LESSON 17



LESSON 10

RELIGION

1. Fill in the blanks with one appropriate term from the list below:

Karl Marx meaningful Religion cult

Max Weber pluralism church cult

abstract ideal theocracies church cults

civil religions polytheistic animism sect

religious innovator monotheistic beliefs sect

simple supernaturalism dominated Theism roles

denomination rituals high

organizations Rituals state

secularization sacred

secularization coherent

persecuting statuses

religiosity unofficial

_____________________ is among the oldest the most changeable and complex of human social institutions. It has been defined as nay set of _____________________ answers to the dilemmas of human existence that makes the world __________________. It has also been defined as a system of _____________________ and _______________ that helps bind people together into a social group. _____________________ are formal patterns of activity that express a set of shared meanings; in the case of religious rituals, the shared meanings are _____________________, pertaining to the phenomena that are regarded as extraordinary, transcendent, and outside the everyday course of events.

Most Western nations practice some form of separation of _____________________ and _____________________, but many other nations have chosen an official state religion. A few nations are _____________________, in which the government is controlled by religious leaders.

Until comparatively recent times, religion _____________________ the cultural life of human societies. Since medieval times, however, the traditional dominance of religion over other institutions has been reduced by a process termed _____________________. This process is never complete; religion continues to play an important role in the contemporary world. Adherents of all the major religions have at times acted as if theirs were the one true faith, and they have used this claim as a basis for __________________ those who deviated from their beliefs. In simpler and rather isolated societies, people may believe in a great force or spirit, but they do not have a well-defined concept of God or a set of rituals involving God. This form of religion is called _____________________ _____________________. More common among hunting-and-gathering societies is _____________________, in which all forms of life and all aspects of the earth are inhabited by gods or supernatural powers. _____________________, in contrast, comprises belief systems that conceive of a god or gods as separate from humans and from other living things on earth. Many ancient religions were _____________________, meaning that they included numerous gods. The ancient Hebrews were among the first of the world’s people to involve a _____________________ religion, one centered on belief in a single, all-powerful God.

In China, Japan, and other societies of the Far East, the dominant religions are centered not on devotion to a god or gods but on an _____________________________________ of spirituality and human behavior.

Some social scientists have expanded the definition of religion to include __________________________________________, or collections of beliefs and rituals that exist outside religious institutions.

A major controversy in the study of religious institutions has to do with the role they play in social change. __________________________________________ believed that cultural institutions such as religion are shaped by economic and political institutions and that they function to instill in the masses the values of the dominant class. __________________________________________, on the other hand, argued that religion can cause major social change by instilling certain values in the members of a society, in turn causing changes in other institutions.

Religion today is a highly structured institution, with numerous ____________________ and _____________________ within a variety of _____________________ as well as many kinds of smaller, less bureaucratic group. A _____________________ is a religious organization that has strong ties to the larger society and has at one time or another enjoyed the loyalty of most of the society’s members. A ____________________ rejects the religious beliefs or practices of an established church and usually is formed when a group of church members splits off to form a rival organization. A third type of religious organization is the _____________________, which is on good terms with the religious institution from which it developed but must compete with others for members. A _____________________ is an entirely new religion. Along with sects, ____________ are a major source of change in religious organizations. People who are not satisfied with more established churches and denominations may form or join a ___________________ or _____________________. New religious movements arise when a “_____________” attracts a number of followers. This is particularly likely when traditional religions fail to meet the needs of their members or when a society is undergoing rapid _____________________.

Membership in a religious organization is quite different from identification with a religious faith, and this is reflected in trends in religion in the United States. Among those trends are a growing tendency to practice _____________________ or “folk” religion and an emphasis on _____________________ as opposed to church membership. Religiosity refers to the depth of a person’s religious feelings and how those feelings are translated into religious behavior. Studies of religiosity find _____________________ percentages of Americans believing in the existence of God and in a life after death. In societies characterized by religious _____________________, one usually can observe the continual formation of new religious organizations.

2. For each of the following terms, identify the correct definition and enter the appropriate letter in the blank in front of the definition.

a. religion i. polytheistic

b. ritual j. monotheistic

c. sacred k. civil religion

d. profane l. church

e. secularization m. sect

f. simple supernaturalism n. denomination

g. animism o. cult

h. theism p. religiosity

___ 1. a new religion.

___ 2. a process in which the dominance of religion over other institutions is reduced.

___ 3. a term used to describe a theistic belief system that includes numerous gods.

___ 4. a formal pattern of activity that expresses symbolically a set of shared meanings.

___ 5. the depth of a person’s religious feelings.

___ 6. a term used to describe phenomena that are not considered sacred.

___ 7. a form of religion in which all forms of life and all aspects of the earth are inhabited by gods or supernatural powers.

___ 8. any set of coherent answers to the dilemmas of human existence that makes the world meaningful; a system of beliefs and rituals that serves to bind people together into a social group.

