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Beliefs in Society: Theories of ReligionSociologists are interested in how religion may meet individual needs, e.g. by helping people to cope with misfortune.WHAT IS RELIGION?There are three main ways in which sociologists define religion: substantive; functional and social constructionist.SUBSTANTIVE DEFINITIONSFocus on the content of religious belief, e.g. as belief in God or the supernatural. E.g. Weber (1905) defines religion as belief in a superior or supernatural power that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically. These definitions are exclusive - they draw a clear line between religious and non-religious beliefs. To be a religion, a set of beliefs must include belief in God or the supernatural.AO3: These definitions conform to widespread view of religion as belief in God. However, defining it in this way leaves no room for beliefs and practices that do not believe in God. Accused of Western bias because they exclude religions such as Buddhism, which do not have the Western idea of a God.FUNCTIONAL DEFINITIONSDefines religion in terms of the social or psychological functions it performs for individuals or society.E.g. Durkheim (1915) defines it in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration, rather than any specific belief in God or the supernatural.Yinger (1970) identifies functions that religion performs for individuals, e.g. answering ‘ultimate questions’ about the meaning of life and what happens when we die.An advantage of these definitions is that they are inclusive - allowing us to include a wide range of beliefs and practices that perform functions such as integration. AO3: Just because an institution helps integrate individuals into groups, this does not make it a religion, e.g. collective chanting at football matches might give indiv a sense of integration, but this doesn’t mean it is a religion.CONSTRUCTIONIST DEFINITIONSThey take an interpretivist approach that focuses on how members of society themselves define religion.They argue that it is not possible to produce a single universal definition of religion to cover all cases, since in reality different individuals and groups mean very different things by ‘religion’.They are interested in how definitions of religion are constructed, challenged and fought over. E.g. Scientology is a religion, whereas several governments have denied it 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 to define the situation.They do not assume that religion always involves a belief in God or supernatural, or that it performs similar functions for everyone in all societies. Their approach allows them to get close to the meanings people themselves give to religion. AO3:This makes it impossible to generalise about the nature of religion, since people may have widely differing views about what counts as a religion.FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES OF RELIGIONSociety is a system of interrelated parts or social institutions e.g. religion, the family and the economy. Society is like an organism, with basic needs that it must meet in order to survive. These needs are met by the institutions. Most basic need is the need for social order and solidarity so that its members can cooperate a value consensus is needed without this, individuals would pursue their own selfish desires and society would disintegrate.DURKHEIM ON RELIGION1: The Sacred and the ProfaneThe key feature of religion was a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane found in all religions. Sacred: things set apart and forbidden, that inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions. E.g. holy book, place of worship.Profane: things that have no special significance - things that are ordinary and mundane. E.g. everyday objects like a table.A religion is never simply a set of beliefs. It also involves definite rituals in relation to the sacred, and these rituals are collective - performed by social groups.For Durkheim, sacred symbols represent something of great power. This thing can only be society itself, since society is the only thing powerful enough to command such feelings. When they worship the sacred symbols, people are worshipping society itself. Sacred symbols perform the essential function of uniting believers into a single moral community.2: TotemismDurkheim believed that the essence of all religion could be found by studying its simplest form, in the simplest type of society - clan society. He used studies of the Arunta, an Aboriginal Australian tribe with a clan system.Clan comes together to perform ritual worship of a sacred totem. It is the clan’s emblem, such as an animal that symbolises the clan’s identity. The shared totemic rituals venerating it serve to reinforce the group’s solidarity and the sense of belonging. For Durkheim, when clan members worship their totemic animal, they are in reality worshipping society - even though they themselves are not aware of this fact. The totem inspires feelings of awe because it represents the power of the group on which the individual is ‘utterly dependent’.AO3: Totemism is based on flawed evidence, he misunderstood totemism. 