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AQA Sociology A-LEVEL > Theories of Religion > Flashcards

Theories of Religion Flashcards

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1
Q

How can we consider religion to be a conservative force?

AO1

A

Conservative force = maintains the status quo. This leads to social stability and value consensus
1. it maintains traditional ideas and practices e.g. sanctity of marriage
2. preserves society and keeps beliefs stable

Most religions have traditional conservative beliefs about moral issues and opposes changes that would allow individuals more freedom in personal and sexual matters e.g. divorce, abortion, homosexuality.

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2
Q

What are some examples of bringing value consensus?

AO2

A
  • 10 Commandments: “honour your mother and father” and the Qu’ran’s “heaven lies beneath your mother’s feet” enforce family values and prevent challenges to authority that would cause disruption
  • Pope Sixtus V: people who abort a foetus “should suffer the same punishments as true murderers”
  • Atharvaveda (Hindu holy text): enforces male domestic authority as well as the Bible (“wives submit to your husbands”) and the Qur’an
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3
Q

What is the function of religion according to Durkheim?

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A

Socialisation: religion creates value consensus by making values and moral codes sacred. These are used to lay parameters for children during socialisation.
E.g. The 10 Commandments provide norms and values and provides both formal and informal social control. Formal = thou shall not kill being statute law. Informal = not using the Lord’s name in vain is enforced socially

Durkheim: totemism is the most basic form of religion. Concluded from his study of aboriginals that they were worshipping not the totem but society itself. These sacred symbols unite members into a moral community and help build collective conscious

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4
Q

How can we analyse Durkheim?

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Immigration and globalisation has led to pluralistic beliefs. We can now pick and mix our identity so someone could be Christian but believe in astrology or karma (a hindu teaching). As society is now more diverse and complex belief systems are more varied and no longer contribute to a collective conscious

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5
Q

How can we evaluate Durkheim?

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Religion isn’t always functional - has been a frequent cause of conflict rather than harmony throughout history e.g. Israel v Hamas, The Irish Troubles, the crusades

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6
Q

What is the function of religion according to Bellah?

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A
  • Religion can remind us of our relationship with the nation we live in and through religion we attach sacred qualities to society itself
  • American society especially promotes a civil religion
  • This is because of the country’s history of migration - this idea of Americanism is needed for value consensus which unifies everyone from diff backgrounds
  • e.g. pledge of allegiance, ‘in God we trust’ is printed on all money
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7
Q

How can we analyse Bellah?

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This is still relevant considering the rebirth of American civil religion post 9/11 - due to the war on terror there was a rise in nationalism which also brought xenophobia and islamaphobia as anything deemed ‘unamerican’ was a threat

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8
Q

How can we evaluate Bellah?

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A
  • Neo-Functionalists: civil religion is in decline - people now put personal gratification before the needs of their society
  • Moosal: civil religion is only beneficial for white American christians
  • Postmodernists: society is more fragmented and individualised - we look to find personhood and belonging in consumerism and self improvement rather than civil religion
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9
Q

How does religion keep us safe according to Durkheim?

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A
  • Relgion builds a collective conscious leading to a value consensus and promotes social solidarity. All of this helps prevent anomie
  • Religion ties people to society as it allows them to believe in something greater than themselves
  • e.g. Methodism started in the industrial revolution - promoted a clean and minimalist lifestyle which helped maintain traditional norms and values in a time of great social upheaval
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10
Q

How can we analyse religion preventing anomie?

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ISIS both prevents and causes anomie:
1. Prevents: provides a safety net and community for WC, marginalised, jobless men and gives them a sense of purpose (even if not morally sound). Creates value consensus against ISIS in the West - societal reaction unifies us in view that this is wrong e.g. Prevent
2. Encourages: extreme Islamic fundamentalist group which has caused fractures within the Islamic community due to their terrorisn

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11
Q

How can relgion help deal with life changing events?

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A
  • Religion relieves stress and anxieties caused by life crises e.g. birth, puberty, marriage, death
  • Religions develop ‘rites of passage’ to help deal with these events
  • e.g. ritu kala samskara - Hindu celebration of girl’s first period - removes stigma and provides reassurance and beings social solidarity
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12
Q

How does Malinowski show religion dealing with social stresses?

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In his studies he identified 2 types of situations where religion helps deal with stressful situations:
1. At times of uncertainty when the outcome is uncontrollable
2. At times of life crises e.g. funerals reinforce feelings of solidarity and comfort
When the Trobriand islanders went deep sea fishes, which is dangerous, they pray over their boats to ease their anxiety - ‘canoe magic’

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13
Q

How can we analyse Malinowski?