___ 9. a term used to describe a theistic belief system centered on belief in a single all-powerful God.

___ 10. a religious organization that reflects the beliefs and practices of existing churches; usually formed when a group leaves the church to form a rival organization.

___ 11. a collection of beliefs and rituals that exists outside religious institutions.

___ 12. a term used to describe phenomena that are regarded as extraordinary, transcendent, and outside the everyday course of events.

___ 13. a belief system that conceives of a god or gods as separate from humans and other living things on the earth.

___ 14. a religious organization that is on good terms with the institution from which it developed but must compete with others for members.

___ 15. a form of religion in which people may believe in a great force or spirit but do not have a well-defined concept of God or a set of rituals involving God.

___ 16. a religious organization that has strong ties to the larger society.

3. Encircle the correct answer to each question, from the answers provided below.

1. Religion may be defined as:

a. any system of coherent answers to the dilemmas of human existence.

b. a system of beliefs and rituals that binds people together into a social group.

c. a belief system that conceives of a god or gods as separate from humans and other living things.

d. both a and b

2. The process by which the traditional dominance of religion in the cultural realm has been reduced is known as:

a. religiosity

b. secularization

c. civil religion

d. affirmative action

3. A form of religion in which all natural phenomena are part of a single force is termed:

a. simple supernaturalism

b. animism

c. theism

d. civil religion

4. In the Far East, religions tend to be based on:

a. devotion to a god

b. the institutions of the state

c. abstract ideals

d. expression of deep emotions

5. A collection of beliefs and rituals for communicating those beliefs, that exists outside of religious institutions is known as a:

a. denomination

b. world religion

c. civil religion

d. none of the above

6. According to Karl Marx, the primary source of social change is:

a. cultural institutions

b. economic institutions

c. technological advances

d. secularization

7. According to Max Weber, the primary source of social change is:

a. changes in values

b. technological advances

c. population growth

d. economic institutions

8. Most major religions begin as:

a. churches

b. sects

c. denominations

d. cults

9. Such practices as astrology, faith healing and transcendental meditation are examples of:

a. fundamentalism

b. animism

c. civil religion

d. unofficial religion

10. Religiosity refers to:

a. membership in a religious organization

b. protection of religious pluralism

c. the depth of a person’s religious feelings

d. all of the above

11. Lack of tolerance for differences in belief and practice is characteristic of:

a. animism

b. fundamentalism

c. monotheism

d. religiosity

12. The Amish are an example of:

a. church

b. sect

c. denomination

d. cult

4. TRUE or FALSE:

T/F 1. Until comparatively recent times, education dominated the cultural life of human societies.

T/F 2. The major world religions identified by Weber are Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.

T/F 3. Sects are usually formed when a small group of church members splits off to form a rival organization.

EDUCATION

1. Fill in the blanks with one appropriate term from the list below:

social-class Education schools

lower-paid achievement reading

low-prestige bureaucratic colleges

adult society structure upper

peer groups occupation prestige

baby boom bullying adults

gay students credential critical

social world desegregation income

moral precepts stratification lower

degree inflation expectations more

social inequality attainment middle

social mobility bureaucratized satisfied

religious values mathematical writing

social problems interactionist pay

standardized tests comprehensive good

quality basic education

attitudes and opinions

feelings and experiences

public needs and values

buildings and other real estate

_____________________ is the process by which a society transmits knowledge, values, norms and ideologies and in so doing prepares young people for adult roles and adults for new roles. It is accomplished by specific institutions outside family, especially

_____________________ and _____________________. Schools are often cited as examples of _____________________ organizations, since they tend to be characterized by a clearly defined authority system and set of rules. A more _____________________ viewpoint sees the school as a distinctive set of interactions and patterns of socialization. Conflict theorists view schools as institutions whose purpose is to maintain ________ ____________ divisions and reproduce the society’s existing _____________________ system.

Hundreds of millions of children throughout the world are denied the right to _________

______________________________. In the United States, the post-World War II _____________________caused a bulge in elementary school enrollments beginning in 1952 and an expansion of the college-age population in the 1960s. These trends were reversed in the 1960s and 1970s, but at the same time more and more ________________ have sought additional education.

A key feature of education is the fact that schools _____________________ the lives of children and adolescents. They help create a ____________________________________ for adolescents that is separate from __________________________________________. Education is also viewed as a tool for solving __________________________________________, especially ____________________

_____________________.

Educational _____________________ refers to the number of years of school a person has completed. It is correlated with _____________________, ____________________, _____________________ and __________________________________________.

The average person in the Western world today has much more education than the average same person of the early 1940s.

Research on the effects of tracking has found that students in _____________________ tracks tend to end up in _____________________ and _____________________ occupations once they finish their schooling. Social-scientific research has also shown that states that base their funding of school districts on how well schools do on __________________________________________ actually increase, rather than decrease, high school dropout rates.