3: Collective Conscience Sacred symbols represent society’s collective conscience. This is the shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge that makes social life and cooperation between individuals possible - without these, society would disintegrate.Regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social integration. Participating in shared rituals binds individuals together, reminding them that they are part of a single moral community to which they owe their loyalty. Religion performs an important function for the individual. By making us feel part of something greater than ourselves, religion reinvigorates and strengthens us to face life’s trials and motives us to overcome obstacles that would otherwise defeat us.4: Cognitive functions of religionHe sees religion as being the source of our cognitive capacities - our ability to reason and think conceptually. We need categories such as time, space etc. We need to use the same categories as others to share our thoughts.In his view, religion is the origin of the concepts and categories we need for reasoning, understanding the world and communicating. Religion provides basic categories such as time and space, e.g. with ideas about a creator bringing the world into being at the beginning of time. The division of tribes into clans gives humans their first notion of classification. Religion is the origin of human though, reason and science. AO3 OF DURKHEIMHis theory may apply better to small-scale societies with a single religion.It is harder to apply it to large-scale societies, where two or more religious communities may be in conflict. Postmodernists argue that his ideas cannot be applied to contemporary society, because increasing diversity has fragmented the collective conscience, so there is no longer a single shared value system for religion to reinforce.PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONSMalowinski (1954) agrees with Durkheim that religion promotes solidarity by performing psychological functions for individuals, helping them cope with emotional stress that would undermine social solidarity. He identified 2 situations where it performs this role:1: where the outcome is important but it is uncontrollable and thus certain. Rituals and prayers can give people a sense of control to ease tension, give them confidence and reinforces group solidarity.2: at times of life crises.Events such as birth, puberty, marriage and especially death, mark major and disruptive changes in social groups.Religion helps to minimise disruption. E.g. the funeral rituals reinforce a feeling of solidarity among the survivors, while the notion of immortality gives comfort to the bereaved by denying the fact of death. PARSONS: VALUES AND MEANINGHe sees religion helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events. 2 essential functions that religion performs in modern society:1: it creates and legitimates society’s central values.By making them sacred. Thus in the USA, Protestantism has sacralised the core American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline. This serves to promote value consensus and thus social stability.2: it is the primary source of meaning.It answers ‘ultimate’ questions about the human condition. Such events defy our sense of justice and make life appear meaningless, and this may undermine our commitment to society’s values. Religion provides answers to such questions, e.g. by explaining suffering as a test of faith that will be rewarded in heaven, such as the Asian Tsunami 2004Religion enables people to adjust to adverse events or circumstances and helps maintain stability.CIVIL RELIGION (ROBERT BELLAH)This is a belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself. This integrates society in a way that America’s many different churches and denominations cannot.While none of these can claim the loyalty of all Americans, civil religion can. American civil religion involves loyalty to the nation-state and a belief in God, both of which are equated with being a true American.Expressed in various rituals, symbols and beliefs, e.g. the pledge of allegiance to the flag, singing the national anthem, phrases such as one nation under God. E.g. 9/11 - George Bush’s speech: showed a sense of unity, America will not fall through the attack “cannot touch the foundation of America”.AO3 OF FUNCTIONALISMEmphasises the social nature of religion and the positive functions, but neglects negative aspects such as religion as a source of oppression of the poor or women;Ignores religion as a source of division and conflict, esp in complex modern societies where there is more than one religion, e.g. N Ireland.Can civil religion, be classed as a religion, esp if it is not based on belief in the supernatural?MARXIST THEORIES OF RELIGIONSee all societies as divided into 2 classes: proletariat vs bourgeoisie;In modern capitalist society, there is always the potential for class conflict, and Marx predicted that the W/C would ultimately become conscious of their exploitation and unite to overthrow capitalism.This would bring into being a classless society in which there would no longer be exploitation. Marxism sees religion as a feature only of class-divided society. As such, there will be no need for religion in classless society and it will disappear.R/C use religion as a tool to oppress W/CRELIGION AS THE ‘OPIUM OF THE MASSES’Marx saw religion as being like a drug that distorts reality and helps individuals deal with pain.It promises life in heaven for those who follow and accept beliefs.It makes a virtue out of suffering and oppression. Injustice during life will be rectified in the afterlife. E.g. according to Christianity, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. It offers hope of supernatural intervention to end suffering.It justifies and legitimises the existing social order. AO3: postmodernists say that we have choices - range of religions that do not oppress us like Buddhism