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Chapter 17. Religion. An Overview Of Religion. Religion is a system of beliefs and practices based on some sacred or supernatural realm, that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a single moral community. An Overview Of Religion.
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Chapter 17 Religion
An Overview Of Religion • Religion is a system of beliefs and practices based on some sacred or supernatural realm, that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a single moral community.
An Overview Of Religion • The sociology of religion focuses on religious groups and organizations, on the behavior of individuals within those groups, and on ways religion is intertwined with social institutions.
How Much Do You Know About the Impact of Religion on U.S. Education? • True or False? • The Constitution of the United States originally specified that religion should be taught in the public schools.
How Much Do You Know About the Impact of Religion on U.S. Education? • False. • Due to the diversity of religious backgrounds of the early settlers, no mention of religion was made in the original Constitution. Even the sole provision that currently exists (the establishment clause of the First Amendment) does not speak directly of the issue of religious learning in public education.
How Much Do You Know About the Impact of Religion on U.S. Education? • True or False? • Parochial schools have decreased in enrollment as interest in religion has waned in the United States.
How Much Do You Know About the Impact of Religion on U.S. Education? • False. • Just the opposite has happened. As parents have felt that children were not receiving the type of education they desired in public schools, parochial schools have flourished. Christian schools have grown to more than 5,000 in number; Jewish parochial schools have also grown rapidly over the past decade.
Question • When you were a child, how often did your mother attend religious services? • Rarely to Never(Never or 1 or 2 per year) • Infrequently to Several a year (1 to 3 per month) • Often (About weekly, Weekly, Several times/week)
Religion • Seeks to answer questions such as why we exist, why people suffer and die and what happens when we die.
Religion • Seeks to answer questions such as why we exist, why people suffer and die and what happens when we die. • Comprised of beliefs, symbols and rituals.
Religion • Seeks to answer questions such as why we exist, why people suffer and die and what happens when we die. • Comprised of beliefs, symbols and rituals. • All known groups over the past 100,000 years have had some form of religion.
Religion • Faith is unquestioning belief that does not require proof or scientific evidence.
Religion • Faith is unquestioning belief that does not require proof or scientific evidence. • Sacred refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural.
Religion • Faith is unquestioning belief that does not require proof or scientific evidence. • Sacred refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural. • Profane refers to the everyday, secular aspects of life.
Religion • Faith is unquestioning belief that does not require proof or scientific evidence. • Sacred refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural. • Profane refers to the everyday, secular aspects of life. • Rituals are regularly repeated and carefully prescribed forms of behaviors that symbolize a cherished value or belief.
Four Categories of Religion • Simple supernaturalism - the belief that supernatural forces affect people's lives positively or negatively.
Four Categories of Religion • Simple supernaturalism - the belief that supernatural forces affect people's lives positively or negatively. • Animism - the belief that plants, animals, and elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits that impact events in society.
Four Categories of Religion • Theism - belief in a God or Gods.
Four Categories of Religion • Theism - belief in a God or Gods. • Transcendent idealism - belief in sacred principles of thought and conduct, such as truth, justice, life and tolerance for others.
Secularization • The process by which religious beliefs, practices, and institutions lose their significance in sectors of society and culture.
Durkheim on Religion • According to Emile Durkheim, all religions share three elements:
Durkheim on Religion • According to Emile Durkheim, all religions share three elements: • Beliefs held by adherents.
Durkheim on Religion • According to Emile Durkheim, all religions share three elements: • Beliefs held by adherents. • Practices (rituals) engaged in collectively by believers.
Durkheim on Religion • According to Emile Durkheim, all religions share three elements: • Beliefs held by adherents. • Practices (rituals) engaged in collectively by believers. • A moral community based on the group’s shared beliefs and practices pertaining to the sacred.
Functionalist Perspective Religion has 3 functions:
Functionalist Perspective Religion has 3 functions: • Providing meaning and purpose to life.
Functionalist Perspective Religion has 3 functions: • Providing meaning and purpose to life. • Promoting social cohesion and a sense of belonging.
Functionalist Perspective Religion has 3 functions: • Providing meaning and purpose to life. • Promoting social cohesion and a sense of belonging. • Providing social control and support for the government.
Civil Religion • The set of beliefs, rituals, and symbols that makes sacred the values of the society and places the nation in the context of the ultimate system of meaning.
Civil Religion • The set of beliefs, rituals, and symbols that makes sacred the values of the society and places the nation in the context of the ultimate system of meaning. • Civil religion is not tied to any one denomination or religious group.
Conflict Perspective • According to Karl Marx, religion is the "opiate of the people."
Conflict Perspective • According to Karl Marx, religion is the "opiate of the people." • Max Weber argued that religion could be a catalyst to produce social change.
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective • Religion serves as a reference group to help people define themselves. • Women’s versions of a certain religion usually differ from men’s versions.
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective • Religion serves as a reference group to help people define themselves.
Types of Religious Organization • Ecclesia – a religious organization that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it claims as its membership all members of a society
Types of Religious Organization • Church – large, bureaucratically organized religious organization that tends to seek accommodation with the larger society in order to maintain some degree of control over it.
Types of Religious Organization • Cults – loosely organized religious group with practices and teachings outside the dominant cultural and religious traditions of a society.
Fundamentalism • A traditional religious doctrine that is conservative, is typically opposed to modernity, and rejects “worldly pleasures” in favor of otherworldly spirituality.
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.
