Religion and social change

Question 1

Gramsci : Religion as a challenge to hegemony and supporting study

Answer 1

• Rejected the traditional marxist view (was a neo-marxist) that people were brainwashed into a state of false class consciousness
• Agreed that religion coerced people in to following the rules/seeing who possessed hegemony (leadership)
• Regarded people as consenting to religion
• Believed some institutions helped reject ruling class ideology and helped create counter hegemonic ideas (challenge the ideas of those already dominant)
• Religious leaders who came from WC backgrounds have the potential to challenge the status quo of those in charge
• These people are organic intellectuals (intelligent but also conscious of inequality)
• Billings : Study in to the role of religion in a WC strike of miners + textile workers in the 1920s
  Miners were more successful because their union leaders were better educated and religious preachers
  Used their positions to lead the movement and offered to hold church meetings to boost morale
  Helped bring social change eg basic pay and working conditions

Question 2

Evaluation of Gramsci (counter hegemony)

Answer 2

• It could be argued that the workers intellect and confidence was more important than the role of religious figures
• it is one thing to be an organic intellectual and another to actually bring about social change

Question 3

Weber - Calvinism

Answer 3

• Religious thinkers had the ability to generate alternative ideas which were alternative to the dominant ideas
• Looked at the rise of Protestantism and the link to the growth of capitalism
• In Europe 1500’s accepted belief was poverty and wealth were God given so people would be rewarded favourably in heaven
• Calvin proposed an alternative view :
  1. Taught his followers about predestination (God had already chosen which souls to save)
  2. God was in a state of divine transcendence (no one could ever understand his will) and this created salvation panic
  3. Vocation (being this worldly and working hard with self discipline)
  4. Asceticism (living a life free from pleasure)
• Consequences of calvinism : saw an increase in money as a sign they were the elect and they used the money to reinvest eg national banking and trade links
• China and India didn’t advance at the sane times due to hinduism and Confucianism not encouraging a vocation or asceticism

Question 4

Evaluation of Calvinism

Answer 4

• Capitalist ideas appeared before calvinism became popular
• Technology played a bigger role in developing capitalism than religion
• Calvinists were attracted to industry because they were excluded from other areas of social life

Question 5

Bruce - Protest movements

Answer 5

• Religious movements deliberately bringing about social change through the method of protest
  1. Civil rights movement
  Some organisations were viewed with hostility eg Black panthers
  However Reverend MLK began to speak out using Christianity - I have a dream speech - appealed to his white peers better nature
  Black clergy took the high ground + called out their white counter parts hypocrisy
  Churches acted as a place for black people to channel their dissent
  Also acted as an honest broker in debate
  This helped bring about the 1964 Civil rights act + Christianity played a huge part into shaming the white population
  2. The New Christian Right
  Purpose is to challenge the liberalisation of American culture concerned over losing traditional values
  Eg Westboro baptist church eg attacks on women outside abortion clinics
  Not brought about any social change due to the movement being divided and lacking support from wider society (people accept they have free choice)

Question 6

Evaluation of protest movements and religion

Answer 6

• In the outcome of the CRM, white politicians had more of a sway over the outcome
• It was MLK as a charismatic person that was popular not religion which drove it