CHAPTER 14: RELIGION

CHAPTER 14: RELIGION

SECTION 1: RELIGION AND SOCIOLOGY

THE SOCIOLOGICAL MEANING OF RELIGION • RELIGION: a unified system of beliefs and practices concerned with sacred things • SACRED: holy; set apart and given special meaning that transcends immediate existence • PROFANE: non-sacred or secular • What is sacred varies

STUDY OF RELIGION IN SOCIOLOGY • Do not become involved in theological issues • Sociologists do not try to validate one religion • Focus on cultural and social aspects of religion • Study beliefs and practices as they relate to a group’s sacred things • Remain objective

FUNCTIONALISM AND RELIGION • Gives formal approval to existing social arrangements • Encourages a sense of unity • Creates distinctions between things and groups • Provides a sense of understanding • Promotes a sense of belonging

CONFLICT THEORY AND RELIGION • Focuses on how religion inhibits or encourages social change • Karl Marx and Max Weber were the 2 earliest sociologists who examined this

MARX AND RELIGION • Karl Marx believed humans created religion to justify economic and social inequalities • Lower classes are taught to accept poverty as “God’s will” • Marx called religion “the opiate of the masses” • Believes religion undermines social unity and works against change and progress, therefore it should be eliminated

WEBER LINKS PROTESTANTISM AND CAPITALISM • Max Weber believed religion encourages social change • Noted capitalism emerged in Protestant countries • Referred to the SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM: obligation to reinvest money in business, rather than spend it • PROTESTANT ETHIC: values, norms, beliefs, and attitudes that stressed hard work, thrift, and self-discipline

PROTESTANT ETHIC • Began with John Calvin • Idea: God identifies his chosen by rewarding them in this world • The more successful ppl were this life, the more certain they were a member of God’s select few • Material rewards are actually God’s, so profits should be multiplied through reinvestment in order to glorify God

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM AND RELIGION • Focus: ppl create symbolic meanings from their religious beliefs, rituals, and ideas • Ppl use these meanings to guide their everyday interactions • Religious meanings offer relief, especially when it comes to an afterlife

SECTION 2: RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION AND RELIGIOSITY

CHURCH • Def: a life-encompassing system of beliefs and practices to which all members of a society belong • Exists when religion and state are intertwined • Sociology has a very different definition from what we normally use

DENOMINATION • Def: one of several religious organizations that most members of society accept as legitimate • Voluntary • Competition among them for members is socially acceptable • Generally accept the values and norms of society

SECTS • Def: a religious organization that arises out of a desire to reform an existing religious organization • Believe that some valuable beliefs or traditions have been lost • Form their group to save the “lost” features

NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS (NRMs) • Not drawn from existing religious traditions • Usually bring something new to the larger religious environment • Sometimes referred to as cults (not always extreme) • Tension with mainstream society usually comes from their rejection of it

RELIGIOSITY • Def: ways in which ppl express their religious interests and convictions • 5 Dimensions: • 1) Belief—what a person considers to be true • 2) Ritual—practices members are expected to perform • 3) Intellectual—members should be knowledgeable • 4) Experience—feelings attached to religious experience • 5) Consequences

SECTION 3: RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES

FOUNDATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM • Religion has always been important in America • Have been several “Awakenings” • Framers of Constitution were critical of religious entanglement with affairs of state • But religious freedom has always been a cornerstone

SECULARIZATION IN THE U.S. • SECULARIZATION: the process through which the sacred loses influence over society • Today, around 50% in U.S. claim that religion is very important in their lives • 35% say they attend religious services weekly • Today, more people describe themselves as agnostic or even atheist

RELIGIOUS PREFERENCES IN THE U.S. • Hundreds of denominations and sects in the U.S. • Around half the pop. identify as Protestant • Catholic—25% • Jewish—1% • No religious preference—15%

FUNDAMENTALISM IN THE U.S. • FUNDAMENTALISM: the resistance of secularization and the rigid adherence to traditional beliefs, rituals, and doctrines • Exists in all religions • We will focus on Protestant fundamentalism

FUNDAMENTALISM CONTINUED • Politically conservative (generally) • Theological agenda: literal interpretation of the Bible, being “born again” through acceptance of Jesus Christ as the son of God, responsibility of all believers to bear witness for God, the presence of Satan as an active force of evil, destruction of the world prior to the return of the Messiah

RISE OF FUNDAMENTALISM TODAY • Several reasons proposed: • 1) Many feel the world is out of control • 2) Provides strong anchor • 3) Offer a more purely sacred environment

RELIGION, EDUCATION, POLITICS, AND RACE • Jews and Asian religions tend to have more college graduates • Majority of ppl who identify as highly religious also identify as Republican (politically) • Religious intensity does not affect political outlook of most minorities the same way

RELIGION, SCIENCE, AND SOCIETY • Science and religion examine humanity’s relationship to the world in different ways • Sometimes, they appear in conflict • Theories like the Big Bang, and Darwin’s evolution are generally not accepted by fundamentalists

CHAPTER 14: RELIGION