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Ethnic minorities are more likely to be religious - more likely to face life crises due to racism and discrimination

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14
Q

How can we evaluate Malinowski?

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Postmodernists: cultural amnesia - people are no longer socialising their children into religion so these rites of passages are no longer acknowledged as less and less people turn to religion in times of life crises

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15
Q

What is the first function of religion according to Marx?

AO1/2

A
  • Legitimises social inequality
  • Religion promotes the idea that our dual social hierarchy (bourgeoisie over proletariat) is natural, god-given, and unchangeable
  • e.g. Christian divine right of kings and great chain of being
  • e.g. Hindu caste system
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16
Q

How can we analyse religion legitimising inequality?

AO3

A

Leach: 77% of Church of England members e.g. Bishops went to Oxbridge

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17
Q

How can we evaluate religion legitimising inequality?

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Durkheim: religion is used as a form of social cohesion not a justification of inequality. Totemism - the purest form of religion - is more about worshipping the community rather than a specific social order

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18
Q

What is the second function of religion according to Marx?

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A
  • Disguising the true nature of exploitation
  • When religion is the way in which society is organised, poverty becomes viewed as a mark of sin
  • Whereas wealth is seen as a reward for piety and virtue
  • e.g. Psalms 112:1-3 “Blessed are those who fear the Lord… wealth and riches are in their houses”
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19
Q

How can we analyse religion disguising exploitation?

AO3

A

The Church of England and Roman Catholic church makes millions from wealthy members e.g. tithe

20
Q

How can we evaluate religion disguising exploitation?

AO3

A
  • Feminists: women play a greater role in limiting the impact of exploitation of workers as they are the ‘takers of shit’ (Ansley)
  • Many religions warn the wealthy against exploiting the poor and acknowledge the moral corruption that often comes with wealth e.g. Matthew 19:24 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!”
21
Q

What is the third function of religion according to Marx?

AO1/2

A
  • Religion provides comfort from the brutal nature of exploitation for the proletariat - “religion is the opium of the people”
  • e.g. “The meek shall inherit the earth” - people who are poor will be blessed if not in this current lifetime then in heaven
  • e.g. Hindu belief in Karma and reincarnation
22
Q

How can we analyse religion providing comfort for the proletariat?

AO3

A
  • Halevy: the church prevented a British WC revolution. Especially the Wesleyan Methodist Church - justified your position teaching that hard work will lead to spiritual compensation
  • Maybe not relevant today - 2012 BSA Survey: 73% of manual workers have never attended church - the WC no longer use religion as comfort
23
Q

How can we evaluate religion comforting the proletariat?

AO3

A
  • Norris and Inglehart: existential security - people who have less security e.g. those in war torn or LICs are more likely to be religious as it brings stability
  • Stark and Bainbridge: religion is a supernatural compensator for inequality
24
Q

What is the 4th function of religion according to Marx?

AO1/2

A
  • Religion is a response to alienation
  • Capitalism creating a division of labour and separating the production process into highly specified areas have made people become detached from their work
  • Yap: filipina female workers clung to religion as comfort when moving to Hong Kong
25
Q

How can we analyse religion being a product of alienation?

AO3

A

PEW Data: WC are more likely to join sects and religious denomination e.g. Rastafariansim, Pentecostalism

26
Q

How can we evaluate religion being a result of alienation?

AO3

A

Neo-Marxists: religion can enact change as WC often have a dual class consciousness and so have the power to create a counter hegemony

27
Q

How is the neo-marxist view different from the marxist view?

A
  • Neo-marxists see religion as independent of the base - not reliant on capitalism
  • Neo-marxists believe that despite societal restrictions - individuals can still choose to disobey authority
28
Q

What is Bloch’s of religion?

AO1

A
  • The Principle of Hope:
  • We can either accept false images of reward in the afterlife
  • OR identify false images and create a counter hegemony leading to a revolution
29
Q

How does Maduro analyse Bloch?

AO3

A

Liberation Theology:
- Belief that religion teaches us to address inequality which challenges ruling class hegemony e.g. the Bible teaches us to challenge injustice
- But some religions reject liberation theology e.g. Pope John Paul II actively spoke against it

30
Q

How can we evaluate Bloch?

AO3

A

Lehmann: The Pentecostal Challenge
- The Pentecostal ‘option of the poor’ was to try challenging their life circumstances and pull themselves out of poverty through their own efforts, supported by the church

31
Q

What is Worsley’s view?

