not
Vatican II
- This is where the catholic church changed some of their practices
- Started communicating with other faiths
- Try to modernized the catholic church
- Nuns became more involved in the community
- this is also why the amount of individuals going towards vocations declined
- began to speak in native languages instead of Latin
- it shows how religion tried to adapt to society
Church go God in Christ (COGIC)
- Largest Pentecostal group composed of Af. Am.
- members are increasing with the expense of members of the traditional methodist and baptist denominations
- This is a Quasi-ethnic denomination
- Appeared as a renewal movement during the 2nd great awakening
Religious market niche
- refers to the market segments tha potential members sharing particular religious preferences make up.
- relates to religion as congegrations seek member out to join their denominations
Rational Choice
Within the limits of their information and understanding, restricted by what is available to them, based in their own preferences and tastes humans will attempt to make a rational choice. By doing this they also weigh the benefits and costs. This relates to religion because humans tend to look for the religion that best offers according to what they want based in what was said above and which is more beneficial to them and has the least sacrifice to themselves.
maximizing assumptions
humans seek happiness
humans want the maximum benefits for minimal costs
This relates to religion because humans will seek the religion that has the maximum benefits and meets the humans wants with minimal costs
hence becker this can be a tool for capitalists in the fact that if an individuals preferences stay stable then their function will stay stable therefore generating the predictions that one will make when various changes happen. hence religion is a tranquilizer/pain killer/sedative (Simmel) or opium (Marx), also instilling what weber saw as the privileged and the disadvantaged keeping the status quo that of the teachings of the penticostal and capitalism enterprise that Emile durkhiem has stated as the society being God or as God being an illusion of sociological and psychological processes
