Beliefs

• Types of religious organisations

  • Church
  • Denomination
  • Sect
  • Cult
• Church - Troeltsch


  • Large organisations, formal hierarchy, closely associated with state, open membership, mainly attract middle class, claim a monopoly of truth
• Denomination - Niebuhr


  • Professional clergy, less complex, accepts norms and values, tolerant of other organisations, open to all, don't claim monopoly of truth
• Sect - Troeltsch


  • Charismatic leader, critical of society, exclusive, draw members from poor and oppressed, expect high levels of commitment, claim monopoly of truth, short-lasting
• Cult


  • Least organised, loose structure, group with shared interests, claim special knowledge, don't demand strong commitment, no defined belief system
• Willis categorised religious organisations into 'world-rejecting', 'world-accommodating' and 'world-affirming'
• Evals of Willis' categorisation suggest it may not accurately capture the diversity of beliefs within New Religious Movements
• Functionalism - promotes social solidarity through reinforcing value consensus.

  Durkheim - totemism - worship of an object symbolic of society, acts as a social glue by binding people together, creates collective conscience.

  Eval - less applicable to diverse contemporary society, doesn't explain conflict between communities/ religions.
• Civil religion (Bellah) - attaches sacred qualities to aspects of society itself, with non-religious practices performing similar functions to religion. e.g. devotion to royalty in Britain.

  Eval - may not be religion but just forms of socialisation
• Malinowski (functionalist) saw religion as performing psychological functions such as promoting social solidarity, providing comfort during crisis, and giving emotional security
• Marxism sees religion as a ruling class ideology that reproduces and reinforces false class consciousness
• Althusser (marxist) saw ideological state apparatuses as spreading ideology and manufacturing hegemonic acceptance of one's position as inevitable
• Marxism sees religion as providing an 'opium of the people' - promises of rewards for suffering and supernatural intervention that justify inequality
• Eval of marxist view - religion needs power and belief which lacks in most contemporary Western capitalist societies
• Social change - Weber saw Protestant beliefs as initiating the economic and social conditions in which capitalism emerged in Northern Europe.

  Beliefs involves predestination, divine transcendence, asceticism and vocation/ calling.

  Protestant work ethic involved hard work, modesty, reject lavish spending and idleness.
• Pre-conditions - technology, skilled and mobile workforce etc helped to form the basis of capitalism.

  Eval - some countries with large Calvinist populations, like Scotland, did not industrialise, challenging the direct link between Protestantism and capitalism.

  However, Marshall argues that this is due to a lack of a skilled workforce.
• Marxists like Kautsky argued that capitalism pre-dated Calvinism and that Protestant beliefs were an ideological tool used to legitimise capitalist interests
• Maduro - Liberation Theology sees religion as a force for the poor to organise and overthrow oppressive regimes.

  Gramsci - counter-hegemony - presents vision of an alternative, challenges ruling class hegemony.
• Bruce - The US Civil Rights movement in early 1960s saw black clergy form the backbone of early activism, with religion providing an ideological resource and channel for dissent
• The Taliban's interpretation of Islam was not progressive, excluding women from employment and education
• Sects tend to be short-lived due to factors like the 'Protestant ethic effect', death of the leader, and a move towards denominationalism
• Separatist sects cut themselves off from society to be 'saved', while conversionist sects aim to convert large numbers of people
• Globalisation makes it harder for sects to maintain separatism, as it allows for more recruits and access to larger numbers of deprived people
• New Religious Movements can appeal to the deprived as they offer compensation for denied rewards, and provide meaning and identity in times of social change and uncertainty
• Gender socialisation and women's roles in caregiving and childbirth contribute to higher levels of religiosity among women compared to men
• Women's inclusion in the paid workforce has led to a decline in female piety, as religion has moved to the private family sphere
• The New Age movement has attracted more middle-class women seeking autonomy and authenticity, while working-class women are drawn to more passive roles
• Glock and Stark's theory of 'organismic deprivation' suggests women's physical and mental health problems contribute to higher religiosity
• Social deprivation, such as lack of power, status and paid work, may also lead women to join sects for status and community
• Science has become a meta-narrative - All knowledge is related to it
• Leisure has become a bigger part of people's lives, Sunday activities replaced by hobbies / interests
• Secularisation as religion is seen as less important
• Decline in Church Attendance: Decline since 1851, in 2015, 5% of adult population attended church. Number of churchgoers has more than halved since the 1960s. In 1983, 23% of adults were members of a religious organisation compared to only 1/2 in 2014. In 2013, less than 0.8 million people attended church. Church census figures here also reflect a long-term decline. Entry to high-performing faith schools has led to bogus baptisms.
• Quantitative data fails to show the value individuals place on their religion - can't just use attendance figures to represent a decline overall, doesn't account for levels of religiosity among people.
• Belief: declining along with church attendance and membership, note surveys indicate a decline in belief of a personal God, afterlife, religious scriptures etc. Religious belief has been undermined by rational and scientific ways of thinking during the modernisation of society. 2021 Census shows a 13.1% decrease in people identifying as Christian (46.2%) which may also be exaggerated due to social desirability. People classifying selves as having no religion increased by 12% to 37.2% across England and Wales.
• Increase in number of people following NAMS shows religion is working alongside science. Religious belief is strong during times of crisis.
• Rationalisation: Weber - scientific ways of thinking replace religious ones. Medieval Catholic worldview - world is an enchanted garden with spiritual presence. Protestant Reformation started rationalisation process disenchantment - God existed above and outside world, didn't intervene. Events explained by predictable workings of nature, reason and science allowed humans to discover the laws of nature. Bruce - technological world view- people now assume something technical rather than supernatural explanations e.g. plane crash.
• Participation in NRMS is increasing.
• Structural Differentiation Parsons a process of specialisation that occured with the development of industrial society. Disengagement religious functions have been transferred to other institutions, disconnected from society. The state has taken over education and wealth as well as ceremonias, therefore social significance of religion is lost as functions become more specialised. Teachers in faith schools must hold qualifications that are recognized by the state - undermines religious institutions. Bruce - religion has become privatised and beliefs are largely a personal choice.
• Northern Ireland is a modern and industrialised part of the UK but the Church is closely linked with the state.