Religion Flashcards
Define theology
Study of god and nature of god
Define religion
A belief system about what is sacred that is held by a group of people
According to Emile Durkheim, define:
A) Sacred
B) Profane
A) Have special power, deserve special attention, not everyday objects
B) Items that have no special meaning attached to them
Define collective effervescence
Powerful collective experience connecting people to the religious group
What did Max Weber believe in relation to religion?
Believed Acetic Protestantism created capitalism. In a quest to “prove” their salvation, ascetic protestants worked hard, amassed wealth, and saved that wealth and reinvested it to live a godly life
Where is religion most important to people?
More income inequality, the greater the importance of religion. Most important to people in Africa, Middle EAst, South Asia, Latin America (less developed countries)
Top two global religions
1) Christianity
2) Islamic (Muslims)
Define securalization
Religion loses power and meaning in society
A) Which religions are most likely to live in full households?
B) Which are least likely to live in two-parent families?
C) What are the gender-differences in worship for muslim and christian nations?
A) Muslim and Hindues
B) Buddhist and “Nones’
C) Muslim: men more likely to attend
Christian: women more likely to attend
Supernatural phenomena can be categorized in two ways:
1) those central to a religious doctrine (angels, demons, divine intervention)
2) Those that are not (ghosts, sasquatch, telekinesis)
Findings for Chapman Survey of American Fears
1) Women are more likely than men to believe in the supernatural
2) People with high education are less likely to believe in the supernatural
3) Black/Latino/Asian people are more likely to believe in or fear the supernatural
Define:
A) Rituals
B) Totems
A) Form of symbolic action that represents faith
B) Objects that are collectively defined as sacred
According to Emile Durkheim’s Functionalist perspective, what are the three key roles of religion?
1) Social cohesion: uniting people through symbols, values, morals, and gathering places are the backbone of social life for many
2) Social control: behave well out of fear of family.peers and also God’s eye
3) Feeling of purpose in life
According to Karl Marx’s Social Conflict Theory perspective, what does religion do?
Creates a barrier to revolutionary change and creates division. It is hard to convince people to rise against the elites if it is believed they have the power of God behind them.
Define predistination
The belief that god pre-ordains everything that comes to pass, including whether you get to heaven. Wealth and power was seen as a sign God approved of you.
