Sociology Chapter 12 Religion – Flashcards

an institution offering a set of beliefs (sometimes regarding supernatural) to a community, incorporating symbols and ritual practices.

1. our focus is on the organization and insitutionalization of religion. 2. we often see religions as unifying, but also see where they can lead to conflicts & inequality. -Marx, Weber, & Durkheim were all interested in religion.

1. sociologists not concerned w/ whether religious beliefs are true or not. 2. especially concerned w/ the social organization of religion. 3. often view religions as a major source of social solidarity bc religions provide believers w/ common set of norms & values. 4. tend to explain the appeal of religion in terms of social forces rather than purely personal, spiritual, or psychological factors.

-religion & inequality. -accepted the view that religion represents human self-alienation. -declared that religion was the "opium of the people. -religion declares happiness & rewards to the afterlife, teaching resigned acceptance of earthly life. -attention diverted from injustices in this world by the promise of what is to come next.

the sense that our own abilities as human beings are taken over by other entities. -refers to projection of human powers onto gods. -loss of workers' control over the natures & products of their labor.

-religion & functionalism. -spent a good amount of his career studying religion. -particularly concentrated on totemism as practiced by Australian aboriginal societies. -The Elementary Forms of Religious Life is perhaps the most influential single study in the sociology of religion. -Connected religion not with social inequalities or power, but with the overall nature of the institutions of a society. -his argument was that totemism represented religion in its most elementary form.

in terms of a distinction between the sacred & the profane. -sacred is something that inspires awe or reverence among those who believe in a given set of religious ideas. -profane is that which belongs to the mundane, everyday world. -a totem is a sacred object, regarded with veneration & surrounded by ritual activities which were essential to unifying members of groups.

-the world religions & social change. -massive study of religions worldwide. -concentrate on the connection between religion & social change. -argued that religion not necessarily a conservative force, religiously inspired movements have produced dramatic social transformations. -protestantism source of capitialistic outlook in the modern West. -Christianity = salvation religion.

has relationship w/ government. not so separate from state.

large, established religious body, normally having a formal, bureaucratic structure & a hierarchy of religious officials. term also used to refer to the place in which religious ceremonies are carried out.

a religious sect that has lost its revivalist dynamism and become an institutionalized body, commanding the adherence of significant numbers of people.

tend to be breakaways from churches, a little more controversial, challenge churches they once came from.

tend to rely on charismatic leader, deemed dangerous/illegitimate by larger society, tend to die out quickly.

1. it is clearly important to people 2. a significant portion of the population feels so (85% of global population) 3. it is socially & structurally patterned. 4. because of its implications (both functional & conflict) for societies.

-despite declines in religious identification, Americans remain believers at high rates. -the decline in identification with some religious group: 1990: 90%-->2008: >80% -most religiously diverse country in the world. -highly religious compared to the citizens of other industrial nations.

perhaps, but religion is socially & structurally patterned.

-socioeconomic status varies by religion group membership and vice versa. -jews & liberal protestants = highest SES. -moderate protestants & catholics = middle. -last is conservative & black protestants.

irish catholics, anglosaxon protestant, greek orthodox, russian jews, etc. -more structurally, where we are born may matter for the religion we belong to.

-electronic churches -personalities (oral roberts, pat robertson, robert schuller) -followers: 10 million regulars, 40 million periodic. -God online: internet is most recent medium to spread religion (official organization, to chat rooms, to recruitment sites on the web.)

-among it's manifest functions: religion defines the spiritual world and gives meaning to the divine. it provides an explanation for events.

-social integration: provides shared meaning, symbols, values, and norms; especially during times of fear/confusion, social similarity. -social support: can provide relief during hard times, either through community or belief. -can shape social change: Weber argued that Protestantism help spur on the development of capitalism. -can foster social control: reinforce prevailing institutional arrangements/inequalities.

-the social control functions of religion may limit people's options. -religion may create or reinforce inequality for individuals in groups, even if they are not part of that particular religion --> a conservative and/or divisive force (Marx) -may create change in either a conservative or progressive direction (liberation theology)

-distinguished between profane and sacred. -totems & rituals

practices by the groups (defining sacred/profane) that foster commonality.