Final Flashcards
McDonaldization
George Ritzer, everything becomes more efficient, very fast division of labor, etc. the rest of the world following Western ideals. Control of people or their replacement with technology, dehumanizing people, minimal social contact and connection
Community of memory
McGuire, passing down of religious rituals and practiced through generations
Self-identity
McGuire, the social roles an individual gives themselves. It is constructed through social interactions, especially parents, partners, and close friends.
Sheilaism
Robert Bellah, Sheila Larsen, his fear with pluralism that everything becomes too individualized and we have no common ground. Its also a threat to the community
Civil religion
A collection of beliefs, symbols, and rituals with respect to sacred things and institutionalized in a collectivity, According to Bellah “Americans embrace a common civil religion with certain fundamental beliefs, values, holidays, and rituals in parallel to, or independent of, their chosen religion.”
Dependent, independent, and controlled variables
Independent variable – the variable that is altered during a scientific experiment. Dependent variable – the variable being tested or measured during a scientific experiment. Controlled variable – a variable that is kept the same during a scientific experiment.
Cultural toolkits
Anne Swidler, internalized cultural resources we use in our everyday lives, these help us to make decisions
Settled and unsettled periods
In settled periods, people draw upon the toolkits for making sense of the world, with strategies of action based on generally accepted ideas of social belonging. Weak direct control over action refines modes of experience, skills, habit, etc, and creates continuities in the ethos. Basically when things are normal
In unsettled periods people draw upon a fluid set of resources for making sense of the world (drawing from a number of toolkits) with strategies of cation based on competing ideologies of social belonging which require assessment and choice. Strong control over action, and creates new strategies of action but long-term influences depend on structural opportunities for the survival of competing ideologies.
Symbolic and social boundaries
Michelle Lamont
Symbolic boundaries: conceptual distinctions (words, ideas, images) drawn by social actors to categorize people into social groupings.
Social boundaries: Once they are widely agreed upon they become sedimental into durable social boundaries (race, gender, ethnicity, etc.) These classifications change over time and shifts are commonly seen in language. Shift from gendered terms to gender-neutral terms.
Micro, meso and macro levels of inquiry
For those unfamiliar, micro, meso, and macro refer to the levels of analysis used in research.
Micro-level research examines individuals and individual-level interactions of various kinds, including, for example, people’s intentions, feelings, and beliefs.
Meso-level research examines on the study of groups, including teams, units, and organizations.
Macro-level research examines the political-administrative environment, including national systems, regulation, and cultures.
The rise of Pentecostalism
(Harvey Cox, Joel Robbins, {{Robert Stark, and Buster Smith}} on Latin America) provides opportunities for immigrants to from relationships, speaking in tongues is less about words and more about feelings (Cox speaks to why people do it), most are migrants and lower class, and rural folk joining pentecostal (Robbins about old expectations for demographics)
(Here is Stark and Smith with their actual study, which goes against past research and thinking) Evangelization: anyone who hears the word can share it. In Latin America, many were raised catholic but fewer remain. They are switching churches mostly to evangelical Protestantism denominations.
Appears to all levels of income, is not necessarily all women but a pretty even amount, they are not necessarily younger
They argue people join religious movements as a social activity. Essentially it starts when you like someone and they like you. Conversion is not needs-based, but social.
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Christian movement that emphasises direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Transnational religion and processes of conversion
Transnational Religious Movements is a convincing narrative of how global religions have moved beyond spirituality to become key players in the world of welfare, education, economics, politics, and international relations.
Religious conversion is a process that entails a change in religious affiliation, worldview, and identity.
({{Peggy Levitt}}, Carolyn Chen, Fengang Yang)
Three types of transnational: (Levitt)
Extended:
Negotiated:
Recreated:
Chen: how Chinese Americans moved from Confucianism
Yang: globalization, gathering at McDonald’s, mostly because of idealization of Western progress and liberalism to balance their own anxiety about what was happening in their own countries they are drawn to Protestantism for this reason. (Get stats on rising of Christianity in China)
Methodologies for measuring religiosity and critiques
(Pew Research, Alessandra Gonzales) Pew Research Belief Behavior Belonging
Gonzales in Kuwait, how the students navigate this and how they practice their faith as compared to the west. She finds that there are religious salients. There are different criteria to use for men and women when studying the tradition
How religious identity intersects with race, ethnicity, and sexuality
(Debjani Chakravarty, Dalia Garcia, Lynn Davidman, Rhys Williams, Andrew Yip, Gerardo Marti, Nancy Ammerman)
Rational choice theory explanation and critiques
(Robert Finke, Robert Stark)
people act to maximize their advantages in a given situation and to reduce their disadvantages. People realize it is in their best interest to cooperate and make compromises when necessary
One example could be the protestant ethic
Critique: James Coleman
An argument against rational choice theory is that most people follow social norms, even when they’re not benefitting from adhering to them.