AO1/2

A

Millenarian Movements:
- Religion has led tothe desire to bring about God’s Kingdom on Earth
- e.g. colonialism justified by Christian missionaries who spread Christianity and made local customs/gods lose credibility
- Proletariat self-consciousness - cargo cults were the first instance of the proletariat refuting inequality they saw

32
Q

What did Billings find?

AO2

A
  • Studied workers in Kentucky who were evangelical protestants
  • Found that organic intellectuals were able to organise protests and trade unions while using hymns to keep spirit
33
Q

What is Cassanova’s view?

AO1/2

A
  • The irrational nature of religious beliefs has caused more war, persecution, and suffering than any other belief system
  • e.g. the crusades, the Irish Troubles, conflict in the Indian subcontinent causing the split into Pakistan and Bangladesh for Muslims and India for Hindus due to the Battle of Kashmir
34
Q

How can we analyse Cassanova?

AO3

A

Religion is still causing suffering to this day e.g. ISIS, Boko Haram

35
Q

How can we evaluate Cassanova?

AO3

A

These conflicts aren’t necessarily based in religion but a wider political agenda e.g. the legacy of British imperialism led to the division of India and the war on terror was moreso political than religious (although it did lead to a rise in islamophobia)

36
Q

What is Armstrong view of religion?

AO1/2

A
  • There is a lack of female representation in religion
  • Armstrong: religious institutions are “stained with a glass cieling”
  • e.g. there is no internationally recognised female imaam, and few female pastors
37
Q

How can we analyse female underrepresentation?

AO3

A
  • Only 20% of Anglican ministers are female
  • In 2016 Pope Francis announced “women will never be roman catholic priests”
38
Q

How can we evaluate female underepresentation?

AO3

A

Some relgions are genderblind e.g. Quakers have no sense of gender hierarchy

39
Q

What is Daly’s view?

AO1/2

A
  • Religion is a set of “patriarchal myths”
  • Religious beliefs embody misogyny and are designed to make women appear inferior
  • In many religions particularly the Ambrahamic religions, godliness is distinctly masculine and it is unthinkable for God to be feminine
  • e.g. all Islamic prophets are men, while Adam was created “in the image of glory of God” Eve was created “for the glory of man”
40
Q

How can we analyse Daly?

AO3

A
  • Outrage due to Ariana Grande’s ‘God is a Woman’ in 2018 - seen as blasphemous and disrespectful
  • New age religions e.g. meditation, tai chi don’t have any god figure
41
Q

How can we evaluate Daly?

AO3

A

Armstrong: there has been many female goddesses throughout history e.g. Athena - Greek goddess of war, Isis - Egyptian goddess of healing and magic, Kali - Hindu goddess of destruction and death

42
Q

What is Beauvoir’s view?

AO1/2

A
  • In ‘The Second Sex’ Simone de Beauvoir describes how religion is used to oppress women
  • “it confirms the social order, it justifies her resignation by giving her hope for a better future in sexless heaven”
  • e.g. Sati - Hindu tradition of wife’s suicide after her husband’s death
  • e.g. Muslim women can’t pray or fast when on their periods
43
Q

How can we evaluate Beauvoir?

AO3

A
  • Brusco: looked at women in a Colombian evangelical church and saw how they used religion for empowerment and were able to control their husbands againsy gambling, drinking, and adultery
44
Q

How are women viewed engatively by religion?

AO1/2

A

There are negative association towards women in religious texts and teachings:
1. In places of worship women are separated from men as they are seen as distractive
2. Holm: menstruation - women on periods can’t go to the temple in Hinduism and can’t go to the mosque or touch the Qu’ran in Islam
3. Eve and the Original Sin - women are seen as temptresses who are weak willed
4. Woodhead: female sexuality is heavily controlled by religion

45
Q

How can we analyse Holm and Woodhead?

AO3

A
  • It is estimated that 97 million more women than men claim a religion as of 2010
  • A US survey found only 47% of men would say religion is a “very important” part of their lives compared to 60% of women
  • If women are viewed so negatively by religion, why are women more likely to be religious today?
46
Q

How can we evaluate Holm and Woodhead?

AO3

A

El-Saadawi: relgion itself is not patriarchal but the cultural interperation of it
- e.g. in Arab States where men were already seen as superior, they were able to influence interpretations of Islam and became scholars, preachers, and imaams
- Thus women may still be religious because religion itself is not inherently oppressive it has just been interpeted in ways that can be used against women

AQA Sociology A-LEVEL (35 decks)

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