Religion

Durkheim’s View of Religion

Durkheim’s viewUnified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred thingsReligion as collective actIncludes many forms of behavior in which people interact with others

Sacredelements beyond everyday life that inspire awe, respect, and even fear

Sacred and Profane

Profaneincludes the ordinary and commonplace

What do these represent among Catholics?

World Religion

Diversity in World Religions85% of world’s population adheres to some religion

World Religions

Buddhism; 463

Christian-ity; 2,281

Hinduism; 935

Islam; 1,553

Judaism; 15

World Religions (2011)

Role of Religion

Manifest functionsreligion defines the spiritual world and gives meaning to the divine

Functional Perspective

Latent functionsmight include providing a meeting ground for unmarried members

Offers people meaning and

purpose

Gives people ultimate values

and ends to hold in common

Religion and Social Support

Emphasis on divine and

supernatural allows us to do

something about calamities we face

The Integrative Function of Religion

Followers of Protestant Reformation emphasized a disciplined work ethic, this-worldly concerns, and a rational orientation for life

The Weberian Thesis

Liberation TheologyChurch should be used in political efforts to eliminate poverty, discrimination, and other forms of injustice

Conflict Perspective

FeministReligion as an instrument of women’s subordination, except for their role in religious socialization

Conflict Perspective

Marx argued religion impeded social changeReligion drugged masses into submission by offering a consolation for their harsh live on earth

A Conflict View

Focus on the religious behavior

Belief Ritual Experience

Interactionist Perspective

Belief• statements to which members of a particular religion adhere

Religious Behavior

Ritual• practices required or expected of members of a faith

Religious Behavior

Experience• feeling or perception

of being in direct contact with ultimate reality or of being overcome with religious emotion

Religious Behavior

Religious Organizations

EcclesiaeReligious organization claiming to include most or all of the members of a society

Recognized as the national or official religionDenominations

Large, organized religion not officially linked with the state or government

Religious Organization

Religious OrganizationSects

Relatively small religious group that broke away from some other religious organization to renew the original vision of the faith

Sects are fundamentally at odds with society and do not seek to become established national religions.

Religious OrganizationNew Religious Movements or Cults

New religious movement (NRM): small secretive religious groups that represent either a new religion or a major innovation of an existing faithSimilar to sectsTend to be smallViewed as less respectable than more established faiths

Religious OrganizationComparing Forms of Religious Organization

Ecclesiae, denominations, sects, and new religious movements have different relationships to societyElectronic communication led to the electronic church

Religious Organization

Figure 15-3. Largest Religious Groups in the United States by County, 2000

Source: D. Jones et al. 2002:592

Religious Organization

Table 15-3. Characteristics of Ecclesiae, Denominations, Sects, and New Religious Movements

Adapted from Vernon 1962; see also Chalfant et al. 1994

Social Policy and ReligionReligion in the Schools

The IssueShould public schools be allowed to sponsor organized prayers or other expressions of religion in the classroom?Some want strict separation of church and stateWho has the right to decide these issues?

Religion in the SchoolsThe Setting

First Amendment’s provisions on religious freedom In 1987, Supreme Court ruled states could not compel the teaching of creationism in public schools

Many school districts now require teachers entertain alternative theories to evolution and to the creation of the universe

Social Policy and Religion

Social Policy and ReligionReligion in the Schools

Sociological InsightsSupporters of school prayer and of creationism feel use of nondenominational prayer cannot lead to the establishment of an ecclesia in U.S.

Opponents of school prayer and creationism argue religious majority in a community might impose religious viewpoints at the expense of religious minorities

Religion in the SchoolsPolicy InitiativesActivism of religious fundamentalists in the public school system raises a question: Whose ideas and values deserve a hearing in classrooms?

Social Policy and Religion

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