Ideology, science and religion Flashcards
What are beliefs?
Ideas about things we hold to be true
What are religious beliefs?
Belief in supernatural powers or forces of some kind
- deal with ideas about fundamental issues of human existence, meaning/purpose of life, what happens after we die
- spirit or life force either within ourselves or watching over us
What is ideology?
Ideology refers to a set of ideas, values and beliefs that provide a means of interpreting the world and represents the outlook and justifies the interests of a social group
What are 4 common forms of ideology?
1- pluralist ideology
2- Marxism: dominant ideology and hegemony
3- patriarchal ideology
4- political ideology
What is pluralist ideology?
No single person has power, reflects a broad range of social interests
- none has any claim to be the only right way of seeing the world
- no single dominant ideology
What do Marxists mean by dominant ideology and hegemony?
DI- set of ideas and beliefs held by the most powerful groups/RC
Hegemony- DI maintains its power by persuading other social classes, adopt RC ideology
Althusser- through ISA- law, religion, media
What is patriarchal ideology?
Set of ideas that supports and justifies the power of men
- educations, workplace, family
What is political ideology?
Provides and interpretation of how society should work and how government should use their power
- may be broad like fascism or communism
What is scientism?
Suggests scientific method provides the only means of gaining true knowledge
- most scientists do not subscribe to scientism many do not accept that science is the only means of understanding the world
What is the point in falsifying a hypothesis instead of providing it to be true?
POPPER
A hypothesis can never be proven true, it can only be proven false
- there is always a possibility of a further exception meaning it can never be fully true
What is a paradigm?
Like a pair of coloured lenses through which scientists look at the world
- colour their views of the nature of the problem or problems to be investigated, the approved methods to tackle them and what should count as proper, relevant scientific evidence
How do paradigms relate to scientific testing?
The power of a paradigm may mean scientists focus on what they’re looking for and dismiss anomalies as experimental errors or freak conditions
- results are fitted to the theory
What is a scientific revolution?
When science changes in dramatic leaps
- a paradigm breaks down many anomalies that don’t fit theory so a new one is created
Why can researchers career aspirations lead to research being less objective that what it might claim to be?
Their interests change how they study a topic, what topic they study, what results they choose to include
Why might we class science as an ideology?
Researchers/scientists often protect favoured theories and fit their findings. They do not always pursue evidence ruthlessly
What are the 3 way of defining religion?
1- Substantive
2- Functional
3- Constructivist
Substantive explanation
Religion should have
- beliefs, theology, practise, institution, consequence
- looks at the content or substance of RB
- belief in superior/supernatural power
Weber- beliefs must relate to God or supernatural
-Islam and Christianity fit into this ‘belief in god’
Supportive sociologists for the substantive definition
Robertson
- religion refers to the existence of supernatural beings thata have a governing effect on life
Bruce
- religion is beliefs, actions, institutions which assume the existence of supernatural entities
Evaluation of the substantive definition of religion
X too exclusive based on a belief of god would exclude Buddhism
X too inclusive, belief in fate, UFOs, magic might be included as religious
Functional explanation
Defines religion by the social or psychological functions it performs for individuals
- encourage social cohesions/collective conscience (Durkheim) without necessarily including supernatural beliefs
- very broad definition
Supporting sociologists for the functional definition
Yinger
- defines religion as a ‘system of beliefs and practises’ by means of which a group of people struggles with the ultimate problems of human life
Evaluation of the functional definition of religion
- embraces a wide range of beliefs and practises that perform functions
- doesn’t specify a belief in God or supernatural Western bias is reduced
X Institutions performing functions are not necessarily religious- integration, e.g. chanting at a football match
Constructivist explanation
Interpretivist sociologists
- so many different types of religion, impossible to come up with a single, undisputed definition
- process by which a set of beliefs become recognised as a religion and who has power to determine whether something is a religion or not is interesting
Supporting sociologists for constructivists definition of religion
Aldridge
- scientology is a religion for its followers but several governments have tried to ban it questioning its status as a religion
- shows religion can be contested and influenced by those with the power to define the situation
Evaluation of the constructivist definition
- doesn’t assume religion has to involve a belief in god
- uncover meaning people give to religion
X impossible to generalise about the nature of religion- no agreement on the meaning
What was Giddens ‘general’ definition of religion?