which does not believe in God but focuses on personal spiritual development. RELIGION AND ALIENATION (NO CONTROL OVER LIVES):He saw religion as a form of alienation. Humans invent an alien being, ‘God’ which they believe to be all powerful and to have control over them;In doing so, they give up their own true humanity by denying themselves the right to make their own decisions.AO3: Althusser rejects the concept of alienation as unscientific and based on a romantic idea that human beings have a ‘true self’.RELIGION AS SOCIAL CONTROL:Creates false class consciousness - which prevents the W/C developing class consciousness, in which they become aware that they were exploited;The advent of communism, religion would no longer be necessary;Individuals would own wealth and power as means of production would be communally owned by members of society religion would therefore disappear. E.g. the traditional Hindu Caste System in India, where people were divided into five castes based on their supposed degree of religious purity.AO3: Increase in secularisation in today’s society.AO3 OF MARXISMMarx ignores positive functions of religion, such as psychological adjustment to misfortune.Althusser, rejects the concept of alienation as unscientific and based on a romantic idea that human beings have a ‘true self’. This would make the concept an inadequate basis for a theory of religion.NEO-MARXISM THEORIES OF RELIGIONMaduro (1982) believes that religion has some relative autonomy from R/C control and from the economic system. He believes religion is a conservative force: where it keeps society stable and religion does not change. LIBERATION THEOLOGYEmerged within the Catholic Church in Latin America at the end of the 1960s;A strong commitment to the poor and opposition to military dictatorshipsDeepening rural poverty and the growth of urban slumps through Latin America led to liberation theology;Human rights abuses following military take-overs, e.g. torture and death squads murdering political opponents, e.g. in Argentina, Brazil and Chile led to liberation theology;It set out to change society, e.g. priests helped the poor to establish support groups and helped workers and peasants to fight oppression under the protection of the church;The movement has lost influence since the 1980’s when Pope John Paul condemned it as it resembled Marxism, and instructed priests to concentrate on pastoral activities, not political struggle;AO3: it depends on how social change is defined.FEMINIST THEORIES OF RELIGIONThey believe that religious institutions are patriarchal, they reflect and perpetuate gender inequality. Religious beliefs are patriarchal ideologies that legitimate women’s subordination.EVIDENCE OF PATRIARCHY1: Religious OrganisationsMainly male-dominated although women often participate more than men in these org.E.g. Catholicism forbid women to become priests.Armstrong sees women’s exclusion from the priesthood of most religions as evidence for their marginalisation - stained glass ceiling.2: Places of WorshipOften segregate the sexes and marginalise women, e.g. they sit at the back of screens while men occupy the more sacred spaces.Women’s participation may be restricted, e.g. not allowed to preach. Menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth as polluting may also prevent participation, e.g. women are not allowed to touch the Quran when menstruating.3: Sacred TextsLargely features the doings of male Gods, prophets etcUsually written and interpreted by menGod is always seen as a maleStories often reflect anti-female stereotypes, e.g. in the Quran, women are legally inferior to men.4: Religious Laws and CustomsThis may give women fewer rights than men, e.g. access to divorce, how many spouses they can marry etc.Religions influences as cultural norms may also lead to unequal treatment, e.g. genital mutilation or punishments for violating laws.5: Patriarchal doctrinesTeachings of many of the world’s religions contain an ideology emphasising women’s traditional roles as wives and mothers in the family. E.g. Christianity, respect for the Virgin Mary as a submissive mother is widespread.AO3: WOMEN HAVE NOT ALWAYS BEEN SUBORDINATE TO MEN IN RELIGIONArmstrong (1993): early religions often placed women at the centre. E.g. Earth mother goddesses, fertility cults and female priests were found throughout the Middle East until about 6000 years ago. However, from about 4000 years ago, the increase of monotheistic religions saw the establishments of a single, all powerful, male God such as Hebrew’s Jehovah.Simone de Beauvoir (how they use religion): the second sex - religion is an instrument of male domination. Men usually control religious organisations. Religion gives women the belief that their suffering will be rewarded in heaven - false consciousness.RELIGIOUS FORMS OF FEMINISMWoodhead (2009) criticises feminist explanations that simple equate religion with patriarchy and the oppression of women.She argues that there are religious forms of feminism - ways in which women use religion to gain greater freedom and respect.She uses the example of the hijab or veil worn by many Muslim women. While Western feminists see it as a symbol of oppression, to the wearer it may be a means of liberation.Some young British Muslims women choose to wear the hijab in order to gain parental approval to enter further education and esp employment. For them, the hijab is a symbol of liberation that allows them to enter the public sphere without being condemned as immodest. ................
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