RELIGION

I. RELIGION IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

A. Religion and the Meaning of Life

1. religion

• Definition of Religion: Religion is a system of beliefs, symbols, and rituals, based on some sacred or supernatural realm, that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a community.

2. religion seeks to answer important questions

(why we exist, why people suffer and die, and what happens when we die). 

• Uses the realm of the sacred to explain

a. sacred and profane (Durkheim)

• According to Emile Durkheim, sacred refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural; those things that are set apart as "holy."
• Those things people do not set apart as sacred are referred to as profane-the everyday, secular or "worldly," aspects of life.
• Debate between creationism and evolution

4. symbols and rituals

• In addition to beliefs, religion also is comprised of symbols and rituals-symbolic actions that represent religious meanings-that range from songs and prayers to offerings and sacrifices.  Must do it the right way (communion, sign of cross, saying prayers, singing hymns, etc.)

5. four main categories of religion:

a. Simple supernaturalism

• Simple supernaturalism is the belief that supernatural forces affect people's lives either positively or negatively.

b. Animism

• Animism is the belief that plants, animals, or other elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits or life forces having an impact on events in society.

c. Theism

• a belief in one or more god or gods.

(1) Monotheism

Monotheism is a belief in a single, supreme being or god who is responsible for significant events such as the creation of the world. Examples include: Christianity and Judaism.

(2) Polytheism

Polytheism is a belief in more than one god. Examples include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto.

d. Transcendent idealism

• Transcendent idealism is a belief in sacred principles of thought and conduct, such as truth, justice, life, and tolerance for others. An example is Buddhism.

B. Religion and Scientific Explanation

1. the Industrial Revolution and the belief in

science

• During the Industrial Revolution, rapid growth in scientific and technological knowledge gave rise to the idea that science ultimately would answer questions that previously had been in the realm of religion.

2. secularization

• Many scholars believed that scientific knowledge would result in secularization-the process by which religious beliefs, practices, and institutions lose their significance in sectors of society and culture ­­ but others point out a resurgence of religious beliefs and an unprecedented development of alternative religions in recent years.

II. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON RELIGION

A. Functionalist Perspectives on Religion

1. sacred beliefs and rituals bind people together

in a collectivity (Durkheim).

2. three important functions:

a. providing meaning and purpose to life: life is part of larger system in universe.

b. promoting social cohesion and a sense of

belonging

c. providing social control and support for

the government (if you believe you’re part of a larger system, may feel bound to one another in a way that otherwise might not be possible).

3. civil religion

• the set of beliefs, rituals, and symbols that make sacred the values of the society and place the nation in the context of the ultimate system of meaning. Civil religion is the informal relationship between religion and the state .
• Hand on bible, swear to do duty or tell truth
• In God we trust
• Pledge of allegiance “In one nation, under God…”
• Praying amongst government

B. Conflict Perspectives on Religion

1. religion is the "opiate of the people" (Carl Marx).

• religious ideologies serve to justify the status quo
• Marx said that religion unites the masses under a false consciousness that they share common interests with members of the dominant class.

         and retard social change (Carl Marx).

2. religion could be a catalyst to produce social

change (Max Weber).

a. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of

Capitalism

• Weber linked the teachings of John Calvin with the growth of capitalism.
• Calvin emphasized predestination-the belief that all people are divided into two groups-the saved and the damned-and only God knows who will go to heaven (the elect) and who will go to hell, even before they are born.
• Because people cannot know whether they will be saved, they look for signs that they are among the elect. As a result, people work hard, save their money and do not spend it on worldly frivolity; instead, they reinvest it in their land, equipment, and labor.
• As people worked ever harder to prove their religious piety, structural conditions became right in Europe for the industrial revolution, free markets, and the commercialization of the economy, which worked hand­-in-­hand with their religious teachings.
•  
• Wealth is a sign of God’s approval of their hard work and morality
• If the poor work hard and live a moral life, they will be richly rewarded in another life.

3.  religion promotes conflict.

• between religious groups (Ask)
• within a religious group (when a splinter group leaves)
• between a religious group and the larger society (conflict over religion and school).

C. Interactionist Perspectives on Religion

• Looks at the meaning that people give religion in everyday life.

