Key sociologists Flashcards
Durkheim
Totemism - social solidarity by worshipping a totem
Bellah
Civil religion - a belief system that is attached to sacred qualities to society itself.
Example ; American culture
Malinowski
Performs psychological functions when the outcome is important but uncontrollable or through times of life crises
Marx
Religion as the ‘opium of the masses’, dulls pain and legitimises inequality
Armstrong
Sees womens’ exclusion from priesthood as evidence of womens marginalisation
Woodhead
Religion forms of feminism. Religion isn’t always oppressive and there are ways in which ways use religion to gain greater freedom and respect
Bruce - force for change
The american civil rights movement used religion as a force against racism
Weber - force for change
Calvinsim, brought about capitalist ideas
Gramsci - conservative force
Religion can maintain class inequality through dominant hegemony
deBeauvoir
Religion maintains the patriarchy by compensating women for their second - class status
Wallis
Categorises new religions movements into 3 groups based on whether they reject, accommodate or affirm the world
Stark and Brainbridge
Looked at religion organisations and how they appeal to people from disadvantages backgrounds
Niebur
Distinguishes the church from denominations, based on their features
Parsons - secularisation
Structural differntiation - a processes of specialisation occurs with the development of industrialisation. Seperate organisations have taken over these roles
