Chapter 13: Education and
Religion
Objectives (slide 1 of 2)
13.1 Education in the United States
• Discuss key contemporary issues in public education.
• Analyze the education choices available in the United
States.
13.2 Education Around the World
• Illustrate education systems in postindustrial,
developing, and underdeveloped nations.
13.3 Sociological Perspectives on Education
• Describe the sociological perspectives on education.
13.4 Sociology of Religion
• Compare and contrast how sociologists view the role
of religion in social life.
Objectives (slide 1 of 2)
13.5 Sociological Perspectives on Religion
• Describe the sociological perspectives on religion.
13.6 Religions of the World
• Compare and contrast the main religions of the
world.
13.7 Types of Religious Organizations
• Illustrate the continuum of religious
organizations.
13.8 Religions in the United States
• Discuss the functions that religion plays in the
lives of Americans.
Education in the United States
• The US government set a goal for mass
education in the 1850s.
• By 1918, all states had passed compulsory
education laws and began standardizing
curricula.
• Today, high school graduation rates are
70%.
Schools and Segregation
• In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the
Supreme Court ruled that segregation was
legal as long as facilities were “separate but
equal.”
• In 1954, the Supreme Court decided that
racially segregated schools are inherently
unequal in Brown v. Board of Education.
• De jure segregation: Segregation that is
allowed by law
• De facto segregation: Segregation that is
part of social practice
Contemporary Issues in
Public Education
• Educational curriculums have changed little,
even as the United States transitioned to
postindustrialism.
• School funding has not kept up with the
pace of technological innovations.
• The infrastructure has aged and not enough
funding is available to upgrade or repair
facilities.
• Changes in family structure changed the way
in which children are socialized
Liberalism and Conservatism in
Public Education
Liberalism
• Blames the
deterioration of public
education on lack of
funding.
• Although the United
States ranks 3rd in
spending per pupil,
school performance
ranks significantly lower.
Conservatism
• Argues that reform
begins with
accountability.
• Favors strong local
government control.
Charter Education and Private
Education
• Compulsory education: The legal
requirement that all children attend school
• A private school is a school that is run by
private individuals or organizations that
charge tuition.
• Charter school: A school that is run by
private individuals or corporations but
funded with public tax dollars
• Magnet school: A publically funded school
that concentrates its curriculum on a
particular subject area
Home Schooling
• Currently, more than 3% of all school-age
children are home schooled.
• The rates of home schooling differ by:
– Race
– Socioeconomic status
Does School Choice Work?
Cons
• School choice excludes
students in marginal
groups.
• Only half the teachers in
private schools are
certified or have
advanced degrees.
• Staff turnover rates are
higher in private than in
public schools.
Pros
• The average per pupil
expenditure for private
schools is 30% lower than
for public schools.
• Private school students
outperform public school
students in every subject.
• There are fewer behavioral
problems in private
schools.
• Private schools are
becoming increasingly
diverse.
Deviance in Schools
• Thomas theorem: If something is
perceived as real, it becomes real in its
consequences
• Hidden curriculum: Things that a child
learns at school that are outside of the
formal curriculum
• Bullying: Repeatedly being mean to
another child
The Bureaucratization of Education
• Bureaucratization of education has led to:
– An increasing reliance on numerical
assessments to determine success or failure
– Rigid expectations that are not appropriate
for every student and neglect community,
family, and individual culture
– Specialization with no connection made
between subjects
– Disempowerment of teachers and students
Dropping Out
• Dropping out: Leaving school prior to
graduation
– Children who drop out are at significantly
higher risk for poverty, criminal behavior, and
unemployement.
• Self-fulfilling prophecy: Actions or
attitudes that make a preconceived belief
come true
Other Issues of Bureaucratization
Grade Inflation
• Grade inflation: The
trend of giving everyone
higher grades for
mediocre work
• Credentialism: The
tendency to emphasize
a diploma or academic
degree rather than
experience, skill, or
subject knowledge
Academic Standards
• Functionally illiterate:
The absence of basic
reading and writing
skills necessary for
everyday living
• Social promotion:
Passing a student
through grades as a
result of age rather than
academic ability
Schooling and Economic
Development
• The way in which a culture views
education and the methods it uses to
educate children are strongly tied to the
economic development of the nation.
What Can Other Countries Teach
Us About Education?
• Examples of ways social forces shape
education:
– While money is an important factor, it is not
a panacea for educational problems.
– Cultural transmission is an important
foundation of education.
– The number one predictor of how well a
child will do in school is how well the child
likes school.
Functionalism in Schools
• Functional analysis identifies five ways in
which formal education functions in
society:
– Socialization of students
– Cultural innovation and change
– Stratification
– Social integration
– Performing latent functions that help the
economy
Schooling and the Conflict
Perspective
• The conflict perspective sees schools as a
way of controlling people, forcing them to
accept dominant cultural norms.