1. religion serves as a reference group

a. religious symbols unite people

• For many people, religion serves as a reference group to help them define themselves. Religious symbols, for example, have a meaning to large bodies of people (e.g., the Star of David for Jews; the crescent moon and star for Muslims; and the cross for Christians).
• symbols help to define themselves, help guide and unite

2. her religion and his religion

• All people do not interpret religion in the same way. Women and men may belong to the same religions, but their individual religion will not necessarily be a carbon copy of the group's entire system of beliefs.

a. based on gender roles in church

• Based on traditional notions of gender—different roles thus different experiences

b. symbolism and language show gender

inequality.

• symbols show higher deities to be male and lower as female
• females may be depicted as evil or negative
• Language (for all men) is exclusionary (He, Father)

III. TYPES OF RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

A. Ecclesia

•  Ecclesia-an official or state religious organization that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it claims as its membership all members of a society. Born into it.  The Anglican Church (the official Church of England), the Lutheran Church in Sweden and Denmark, the Catholic Church in Spain, and Islam in Iran and Pakistan and Afghanistan
• Church law is civil law:  Women covering all but faces
•  Little tension exists between religion and society
• Fate of church and nation wrapped into one

B. The Church­-Sect Typology: 

• A continuum, a developmental sequence
• Through the sequence:
• becomes more formally organized
• more bureaucratic and hierarchical
• and ultimately more conservative
• thus posing less of threat to larger society, and even becoming part of mainstream society (Mormons, Christians both started as cults)

1. cultàsectàdenominationàchurch

• A Church is a Religious organization that has become institutionalized
• supported by societal norms and values
• active participation in society
• Works within society
• formally organized bureaucratic, hierarchical

(“…large, bureaucratically organized religious organization that tends to seek accommodation with the larger society in order to maintain some degree of control over it” (Kendall).

• Often based on ascribed membership ‘cause it’s what we’re born into!
•  
• Denomination: Mid­way between the church and the sect is a denomination-a large organized religion (characterized by accommodation to society) but frequently lacking in ability or intention to dominate society.
• Most ‘religions’ in US are denominations
• Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopalian…
• Sect :  Reject the social environment in which they exist
• Reject major aspects of larger society and often are rejected by it, too.  (“…is a relatively small, informal religious group that has broken away from another religious organization to renew what it views as the original version of the faith”  (Kendall).
• Wants to renew what it views as the original version of the faith.
• Shakerism: rejects sexual relations
• Amish:  reject automobiles
• 19^th century Mormonism:  rejects monogamy

C. Cult

• A cult is a religious group with practices and teachings outside the dominant cultural and religious traditions of a society.  Socially defined—may change through time.
• Some major religions (including Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) and some denominations (such as the Mormons) started as cults.
• Also:  Church of Scientology, Unification Church (Moonies), Hara Krishna
• Presence of cults increase with societal stresses
• People often told to drastically change their lives, thus small membership
• Cult leadership is based on charismatic characteristics of the individual, including an unusual ability to form attachments with others.
• Aum Shinrikyo (Tokyo nerve gas in the subway)
• Doomsday Cult
• Jones Town

IV. TRENDS IN RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES

A. a “new” fundamentalism

• The rise of a new fundamentalism has occurred at the same time that a number of mainline denominations have been losing membership.
• People from all socioeconomic levels, occupations, geographic locations (as opposed to old fundamentalism (lower-income, rural, southern states) report having fundamentalist beliefs.

B. secular humanism:

• A belief that humans can better themselves through their own efforts rather than through a belief in God and a religious conversion.  New Fundamentalists see this as a problem in the public schools which often teach kids that religion is inferior.

C. religion and school

• How should religion be approached with such a diverse background of students?

V. EDUCATION AND RELIGION IN THE TWENTY­

FIRST CENTURY

A. Controversies over what should be taught in

school and how to raise levels of academic achievement will continue.

• Also, whose values will your children be exposed to?
• In US, no central authority decides the curricula to be taught to all students nationwide
• Each state enacts its own laws and regulations, local schools boards help out
• No general standard as to what and how things should be taught
• Although many states have adopted levels in terms of what should be learned in order to graduate from high school.

B. In the U.S., religious influence will continue to

be evident.

• In the United States, the influence of religion will be evident in ongoing battles over school prayer, abortion, gay rights, and women's issues, among others.
• On some fronts, religion may unify people; on others, it may contribute to confrontations among individuals and groups.
• Rise of religious nationalism around the world, especially middle east (Islamic Nationalism is spreading rapidly).
• Religious freedom is important value in US…right?