Religion and Social Change: Flashcards
Religion as a conservative force:
How can religion be seen as a conservative force? e.g. traditional
Religion can often be seen as a conservative force in the sense of being traditional, defending traditional customs, institutions, moral views.
It upholds traditional beliefs about how society should be organised.
Key word:
What does conservative force mean?
Something that prevents change in society.
Religion as a conservative force:
How is religion a conservative force e.g. it conserves
It is conservative because it functions to conserve/ preserve things as they way that they are. It stabilises society and maintains the status quo.
Key word:
What does status quo mean?
Keeping the things the way that they are.
Religion as a conservative force:
How are religions traditional/conservative in their beliefs?
Most religions have traditional conservative beliefs about moral issues and many oppose changes that would allow people more freedom in personal and sexual matters.
e.g. The Catholic Church forbids divorce and abortion. It also is against gay marriage and homosexual sex.
Religion as a conservative force:
How are religions traditional/conservatives in their values?
Religions uphold ‘family values’ ( the traditional nuclear family) and favour a traditional patriarchal domestic division of labour (where women do all the housework)
e.g. In the wedding vows, brides vow to
vows to ‘love, honour and obey’, but the groom is only required to ‘love and honour’. Shows the dominance and how society is patriarchal. It suppresses women.
e.g. Traditional conservative values are also seen in non-Christian religions e.g. Hinduism endorses male domestic authority (head of the house) and the practice of arranged marriage (the man chooses who the daughter will marry). Shows patriarchy. Women have no say in their lives. Their lives are dominated by men’s decisions.
Examples of religious social change:
What are some examples of how religion lead to social change?
The Civil Rights Movement
The New Christian Right in USA - ultimately led to the overturning of Roe Wade
Calvinism lead to capitalism growing in Northern Europe.
The Liberation Theology Movement
Religion as a conservative force:
What is the function of religion? (briefly)
Religion is also a conservative force in that it functions to conserve or preserve things as they are and maintain the status quo.
With functionalists seeing this a positive thing and Marxists and Feminists seeing this as a negative thing.
Functionalists, Marxists and Feminists argue that it contributes to social stability.
Religion as a conservative force:
What is the function of religion according to Functionalists e.g. consensus (use sociologists)
e.g. (Durkheim - the function of religion is to bring people together so that everyone has the same norms and values (value consenus) (means that society doesn’t disintegrate)
e.g. Religion also also helps people to deal with stresses that would otherwise disrupt the life of society (Malinowski 1954 - religion functions to help people with stresses that would undermine social solidarity)
Religion is a conservative force:
How do Marxists and Feminists criticise the function of religion?
Marxists and feminists see religion as an ideology that supports the existing social structure and acts as a means of social control, creating stability in the interests of the powerful.
This helps to maintain the status quo by preventing the less powerful (the W/C and women from changing things.
Religion as a conservative force:
What is the function of religion according to Marxists (use sociologist)
Marx sees religion as a conservative ideology that prevents social change.
e.g. Religion operates in an ideological weapon used by the ruling class to legitimate the suffering of the poor as something inevitable and God-given.
e.g. Religion misleads the poor not believing that their suffering is God-give and that they will be favoured in the afterlife. These ideas create a false consciousness that prevents the poor from acting to change their situation.
Key word:
What does false consciousness mean?
A situation in which members of a lower social class are unaware to their class interests and instead adopt beliefs of the ruling class.
This misperception can lead to people to support systems and policies that work against their own economic and social interests.
e.g. workers may believe that they can achieve success through meritocracy rather than realising that because they way society is made it prevents the W/C from achieving.
Religion as a conservative force:
What is the function of religion according to Feminists? (use sociologist)
Feminists see religion as a conservative force because it acts as an ideology that legitimates patriarchal power and maintains women’s subordination in the family and wider society.
e.g. In Islam menstruating women aren’t allowed to touch the Qur’an as they are deemed to be unholy e.g. Holm (2001) - this shows the devaluation of women in religion. They are seen lesser than men.
e.g. Sacred texts have men being the male gods and prophets and are usually written and interpreted by men. Stories often reflect anti-female stereotypes such as Eve in Judaism and Christianity caused the fall of humanity fall from grace and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Because of this it allows men to treated women as second best
Religion and Social Protest:
What two religious inspired movements have tried to change society.
The Civil Rights Movement (1960s)
The New Christian Right
Religion and Social Protest:
What was the aim of the Civil Rights Movement (use sociologist)
Bruce - the aim was to end segregation between black people and white people in America
Religion and Social Protest:
What led to the Civil Rights Movement
Although slavery had been abolished in 1865, black people were still denied legal and political rights in many southern states were segregation was still enforced preventing them from using shops, buses and toilets as white people.
Schools were segregated and interracial marriage was illegal. Black people were excluded from voting by various legal restrictions and intimidation e.g. the KKK
Religion and Social Protest:
When did the Civil Rights Movement begin?
The Civil Rights Movement began when Rosa Parks a black civil rights activist in Alabama refused to sit at the back of a bus as black people were expected to which led black people to fight for their freedoms to be equal to white people.
Religion and Social Protest:
How did people within the Civil Rights Movement protest?
Campaigning involved direct action by black people themselves e.g. protest march’s, boycotts and demonstrations. In 1964, segregation was made illegal.
Religion and Social Protest:
How did the Civil Rights Movement lead to social change (use sociologist)
Bruce - the black clergy was the backbone of the movement.
Their churches provided a meeting place and sanctuary from the threat of white violence and rituals such as prayer meetings were a source of unity in the face of oppression. (Malinowski 1954) - religion functions to help people cope with psychological and emotional stresses that would undermine social solidarity.
Bruce argues that the black clergy were able to shame white people into changing the law by appealing to their shared Christian values of equality (challenging hegemony) (Gramsci)
Religion and Social Protest:
Evaluation that the Civil Rights Movement led to social change?
The impact on the white clergy was limited meaning that although segregation was made illegal racism still continued and the threat of white violence through the KKK was still a threat showing that religion doesn’t always lead to social change.
Religion and Social Protest:
How can religion be seen as an ideological resource (use sociologist)
Bruce sees religion as an ideological resource as it provides beliefs and practices that protestors could draw on for motivation and support to enable the to change society for the better.
Religion and Social Protest:
How can religion be seen as an ideological resource through the civil rights movement e.g. moral ground
Taking the moral high ground - black clergy pointed out hypocrisy of the white clergy who preached ‘love thy neighbour’ but supported racial segregation.
Segregation went against God’s will of what everyone should be treated equally as segregation saw black people as inferior/less than white people
Religion and Social Protest:
How can religion be seen as an ideological resource through the civil rights movement e.g. challenging
Challenging dissent (challenging those that didn’t agree) - religion provided channels to express political dissent (disagreement) e.g. the funeral for Martin Luther king was a rallying point for the Civil Rights causes as he was murdered by a white supremacist highlighting the the constant threat of white violence.
e.g. in 2020 the BLM movement after the death of George Floyd showed also challenging dissent. Social media was used a lot to challenge the violence against black people.
Religion and Social Protest:
How can religion be seen as becoming more involved with secular struggle? (use sociologist)
Bruce - the civil rights movement as an example of religion becoming more involved in secular struggle and helping to bring about change. The movement achieved its aims because it shared the same values as wider society and those in power.
It brought about change by shaming those in power to put into practice the principle of equality embodied in the American Constitution that all men and women were born equal.
(Gramsci - counter hegemony can happen when the w/c challenge the ruling class. He argued that religion can help workers see through ruling class hegemony by offering a vision of a better, fairer world.
