Functionalism & Feminism Flashcards
Functionalist View of Religion
Religion is a vital institution for maintaining social cohesion & solidarity
Durkheim
1 main func of religion = dising between sacred & profance - totem = sacred bc syms groups v’s = worship soc
= rarely indu belief - involves col worship w/ ceremonies & rituals
Thro group exper in indus = able to recog the divine influ of god and moral guidelines they provide
Collective Conscience
Sacred symbols rep col con which = shared n’s, v’s, beliefs & know make social living possible,
regular relig rituals reinforce the col con & maintain Soc integration remind of shared common v’s & moral outlook to which they owe loyalty - helps ppl feel part of something bigger
cog funcs give concepts eg time to make sense of world
Arunta Aboriginal Tribe
studied Arunta abor tribe to estab funcs of beliefs & ceremonies & what it really signified chose bc = prim focus = essen elements of belief & its func - argued Soc divided objects & activities into the sacred & the profane
Discipline
Relig rituals impose self discipline - encour indus to behave sociably & not just follow own selfish course of action - would be anti social & destabilising
Cohesion
Key func in social cohesion - worship brought community together through worship ppl reaffirm & reinforce the bonds that keep them together
Vitalising
Relig belief maintained trad ensuring the values are passed down from gen to gen = vital
Euphoric
If mems of Soc = frustrated / lose faith relig reminds them of their place in something bigger - prevents induviduals = anti social
Malinowski Psychological Functions
Relig helps ppl cope w/ emo stress which could undermine Soc solidarity
Where outcome = NB & uncontrollable eg Trobriand tribe fish in lagoon = safe no relig peace but did when in dangerous waters
Also used in times of life crisis - major life events such as birth, death marriage & puberty can cause Maj disruption & relig serves to minimise that disruption through rituals - funerals reinforce solidarity amount the survivors and gives comfort to the bereaved
Parsons Value & Meaning
Helps ppl cope w/ unforeseen situs & uncontrollable outcomes = 2 essential funcs:
1. Creates & legitimates societies central values by sacralising them - promotes value consensus
2. = primary source of meaning by trying to answer the ultimate questions about the human condition such as why ppl suffer - enables ppl to make sense of these vents & helps maintain stability
Bellah Civil Religion
In mod sec states ppl worship Soc - still based around symbols but X super Nat whilst might not fit most defs of relig performs same func D identified
Americanism - flag - loyalty to nation state - pledge of allegiance & royal family - death of Diana - unites ppl
Evaluation of Functionalism
Church attendance has dec meaning = dif to see how relig can be func to socialise if only minority attend
most analysis based on idea soc has 1 relig = multi
idea religion can be seen as worship of soc = idea that = col but faith can be expressed dif & indu
analysis based on flawed evidence - D didn’t understand T / behav of tribe
religion can have neg effect - many conflicts bc of relig
Feminist Views on Religion
soc = patriarchal - based on male dom - many fems regard relig as patri institu - refelcts & perpetuates inequal
funcs as patri ideology that legitimates female subordination
Karen Armstrong (1993)
sees exclusion from priesthood as evidence of women’s marginalisation
places of worship = seg - women behind screens - men in m central & sacred spaces
female ptp restricted - may not be able to preach / read from sacred text
taboos - Islam menstruating women not allowed to touch the Quran
Jean Holm (2001)
restricted female participation = devaluation of women in religion
sacred texts = male gods, prophets - written & interp by men
stories often reflect anti-fem stereotypes - Eve - caused humanities fall from grace & expulsion from GofE
