Role Of Religion Flashcards
Functionalism: what does parsons say?
Sees religion as helping with people cope with unforeseen events.
It creates and legitimates society’s central values by sacralising norms and values and is the primary source of meaning as it answers ultimate questions.
Func: Durkheim
Sacred is the forbidden, and creates powerful feelings which Durkheim argues society does therefore people aren’t worshiping God or religion but society itself.
What do functionalists think about religion?
Religion is the glue that holds society together.
Func: Malinowski
Crises such as birth, puberty, marriage and death are disruptive changes. Religion helps to minimise disruption. For example immortality gives comfort to the bereaved.
Func: Bellah
Civil religion unifies American society, it has its own belief system. It integrates society in a way individual religions can’t because they can’t claim the loyalty of all Americans.
What do Marxists think about religion?
Religion is used by the ruling elite to propagate a false conscience and support capitalist ideology.
Marxism and Marx?
Ideology- it prevents revolutionary consciousness people are in a state of false class consciousness.
Religion is the opiate of the people, it gives a sense of security and salvation of something yet to come.
Marxism: Althusser
It is part of the ISA and needs to be dismantled. It broadcasts ideas that prevent workers from freedom and encourages the acceptance of authority. It prevents revolutionary consciousness by encouraging people there is a natural order that is endorsed by a higher meaning.
Marxism and Gramsci:
Hegemony, the way the ruling class are able to use ideas such as religion to maintain control. E.g the Catholic Church spreading the idea Mussolini was making society better.
Counter hegemony- set of beliefs challenging the hegemony.
What do feminists think?
Religion promotes and supports the male domination of society.
Feminism and Woodhead?
Wearing the hijab mighty be worn to escape the confines of the home and allows them to work and enter education. A sense of liberation enabling them to enter public without losing culture.
Feminism and El Saadawi?
Patriarchy influenced and reshaped religion, men started interpreting beliefs in a way that favoured patriarchy.
Feminism and Armstrong?
Early religions placed women at the centre, for example earth mother goddesses and fertility cults were found throughout the Middle East. However 4,000 years ago the rise of monotheistic religions saw creation of a single, all powerful male God.
Feminism and Holm?
Evidence of patriarchy within religion is segregating sexes at place of worships, for example women sitting behind men and limiting participation.
What do postmodernists Norris and Inglehart think about religion?
Existential security, religion meets a need for security and therefore societies where people feel secure have a low level demand for religion.
Postmodernists: Hervieu-Leger
The idea of spiritual shopping, people have personal choice of religions and can shop around for parts of religions that suit them.
Postmodernists: Lyon
Jesus in Disneyland, religion is becoming packaged as a commodity in the marketplace, it is becoming disneyfied, trivial and crowd pleasing.
Postmodernists: Turkle
Media is crucial part of postmodern religion with some sociologists arguing the Internet as a new metaphor for the nature of God, being decentralised and dispersed.
