key concepts Flashcards
religiosity
the event to which someone sees themselves as religious
fundamentalism
appeal to tradition - seek to return to basics or fundamentals of their faith
secularisation
decrease in power that religion has in society
ideology
set of ideas, values and beliefs that provide a means of interpreting the world
theistic beliefs
a belief in a higher power that could be a monotheistic (single god) or polytheistic (many gods). this supernatural being is the source of the beliefs around which the religion revolves
new age movements
spiritual belief system, focused on self development and fulfilment, rather than a devotion to a higher power. often based on eastern religions like Buddhism
animism
a belief in spirits and ghosts that can positively or negatively impact the human or natural world. animistic religions tend to be more prevalent in pre-industrial and non-industrial societies e.g: paganism and ancient religions such as Aztecs
totemism
a form of animism in which a community creates a symbol that represents them as a group. the symbol gains sacred significance and is believed to protect the people it represents. e.g. Australian Aboriginals
5 features of religion
- belief in sacred beings
- sacred and profane object, places and times
- ritual acts based on sacred and profane objects, places and times
- moral code with supernatural origins
- prayer and other forms of communication with supernatural being
substantive definition of religion
aim to identify the core characteristics shared by major religions. exclusive in nature as belief systems can only be classed as a religion if they have these particular features e.g. a belief in a god
evaluation of substantive definition
ethnocentric as it focuses on western religions. doesn’t have room for belief systems which perform similar functions as religion but do not have a supernatural god
functional definitions of religion
looks at what a religion does for the society in which it exists. it may bring comfort to its believers or reinforce societal values and inequalities
evaluation of functional definitions
too inclusive as any belief system could be considered a religion if it performs similar functions. e.g. supporting a football team may perform these functions but doesn’t make it a religion
constructionist definition of religion
mainly interested in how definitions of religion are constructed, challenged and fought over. interpretivists believe therefore that the definition of religion depends on who has power. Aldridge shows how many followers of scientology see it as a religion despite many others disagreeing
evaluation fo constructionist definition
impossible to generalise about the nature of religion as people may have widely differing views of what counts as religion