• Tracking: Assigning students into different
types of educational programs based on
their perceived aptitude
Symbolic Interactionism and
Education
• The symbolic interactionist approach
analyzes schools in terms of the way in
which the language we use shapes our
perceptions of education and how
stereotypes can shape what goes on in a
classroom.
Sociology of Religion
• Profane: Part of the realm of ordinary
experience
• Sacred: Things that are set apart as
inspiring awe or reverence
• Religion: A social institution involving
beliefs, values, and behaviors based on
the sacred
• Faith: Belief based on conviction rather
than on empirical evidence
Functionalism and Religion
• Durkheim posited that each society adopts
certain items as symbols of its social life.
– Totem: An object in the material world that a
society collectively defines as sacred
• Three main functions of religion in society:
– Social cohesion
– Social control
– Sense of meaning or purpose
Conflict Perspectives on Religion
• Marx argued that religion supports the
ruling class by legitimizing its position in
society:
– Religion maintains social divisions through
the justification of servitude.
– Religion supports gender divisions.
– Religion prevents revolutionary change.
Symbolic Interactionism and
Religion
• Symbolic interactionism states that
religious beliefs and ritual behaviors
create a common understanding that
gives people a sense of collective
meaning and identity.
Christianity
• Christianity is the most widespread
religion in the world.
– 85% of North Americans identify as
Christians.
• Christianity is based on the personal
character and charisma of Jesus, who
preached monotheism.
– Monotheism: The belief in one god
– Polytheism: The belief in more than one god
Islam
• Islam comprises one fifth of the world’s
population.
• Islam is the word of God as revealed to the
prophet Muhammad.
– Based on five pillars:
• Believing that Allah is the one true God and
Muhammad is the true messenger
• Performing ritual prayer five times a day
• Giving alms to the poor
• Fasting during Ramadan
• Making a pilgrimage to Mecca
Judaism
• The teachings of Judaism provided the
foundation for both Islam and
Christianity.
• A key tenet of the Jewish faith is the idea
that Jews are the chosen people of God.
• Three main denominations:
– Orthodox Judaism
– Reform Judaism
– Conservative Judaism
Hinduism
• Hinduism is the oldest extant religion.
• Hinduism is known as an “ethical
religion,” meaning that the core of the
religion rests on an expectation of specific
ethical responsibilities, or Dharma.
• Hindus view God more as a moral force
that permeates the universe.
Buddhism and Confusianism
Buddhism
• Based on the revelations
of Siddhartha Gautama,
who preached that the
solution to suffering lies
in the development of
spiritual harmony.
• Relies on personal
meditation and personal
withdrawal as a means
of enlightenment.
Confucianism
• Based on the teachings of
Confucius, who relied on
withdrawal from the world
as a way to mitigate
worldly suffering.
• Emphasizes placing moral
rightness above personal
self-interest.
• Differs from other
religions in its absence of a
sense of the sacred.
Atheism and Agnosticism
• Atheism: The absence
of a belief in God or the
denial of belief in God
• Agnosticism: Doubt or
skepticism about the
existence of God
Church
• Church: A type of religious organization
that is formally recognized and is well
integrated into society
– State church: A church that is sanctioned by
or allied with the government
– Denomination: A church, independent of the
state, that recognizes religious pluralism
Sect
• Sect: A religious organization that sets
itself apart from mainstream religious
beliefs
• Leadership styles are based on:
– Charisma: Personal qualities that make
people want to follow you
– Proselytizing: Actively attempting to recruit
members to a particular religious view
Cult
• Cult: A religious organization that is
completely outside a society’s cultural
traditions
– Cults tend to form around a charismatic
leader who presents views different from
mainstream religious beliefs.
Religions in the United States
• America is the most religiously diverse
nation in the world.
• More than 85% of Americans claim to
belong to some religion.
– More than half of adults in the United States
identify with Protestantism.
– 25% profess to be Catholic.
– 2% are Jewish.
Religious Affiliation and Religiosity
• Religiosity: The importance that religion
plays in a person’s life
Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Class,
and Religion
• American congregations have more women
than men.
• Although Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and
Church of Christ members account for less
than 10% of the population, they account for
a reported 33% of the most economically
and socially successful Americans.
• Jews, who make up only about 1.7% of the
population, account for 12% of the most
successful Americans.
Fundamentalism and
Secularization
Fundamentalism
• Fundamentalism: The
literal and rigid
interpretation of a
sacred text
• Fundamentalists tend to
be socially and
politically active.
Secularization
• Secularization: The
declining importance of
religion in society
• The rise of
secularization
accompanies changes in
society that put more
emphasis on science
and technology and
deemphasize the
sacred.