defining ideology

• Ideology


  A broad cohesive set of political ideas and beliefs, e.g. liberalism, socialism, conservatism
• Ideology


  • Often based on the perspective of the individuals, e.g. Marxism, feminism
• False consciousness


  The way in which the ruling class mislead the proletariat into believing that they are not being exploited
• Ideology


  1. Generates false consciousness

  2. Convinces workers they deserve their position in society

  3. Convinces workers they are not being exploited

  4. Convinces workers that the wealthy have worked hard to achieve success
• Ideology


  • Reinforced by a wide range of institutions in society, e.g. education, media, religion
• Patriarchal ideology


  Society is male dominated and serves the interests of men
• Patriarchal ideology


  Convinces women that their exploitation at the hands of men is natural and that male traits are of more value to society
• Ideology is evident throughout different social institutions, particularly employment and the family
• Conflict theories suggest that religion forms part of the ideology of maintaining existing power structures
• Some religious states may be more likely to strictly apply the beliefs of religion to the rules and regulations that control its citizens, therefore religion can be seen to act as an ideology in this instance
• In most secular states, religion is not used to promote ideology
• A belief in religion does not necessarily mean subscription to the ideology that religious institutions promote
• For some, religion is not concerned with strict adherence to religious doctrine but rather with connecting with a sense of belonging to something that has elements the individual believes in