THEORIES OF RELIGION

Question 1

Substantive definitions

Answer 1

• Focus on the content or substance of religious belief. They are exclusive, drawing a clear line between religious and non-religious beliefs.

Question 2

Substantive definitions
EV.

Answer 2

• They conform to a widespread view of religion as a belief in God or the supernatural
• Accused of Western bias by excluding religions such as Buddhism, which do not believe in God as such.

Question 3

Weber, 1905

Answer 3

• Defines religion as a belief in superior or supernatural power that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically.

Question 4

Functional definitions

Answer 4

• Defines religion in terms of the social and psychological functions it performs for the individual and for society. They are inclusive, not distinguishing between religious and non-religious belief.

Question 5

Durkheim, 1915

Answer 5

• Defines religion in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration and value consensus.

Question 6

Yinger, 1970

Answer 6

• Identifies functions that religion performs for individuals, such as answering ‘ultimate questions’ about the meaning of life and afterlife.

Question 7

Functional definitions
EV.

Answer 7

+ As they are inclusive this allows for the consideration of the wide range of beliefs and practices that perform functions
+ No Western bias
- Some identified functions of religion cannot be used to define religion e.g. integration is not the literal definition of religion.

Question 8

Constructionist definitions

Answer 8

• Social constructionists take an interactionalist approach that focuses on how members of society themselves define religion.
• They argue that one definition cannot be applied to all instances and types of religion, so we as individuals define religion ourselves through our behaviour and beliefs.
• Inclusive as religion is defined by the meanings people themselves give to it.

Question 9

Aldridge, 2013

Answer 9

• Illustrated that while Scientology is a religion for its followers, several governments have denied its legal status as a religion and sought to ban it.
• This shows that definitions of religion can be contested and are influenced by who has power.

Question 10

Constructionist definitions
EV.

Answer 10

• Defining religion differently for each individual means that the nature of religion cannot be generalised.

Question 11

Functionalist View of Religion

Answer 11

• Religion is a cultural universal that helps fulfill essential functions for society giving it meaning and purpose, uniting its members and providing stability.

Question 12

Durkheim (functional + cog.)

Answer 12

• Durkheim argues religion helps to maintain value consensus
• A key feature of religion is its fundamental distinction between the s**acred (things which inspire feelings of awe and wonder) and the profane (ordinary things with little significance). **A religion is never simply a set of beliefs, but also involves definite rituals or practices in relation to the sacred.
• The significance of these rituals, for Durkheim, is the social unity it stimulates.
• Durkheim believed that the essence of religion could be found by studying it’s simplest form - totemism. Through studying the Arunta (Australian Aboriginals) he found that the worship of the sacred totem pole reinforces group solidarity.
• Sacred symbols represent the collective conscious in society helping to maintain social integration as well as reinforcing the power of society.

Question 13

Durkheim and Mauss

Answer 13

• Religion is the origin of the concepts and categories we need for reasoning, understanding and communicating.
• In order to think we need categories and religion gives us these categories e.g. the idea creator created the universe at the beginning of time provides the function of ability to reason by creating concepts such as time, space and causation.

Question 14

Durkheim
EV.

Answer 14

• Worsley points out that there is no sharp division between the sacred and the profane and even if Durkheim is correct about totemism, this doesn’t mean that he has found the essence of all other religions. His theory may apply better to small scale societies with a single religion.
• Hamilton argued that this the theory doesn’t fit with the emergence of multi-faith society.
• Similarly, Mestrovic believed that this study cannot be applied to modern society because increasing diversity has fragmented the collective conscience, there is no longer a single shared value

Question 15

Malinowski, 1954 (psychological)

Answer 15

• Anthropologist Malinowski agrees with Durkheim that religion promotes social solidarity but rather than by cognitive means, he argues that social solidarity is achieved by performing psychological functions for individuals.
• Religion helps people to cope with times of emotional stress that would undermine social solidarity e.g. times of crises (death, birth etc.)
• Death is the main reason for the existence of religious belief.
• In his study of the Trobriand Islanders, Malinowski contrasts lagoon fishing with ocean fishing. Lagoon fishing is safe therefore, there is no ritual performed, but Ocean fishing is dangerous and so are always accompanied with rituals to ensure a safe and successful expedition.
• This gives people a sense of control and reinforces the group solidarity.

