theories of religion Flashcards
Durkheim- functionalism
Religion acts as social glue.
It separates the ‘sacred’ and the ‘profound’- the ‘sacred’ evoking powerful feelings, which can only be done by society.
Arunta clan example- worshiped ‘totems’, which reflected society- represented a ‘class conscience’ (shared norms and values)
Durkheim and Mauss- functionalism
Religion is the origin of human thought, reason, and science.
e.g. Christianity says that God created the world at the ‘beginning of time’
Malinowksi- functionalism
Religion completed psychological functions:
- when the outcome is important but uncontrollable and thus uncertain (lagoon vs ocean fishing)
- at time of life crisis
Parsons- functionalism
In addition to Malinowski, religion:
- creates and legitimates society’s central values by making them sacred
- gives a primary source of meaning by answering the ‘ultimate’ questions
Bellah- functionalism
‘civil religion’ unifies society
e.g in American with ‘Americansim’
Mestrovic- criticism of functionalism
We no longer have one unified moral community
Marx ‘religion as an ideology’- marxism
Religion legitimates the suffering of the working class as inevitable and god-given.
- Christianity: it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the gates of heaven
- Divine Right of Kings: legitimates middle class power
Marx ‘religion and alientaion’- marxism
Religion is a product of the suffering that alienation causes, acting as consolation.
Religion acts as an opiate to dull the pain of exploitation with no solution.
Lenin- marxism
Religion is a ‘spiritual gin’ that confuses the w/c and keeps them in place
Althusser- criticism of marxism
Rejects alienation as scientific and based on the romantic idea of human’s having a ‘true self’.
Simone de Beauvoir- feminism
Christianity is used to justify the subordination of women
- eve was made second, women are regarded as the ‘second sex’
- eve ate the forbidden fruit, women experience pain during menstruation
Armstrong ‘religious organisations’- feminism
Women’s exclusion of priesthood is evidence of their marginalisation
Woodhead ‘priests’- feminism
Exclusion of priesthood is facts of the church’s deep unease for the emancipation of women
Armstrong ‘early religions- feminism
Early religions often placed women at the centre.
El Saadawi- feminism
Religion isn’t inherently patriarchal, it’s used by men to oppress women
