Theroies Of Religion - Interpretivism

Question 1

Who’s the main theorist for interpretivism

Answer 1

Berger

Question 2

Religion act as a sacred canopy

Answer 2

-historically religion act as a sacred canopy
-This stretched over a society protecting people from uncertainty and the meaninglessness of life
-The canopy helps people make sense and interpret the world in which they live
-By suggesting that religion provide universe of meaning and theodicies, It also suggests that religion contributes to the maintenance of social stability and therefore is a conservative force.

Question 3

Evaluation of religion acting as a sacred canopy

Answer 3

Postmodernist argue there has been a collapse of religious certainty
There is no longer sacred canopy
People now have their own individual ways of explaining things.

Question 4

Religion creates a theodicy

Answer 4

-This is an explanation for the contradiction between existence of God who is all powerful and all benevolent but at the same time we live in a world with widespread violence and evil
-Religion explains why God allows bad things as individuals learn that God is testing them to see how they react in preparation for heaven

Question 5

Evaluation of religion creating a theodicy

Answer 5

This is supported by Marxists. They argue that religion provides answers to ultimate questions. However, they see these more negatively as the answers maintain inequality in society.

Question 6

Religion creates a shared universe of meaning

Answer 6

-Berger argues that religion creates a set of values about the meaning of life and provides order
-The universe of meaning provided by religion of an explanation in a chaotic world and helps to answer unanswerable questions

Question 7

Evaluation of Religion creating a shared universe of meaning

Answer 7

This has been supported by functionless who agree that religion helps to create order and control

Question 8

However…. Religion is being replaced by science.

Answer 8

-Berger believe that in modern concept society religion is losing its role.
-This is because science, reason and logic have largely replaced superstition and religion
- today there’s increased diversity and fragmentation of peoples beliefs
-People can now turn into scientific explanations for their answers, e.g. the Big Bang

Question 9

Evaluation of religion being replaced by science

Answer 9

This is supported by post-modernist who argue that in a postmodern world religion is no longer the overriding belief
It’s no longer a useful metanarrative
However, they would also reject the idea that science has become dominant as they believe there’s no single truth shared by everyone