Religion Flashcards
Substantive definition
These aim to identify the core characteristics shared by major religions
E.g reference to God
What does MAX WEBER (1905) say about substantive religion
He claims that it is belief in a SUPERNATURAL POWER that cannot be proven scientifically
Constructionist definitions
Interpretivists are mainly interested in how definitions of religion are constructed, challenged and fought over.
ALDRIDGE (2007) view on sociology
Shows that Scientology is a religion despite the fact that several governments have denied it its legal status of being a religion
INTERPRETIVISTS conclusion of religion
Whether a belief system is defined as a religion depends on who has power
Functional definition of religion
Functionalists analyse what a religion does for the society that it exists within. - comfort to its believers
Sacred canopy BERGER (1967)
Claims that religion acts like a SACRED CANOPY to its believers as it protects them from all the dangers in the world
Theistic religions
Belief in a higher power One god (MONOTHEISTIC) Many gods (POLYTHEISTIC)
New age movements religion
Spiritual rather that religious belief system - self-development
Totemism religion
A form of animism in which a community creates a SYMBOL that represents them a s a group e.g ANIMAL or PLANT
Durkheim belief of sociology (1915)
Believed many religions contain elements of totemism
Animism religion
A belief in spirits and ghosts that can positively or negatively impact the human and natural world e.g PAGANISM
Religion as a closed belief system
These religions see themselves as the true representation of God and not tolerant to other religions
ARGUED THAT IT IS TOO CONSERVATIVE
Religion as an open belief system
They are having to adapt to social change in order to stay relevant. E.g CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING FEMALE VICARS AND BISHOPS
Polanyi (1958)
States that in order to protect themselves from challenge, closed belief systems, such as religions, tend to have specific tendencies:
- Denial of legitimacy
- Subsidiary explanations
- Circularity
Denial of legitimacy
By completely rejecting the basic principles of their rivals, belief systems can convince their followers that they are the only possible answers
E.g creationism (the belief that god made the world - IGNORING ALL EVOLUTION EVIDENCE
Subsidiary explanations
Polanyi claims that closed belief systems have a series of “get out clauses”. Deflecting the focus of the argument
E.G“God works in mysterious ways”
Evans - Pritchard (1936), functionalist, studied the Azande people of Sudan, REFLECTING A CLOSE BELIEF SYSTEM
Their view that witchcraft caused misfortune may have seemed irrational to non- believers, but the Azande people had been indoctrinated into their beliefs and they were not allowed to question them
Core principles of science
- Science is the pursuit of FACTS that are supported bu evidence
- It is OBJECTIVE (not biased)
- Science studies the impact of CAUSE AND EFFECT relationships based on RELIABLE data that can be accurately tested
Sir Karl Popper (1959) believes that science has become the dominant belief system in the eastern world because it can be challenged and has therefore grown as a discipline
Claims that the basis of science is built upon FALSIFICATION, challenged pre-existing theories or knowledge. If proven wrong, another replaces it and therefore the knowledge within the discipline grows
Thomas Kuhn (1970)
Believes that science as a discipline is actually a closed belief system due to the PARADIGMS that dominate it
What is a paradigm shape?
- how the discipline is defined and understood by those who operate within it and by others
- how research is conducted, i.e by creating hypotheses and so on
PRE EXISTING FRAME-WORK
The impact of science
Scientific discoveries have led to technological and medical advances that have revolutionised our economy and everyday life, along with providing society with potential answers to Euston about our existence
Robert Merton and the CUDOS norms (1942)
agrees with Popper’s views of science by claiming it has grown because of ethos which is shaped by 4 specific norms: Communism Universalism Disinterested ness Organised scepticism
CUDOS NORMS: Communism
Scientific knowledge is shared with the whole community and therefore is not kept private
CUDOS NORMS: Universalism
All scientists are regarded as equal and so it should be their work that is challenged and no their social characteristics
CUDOS NORMS: Disinterestedness
Scientists should be committed to truth and publish their findings honestly. There should be no fraud or subjective bias in their claims
CUDOS NORMS: Organised scepticism
All knowledge within science should be challenged and scrutiny should be encouraged by all scientists
Ideologies
Both science and religion are IDEOLOGIES as they are beliefs based around core principles aimed at explaining why the world works in the way that it does.
Marxist view on science and religion
All ideologies, including science and religion, are manipulated by the ruling class to maintain and reproduce inequality. Generally motivated by mass products.
Michalowski and Kramer (1987) - an example of this Marxist view
They studied pharmaceutical companies who produce vital medicines that are needed in society, but sell their products at prices only the wealthy can afford
Femenist view on religion and medicine
They have both promoted patriarchy for generations, e.g block women from positions of power training gumtree as weak or impure.
EXAMPLE of feminist view on religion and medicine - ANN OAKLEY (1972)
Argues that John Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation (1951) is a good example of science acting as an ideology. The development of young children was “damaged” by working mothers. Strengthening the idea that only men should be breadwinners and women should stay at home
Postmodernist view of religion and medicine
Claims that both religion and science are META- NARRATIVES. These ideologies seek to explain the “truth: are no longer relevant as both scientific facts and religious teachings are no longer accepted as the immediate “truth”
Karl Mannheim (1929)
Claims that all world views or ideologies are the products of theologians or intellectuals who cannot relate to the everyday individual so study personal interests.
Mannheim states that there are 2 types of work view:
- IDEOLOGICAL THOUGHT - this style of work view attempts to justify tradition and the maintenance of society as it is
- UTOPIAN THOUGHT - this is the style of world view or ideology attempts to promote social change because the current state of the world doesn’t suit the utopian belief system
The sacred and the profanity - DURKHEIM (1915)
Believed that the main purpose of religion was to clearly differentiate between things that were SACRED or PROFANE in our society
Sacred:
Things that are special because they are the product of a higher being a supernatural power
E.g churches and temples are sacred
Profane
Things that are Reinhard, average , and have no special meaning or purpose
E.g offices
Circularity
Each idea explained in terms of another within the same system
