theories on religion Flashcards
functionalist theory - malinowski
function of r - promote social solidarity in response to psychological needs in situations of emotional stress that threaten social solidarity:
life crises - birth, puberty, marriage
important activities that are uncontrollable
method of research - ethnographic study of a tribe:
when tribe fished on safe lagoon = no rituals
ocean = religious ceremonies - fishing in ocean was dangerous and uncontrollable - religious ceremonies acted to give fisherman confidence and sense of control
malinowski criticism
ignores dysfunctional consequences of religion - causes many of world’s conflicts
functionalist theory - parsons
function of r - create meaning for members of society and provide core values of culture thus promoting social solidarity religion provides core values by sacralising them and creates meaning by providing answers to 'ultimate' questions
parsons critcism
only a minority attend church so it’s difficult to see how r can be functioning to socialise majority of society’s members into shared norms and values
marxist theory - tool of ideological control
r distorts reality by encouraging belief that people’s lives are determined by supernatural power so there’s little they can do to improve their situation - maintains FCC thus preventing revolution
lenin - spiritual gin - intoxication given to w/c to confuse them and keep them in their place
tool of ideological control criticism
ignores secularisation - r/c cant impose ideology on masses via religion if masses don’t attend church
marxist theory - lessens pain of oppression
marx - ‘opium of the people’ - r lessens pain of exploitation and alienation w/c experience by promising rewards in afterlife - creates illusion of happiness and distracts w/c from true cause of their suffering
r consoles poor for their suffering but doesn’t offer any real solutions to their problem
lessens pain of oppression evaluation
marx claimed in communist society there would be no need for r, however in many communist societies people still continue to be religious
feminist theory - holm - organisation
organisation - most r’s founders were men so religious leaders tend to be men and even if women are allowed into leadership structure, their position is subordinate to men
evaluation - protestant church allows female priests and bishops
feminist theory - holm - beliefs and doctrines
beliefs and teachings of many religions imply that men are superior to women:
christianity - god made adam then the ‘beasts of the field’ and finally eve from adam’s rib
christianity - 2 central women: virgin mary and mary magdalene - typical female stereotypes - one is giving, self sacrificing and pure while the other is a temptress and seductress
feminist theory - holm - practices
in many religions women can’t participate fully in religious ceremonies e.g judaism - women can’t read holy text and are excluded from main prayer area
women forbidden to enter places of worship or touch scared objects during menstruation as they’re seen as ‘unclean’
radical feminist - de beauvoir
r used by men to control women - men exercise control over religious beliefs - men wrote bible so male power is presented as god given
r compensates women for their low status through promises of rewards in afterlife
radical feminist - daly
r infused with patriarchal ideology - provides specific rules for women to follow e.g how to dress while men dont have such rules
radical feminist criticism
views are ethnocentric - muslim women claim wearing hijab is liberating - liberates them from being objectified by men
religious feminist - el sadaawi
r itself isn’t patriarchal and is not direct cause of women’s oppression - society is patriarchal and men use r to justify dominant position in society by reshaping r so it can be used to oppress women
e.g bible was written by men at time of extreme patriarchy who used scriptures to justify and reinforce dominant position in society
