Chapter 17 Religion
Pages 536-564
Questions
•What is religion and what purpose does it serve in society?
•What is the Functionalist Perspective on religion?
•What is the Conflict Perspective on religion?
•What is the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective on religion?
•What are the major types of religious organizations?
•What impact does religion have an attitudes and behaviour?
•Will religion continue as a major social institution?
Religion is a system of beliefs, symbols, and rituals, based on some scared or
supernatural realm, that guides human behaviour, gives meaning to life, and unites
believers into a community (Durkheim)
•For many, their religious beliefs provide the answer to the difficult questions about the
meaning of life and death.
•Page 539, Box 17.1 (True and False)
Faith – unquestioning belief that does not require proof or scientific evidence.
Sacred – refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural
Profane – the everyday, secular, or “worldly” aspects of life
Rituals – regularly repeated and carefully prescribed forms of behaviour that symbolize a
cherished value or belief
-Range from songs to prayers, to offerings and sacrifices – Muslims bow toward Mecca
– Christians participate in communion
-“In rituals, it is the forms that count. Saying prayers, singing a hymn, performing a
primitive sacrifice or a dance, marching in a procession, kneeling before an idol or
making the sign of the cross – in these, the action must be done the right way.” Randall
Collins- Sociologist – p541
Categories of Religion
Simple Supernaturalism – the belief that supernatural forces affect people’s lives either
positively or negatively
Animism- is the belief that plants, animals or other elements of the natural world are
endowed with spirits or life forces that have an impact on events in society
Theism – a belief in a god or gods
Monotheism – a belief in a single, supreme being or god who is responsible for
significant events such as the creation of the world
Polytheism – a belief in more than one god
Nontheistic Religion – a religion based on a belief in divine spiritual forces such as
scared principles of thought and conduct, rather than a god or gods.
Sociological Perspective on Religion
Functionalist Perspective
Durkheim on Religion
– religion is essential to the maintenance of that society
– religion was a cultural universal found in all societies because it met basic human
needs & served important societal functions
-the central feature of all religions is the presence of scared beliefs and rituals that bind
people together in a collectively
-He suggested that the correct performance of the ritual gives rise to religious conviction
Collective Representations – group held meanings that express something important
about the group itself
Functions of Religion
•Providing meaning and purpose to life
•Promoting social cohesion and a sense of belonging
•Providing social control and support for the government
Meaning and Purpose
-Religion offers meaning for the human experience
-Some events create a profound sense of loss on both an individual basis (such as
injustice, suffering, and the death of a loved one), and a group basis (such as famine,
earthquake, economic depression, or subjugation by an enemy)
-Even offers hope of an afterlife for persons who follow the religion’s tenets of morality in
this life
Social Cohesion and a Sense of Belonging
-Emphasizing shared symbolism, religious teachings and practices help promote social
cohesion
-All religions have some forms of shared experience that rekindle the group’s
consciousness of its own unity.
Social Control and Support for the Government
-All societies attempt to maintain social control through systems of rewards and
punishments
-Sacred symbols and beliefs establish powerful, pervasive, long-lasting motivations
based on the concept of general order of existence
-Maintains social control in society by conferring supernatural legitimacy on the norms
and laws in society
-In some societies, social control occurs as a result of direct collusion between the
dominant classes and the dominant religious organizations
The Conflict Perspective on religions – Karl Marx (Macro Level)
-Ideologies “systematic views of the way the world ought to be” are embodies in
religious doctrines and political values
-Ideologies serve to justify the status quo and to inhibit social change
-Marx wrote religion was the “opiate of the masses” – they become complacent – they
are taught to believe in an afterlife and they are rewarded for their suffering and misery
in this life
-Religion unites people under a “false consciousness” – they believe they have common
interests with members of the dominant class
-Religion promotes strife between groups and societies - within a religious group, or
between a religious group and the larger society
Max Weber’s Response to Marx
-Marx believed that religion inhibited change - Weber argues just the opposite – religion
could be a catalyst to produce social change
-Predestination – the belief that, even before they are born, all people are divided into
two groups, the saved and the damned
-Believed that religion reinforced existing social arrangements – especially the
stratification system
-The wealthy used religion to justify their power and privilege – sign of God’s approval of
their hard work and morality
-The poor believe that if they work hard and live a moral life, they will be richly rewarded
in another life
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective on Religion (Micro Level)
Religion as a Reference group - helps individuals to define themselves – religious
symbols have meaning for many people
-Examples – Star of David significant for Jews – Crescent Moon and Star significant for
Muslims – Cross significant for Christians
-A symbol may have a certain meaning beyond that shared by the group
-Symbolism of religion is so very powerful because it “expresses the essential facts of
out
Religious Conversion
-Why do people convert to non-traditional religious movements
First three steps – predisposed potential converts to join the group – Last four steps –
situational factors that led to successful conversion
-Some important tension or strain in their lives (financial problems, marital issues, sexual
identity problems, issues around mental and physical disabilities
-A religious problem –solving perspective
-Their self-definition as religious seekers who actively sought to resolve their problems
through some system of religious meaning
-People come to a turning point in their lives – dropped out of school or they lost a job
-Affective ties with members of the “new” religion
-Reduction in ties with people outside the group
-Exposure to very intensive interaction with other group members
Feminist Perspectives on Religion
-His Religion and Her Religion – women have less influence on establishment of social
definitions of appropriate and in the larger community
-Religious symbolism and language typically create a social definition of the roles of men
and women
Women in the Ministry
-Gender inclusiveness of Christianity and Judaism and the absence of women in
significant roles within religious institutions
-Women are demanding an end to the traditions that do not reflect their historic role and
their ongoing stake in the divine
Types of Religious Organizations
Ecclesia – a religious organization that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it
claims as its membership all members of a society
The Church – Sect Typology
Church – is a large, bureaucratically organized religious body that tends to seek
accommodation with the larger society in order to maintain some degree of control over
it
Denomination – a large organized religion characterized by accommodation to society
but frequently lacking the ability or intention to dominate society
Sect – is a relatively small religious group that has broken away from another religious
organization to renew what it views as the original version of the faith
Cults/New Religious Movements
Cult – is a religious group with practices and teachings outside the dominant cultural and
religious traditions of a society
-Cults are a result/response to several kinds of cultural and social change
•Changes in values
•Changes in social structure
•Changes in the role and character of religious institutions
Trends in Religions in Canada
Religiosity – is Canada a religious society? Depends …..
Liberation Theology – the Christian movement that advocates freedom from political
subjugation within a traditional perspective and the need for social transformation to
benefit the poor and downtrodden
Religion in Canada 2000 +
“Religion has become a smorgasbord for Canadians” (Dr. Nancy Nason-Clarke) – in
other words, religion is a buffet where Canadians pick and choose what they want from
religion – I’ll take a church wedding but I don’t want the no premarital sex dish - I’ll take
the funeral service, but I don’t believe in hell, and so on…..