Religion also offers a vision of and means of understanding, interpreting and explaining the world
- unlike ideology, RB are not necessarily tied to the interests of a particular group
- ‘shared beliefs and rituals that provide a sense of ultimate meaning and purpose by creating an idea of reality that is sacred, all-encompassing and supernatural’
What did Giddens say are the 3 main aspects of religion?
1- Belief in the spiritual/supernatural person, entity or other extra-worldly spiritual force, which ultimately provides a sense of meaning and a means of interpreting and explaining the world
2- Faith on the part of believers- a strong sense of trust n conviction in a person or entity, which is not based on observable, testable, or falsifiable evidence
3- A body of unchanging truth- fundamental n unchangeable beliefs, Christ being the son of God, new discoveries are fitted into these existing frameworks
What is science?
No universally agreed definition
- knowledge rather than belief
Science
Open belief system
- subject to falsification and testing
- independent of state/government
Religion
Closed belief system
- accepted on blind faith
- often closely linked to the state
Why does Popper refer to science as an open belief system?
Scientific research is open to scrutiny, questioning and criticism
How does functionalist Merton support Popper?
Institution of science follows these norms
Communism- share findings
Universalism- everyone can do science, should be scrutinised
Disinterested- detached from ideological bias
Os- Organised scepticism- use of objective criteria
Why does Horton call religion a closed belief system?
Assert an all-embracing and unchanging body of belief and make claims that cannot be disproved
- any evidence or challenge to a belief is either dismissed by followers or explained in a way that makes it fit into the existing belief
What is Polyani’s concept of ‘circularity of belief’?
Empirical evidence of God isn’t needed in the same way it is for science as it is based on faith
- explaining beliefs with further closed aims
- god will provide u with faith, how can u prove god exists, you must have faith, how can u have faith without evidence
How can we argue science is more of a closed system than suggested?
Kuhn
If a new theory or explanation is given that challenges ‘firmly acceptable truths’, then it is dismissed and rejected as unscientific meaning
- it is still hard to challenge science as it exists as part of a paradigm
How could we argue religion is more of an open system than suggested?
Kuhn
Some religious organisations have changed their position on certain issues e.g. changing attitudes towards sexual orientation, allowing women to become priests
How does the state impact religion and science?
Religion is more independent as it is no longer closely linked with the state/government
- often government scientists and scientific advice on health issues, pushed forcefully through the state and law, less independent]- funding and gov control
What are rationalists?
Those who believe that science has allowed us to discover real knowledge about the world, and assert that religion has no claim on the truth at all
What are relativists?
Believe that science and religion are totally separate
- science provides certain knowledge, whereas religion has a responsibility for moral guidance
Both science and religion are equally valid
What is creationism?
The belief that life and the universe were created by a supernatural being (an intelligent designer), an omnipotent, benevolent God
What is evolution?
The process by which different kinds of living organisms developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the Earth
- life on earth evolved from one universal common ancestor
What is 1 difference between creationism and evolution?
C is not scientific because the intelligent designer POV cannot be tested to prove or disprove accuracy
E is scientific, theory can be tested and proved to be false, based on evidence
What is creationism based on?
Based on Primate anatomy
- humanity was directly created by God
What ahs most support creationism or evolution?
C- 46%
E- 35% theistic
- 15% evolution without God
What do supporters of intelligent design argue?
That divine intervention led to something that may appear like evolution
How has religion responded to science?
Many religious people settle for a combination of evolution and creationism
- this is called the intelligent design
What is intelligent design?
The belief that evolution occurred but it has been guided by a supreme being or God
How do NAMs use science to justify their spiritual beliefs?
Astrology claims the position of planets and stars (astronomy-factual) influence our personality and mood (unproven)
Has science replaced religion?
BRUCE
Argues the scientific method challenges religion as a belief system
- mostly happened after modernity
- people want evidence-based cause and effects
Has science replaced religion?
POPPER
Approach of falsifiability
- science might be expected gradually to displace religion as there is no evidence to prove/disprove that any religion is true
Science is taking over religion
This idea has not happened, continue to have extraordinary power over human behaviour