Question 16

Malinowski, 1954
EV.

Answer 16

+ Ppt obsv. = high in validity and detailed, conducted over 4 years
- From positivist perspective it was unreliable and the conclusions could not be generalised to other tribes or societies.

Question 17

Parsons, 1967

Answer 17

• Sees religion helping individuals to cope with unseen events
  Identifies two other key functions of religion:
  1. It creates and legitimates society’s central values by sacralising them
  2. It is the primary source of meaning, answering the ‘ultimate questions’ about the human condition.

Question 18

Bellah

Answer 18

• Religion unifies society even in multi-faith cultures such as America. All believe in Manifest destiny and the American Dream expressed by the symbols such as the American Flag and the fact the pledge allegiance to it.
• The ‘American’ God sacralises the American way of life and binds a whole country together formed from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds
• Presents the idea of functional alternatives (non-religious beliefs and practices that perform functions similar to those of organised religion, such as reinforcing shared values or maintaining social cohesion.
• E.G Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had secular political beliefs and rituals which they sought to unite society.

Question 19

Functional alternatives to religion

Answer 19

• Non-religious beliefs and practices that perform functions similar to those of organised religion such as reinforcing shared norms and values or maintaining social cohesion e.g. Nazi Germany had secular political beliefs and rituals which sought to unite society.
• Ignores what makes religion distinctive: belief in the supernatural. There is a difference between patriotism or nationalism and religiosity

Question 20

Functionalist View of Religion
EV.

Answer 20

+ Emphasises the social nature of religion and the positive functions it performs
- Neglects negative aspects, such as religion as a source of oppression of the poor or women
- Outdated theories: they envisage society with a single unifying religion that brings unity, whereas in most developed western societies today there is no consensus about religion.

Question 21

Marxist View of Religion

Answer 21

Religion prevents social change by justifying exploitation:

• Religion is an ideology that legitimates exploitation
• Religion is a product of alienation

Question 22

Marx Religion as an ideology that legitimates exploitation

Answer 22

• Religion as an ideology that legitimates exploitation
• Marx argued that the ruling class governs the distribution of ideas in society.
• Through institutions such as the church, the education system and the media, the ruling class attempts to reconcile the lower class to poverty, inequality and exploitation and uphold their privileges.
• Religion operates as an ideological weapon used to justify the suffering of the poor by promoting the belief that their suffering is virtuous in the afterlife.
• E.G. it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
• Such ideas create false class consciousness - a distorted view of reality that prevents social change. Religion also legitimates the power and privilege of the dominant class by making their position appear to be divinely inspired (‘Divine Right of Kings’).

Question 23

Marx

Answer 23

• Religion as a product of alienation
• Alienation involves becoming separated from or losing control over something that one has produced.
• Under capitalism, workers are alienated because they do not own what they produce and have no control over the production process, endlessly repeating the same task, devoid of all meaning or skill.
• In these dehumanising conditions, the exploited turn to religion as a form of consolation.
• In the words of Marx “religion is the opium of the people”; it dulls the pains of exploitation, masking the pain rather than treating its cause - class exploitation.

Question 24

Marxist View of Religion
EV.

Answer 24

+ Considers how religion can be used as a tool for oppression that masks exploitation and creates false consciousness
- Ignores positive functions such as psychological adjustment to misfortune.
- Althusser rejects the concept of alienation, arguing that it is unscientific and based on the idea that human beings have a ‘true self’. This would make the concept an inadequate basis for a theory of religion.
- Where religious practice is a minority pursuit (as thought for many western democracies) religion does not have the power to act as an opium of the masses, arguably the media has assumed that role.
- Many of the core teachings of various religions appear to contradict the values of capitalism. Verses as such quoted above may encourage workers to wait for divine justice but they do not explicitly defend the actions of the rich but actually reject materialism and greed. (why neo-Marxists consider religion as a dual force - it can act as a conservative force or as a catalyst for change)
- Hill and Turner (2015): in pre-capitalist society, while Christianity was a major element of ruling-class ideology, it had only limited impact on the peasantry.