One effect of higher educational attainment is “________________________________”, in which employers require more education of potential employees. Educational _____________________ refers to how much the student actually learns, measured by mastery of _____________________, _____________________ and _____________________ skills. The steady decline in mean SAT in the 1970s and 1980s has been viewed as a sign that average levels of educational achievement have declined. Cross-cultural research has shown that these deficiencies are apparent from an early age. American parents are more likely than Asian parents to be _____________________ with their children’s schoolwork and to believe that the schools are doing a _____________________ job; they, therefore, are less likely to be __________________ of the schools or to demand _____________________ of their children.

Educational institutions have been criticized by observers who believe that they hinder, rather than enhance, __________________________________________. Higher levels of educational attainment provide the _____________________ required for better jobs, and students who are able to obtain them usually come from the ____________________ and _____________________ classes. A factor that has been shown to affect students’ school careers is teacher _____________________ regarding students, which are affected by the teacher’s knowledge of the student’s family background.

Inequality in higher education is primarily a matter of access, that is, ability to ________.

The American educational system is highly _____________________, a fact that acts as a major barrier to educational change. Among the factors that tend to expand educational bureaucracies are the need to maintain ________________________________________ and the need to respond to many different _____________________________________.

Recent outbreaks of violence in schools have led to greater emphasis on efforts to understand school __________________________________________, recognize _____________________, protect the rights of _________________________________, and communicate better with students about their _______________________________. Most calls for school reform rely on single reforms such as testing at every grade level. Proposals for _____________________ school reform seek to address a wide array of issues.

The number of children schooled at home has grown rapidly in the past decade. Home-schooling families are motivated to teach their children more _____________________

_____________________ and more __________________________________________ than would be the case in public or private schools.

When educational bureaucracies have been required to change – as in the case of school _____________________ – they have often proved to be very adaptable.

2. For each of the following terms, identify the correct definition and enter the appropriate letter in the blank in front of the definition.

a. education

b. educational attainment

c. educational achievement

___ 1. the number of years an individual has completed.

___ 2. the process by which a society transmits knowledge, values, norms and ideologies and in so doing prepares young people for adult roles and adults for new roles.

___ 3. how much the student actually learns, measured by mastery of reading, writing and mathematical skills.

3. Encircle the correct answer to each question, from the answers provided below.

1. From an interactionist viewpoint, the central feature of schools is:

a. their bureaucratic structure

b. the specific behaviors that occur there

c. their elaborate monitoring systems

d. their emphasis on credentials

2. Which of the following were excluded from educational institutions in America’s early history?

a. children of slaves

b. the poor

c. girls

d. all of the above

3. The most rapidly growing area of education is:

a. adult education

b. preschool programs

c. elementary schools

d. public universities

4. The “adolescent society” or “youth culture” is a result of:

a. the growing number of dual-career families

b. rising expectations regarding educational attainment

c. television programming focusing on the generation gap

d. the declining role of religious organizations

5. Educational attainment refers to:

a. the number of years of school completed

b. mastery of specific subjects

c. employers’ educational requirements

d. the ability to read, write and keep and family budget

6. A major problem related to educational attainment is:

a. the effects of tracking

b. degree inflation

c. dropping out because of pregnancy

d. all of the above

7. Educational achievement refers to:

a. employers’ educational requirements

b. the number of years of school completed

c. the mastery of reading, writing, and mathematical skills

d. none of the above

8. Which of the following is not true?

a. Sociologists view the school as good example of a bureaucratic organization.

b. Studies have found that the experience of students in the classroom is of central importance to their later development.

c. Educational institutions enhance social mobility, especially for people from working-class backgrounds.

d. Inequality in higher education is primarily a matter of ability to pay.

9. The idea that differences in jobs and social position are justified by differences in investment (hard work in school and investment in a college education) is known as:

a. the self-fulfilling prophecy

b. human-capital theory

c. tracking

d. degree inflation

10. Which of the following statements is a factor in the expansion of educational bureaucracies?

a. The increasing size and complexity of the educational system.

b. The need to build and maintain school facilities.

c. The need to respond to different public needs and values.

d. all of the above

11. Over the past few decades, rates of school violence have:

a. remained relatively stable

b. risen dramatically

c. risen somewhat

d. declined somewhat

12. Most home-schooling families wish to:

a. teach their children more religious values than would be taught in public schools

b. keep their children away from negative peer influences

c. protect their children from the possibility of violence

d. all of the above

4. TRUE or FALSE:

T/F 1. By 1980, all the nations of the world had mass educational systems.

T/F 2. The post-World War II baby boom cased a massive expansion of the college-age population in the 1950s.

T/F 3. The primary reason for dropping out of school is poor academic performance.

T/F 4. Cross-cultural research has found that Asian mothers tend to be more satisfied with their children’s schoolwork than American mothers.

T/F 5. The basic organization of the classroom has not changed much over time.

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