Question 25

Feminist View of Religion

Answer 25

Religion acts as an instrument of women’s subordination; religion is an ideology that legitimises patriarchy

• Exclusion from priesthood
• Segregation of sexes in places of worship
• The effect of religion on cultural norms

Question 26

Liberal feminists

Answer 26

• Likely to aim for equality within existing religions by seeking to remove obstacles that prevent them from taking on positions of authority

Question 27

Radical feminists

Answer 27

• Tend to see most contemporary religion as existing for the benefit of men and either present a fundamental challenge to religion to seek to reshape it entirely and recapture the centrality of women in religion of early times

Question 28

Marxist feminists

Answer 28

• Tend to emphasise the way that religion acts as the ‘opium of the people’ focusing on the ways that religion acts as a means of compensating women (rewards in heaven makes up for their suffering on earth)

Question 29

‘The stained glass ceiling’

Answer 29

• An invisible barrier that confines them to lower-status positions in religious organizations

Question 30

Armstrong, 1993
RADICAL

Answer 30

• Exclusion from priesthood provides evidence for women’s marginalisation.
• Religious organisations are mainly male-dominated despite the fact that women often participate more than men in these organisations e.g. women cannot be priests in Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism.

Question 31

Holm, 2001
RADICAL

Answer 31

• Describes the segregation of the sexes in places of worship as the devaluation of women in religion.
• Men often occupy the central more sacred spaces, while women’s participation may be restricted, for example not being allowed to preach or read from sacred texts.

Question 32

The effect of religion on cultural norms

Answer 32

• May lead to unequal treatment, such as punishments for sexual transgressions or dress.
• Many religions legitimate and regulate women’s traditional domestic and reproductive role.

Question 33

Feminist perspective of religion
EV.

Answer 33

• Women are not subordinate within all religions: In Hinduism, and in modern New Age religions, like the pagan witchcraft-based Wicca, there are female goddesses. While goddesses have mainly be replaced by monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with patriarchal teachings, beliefs and practices, Aldridge suggests that gender equality can be found among contemporary groups like the Quakers, the Unitarians and some spiritualist movements.
• Saadawi argues that religion is not the direct cause of their subordination. Instead it is the influence of patriarchy on religion that contributes to women’s oppression.
• Woodhead argues that there are ‘religious forms of feminism’.
• Liberal protestant organisations such as the Quakers and the Unitarians are often committed to gender equality and women playing leading roles E.G 1/3 of Unitarian ministers are female and 1/5 of the Church of England’s priests are female.

Question 34

Saadawi, 1980
LIBERAL

Answer 34

• Patriarchy itself influenced and re-shaped religion, with men re-interpreting religious belief in ways that favoured the patriarchy.
• The rise of monotheism is legitimating the power of men over women

Question 35

Woodhead, 2009
LIBERAL

Answer 35

• Criticises feminist explanations that simply equate religion with the patriarchy and the oppression of women.
• While accepting that much traditional religion is patriarchal, she emphasises that this is not true of all religion and some women even use religion to gain greater freedom and respect
• . E.G. While Western feminists tend to see hijabs or veils worn by many Muslim women as a form of oppression, the wearer may associate it with liberation.

Question 36

Gilliat-Ray, 2010
LIBERAL

Answer 36

• Some young British Muslim women choose to wear the hijab to gain parental support to enter further education and especially employment, where there presence has traditionally been problematic or restricted. The hijab enables them to enter the public sphere without being condemned as immodest

Question 37

Brusco
LIBERAL

Answer 37

• Found that in Columbia belonging to a Pentecostal group can be empowering for some women.
• A strong belief held among Pentecostals is that men should respect women.
• This gives women the power to enforce equality in their society through religion.
• Similarly, women make use of bible study groups to share experiences and find support.