Beliefs in society- Sociology

• Functionalists


  See religion as a conservative force that promotes social harmony, social integration, and social solidarity by reinforcing the value consensus
• Durkheim


  The role of religion is to bind people together and reinforce a collective conscience. The key feature of religion is the distinction between the sacred and the profane
• Arunta tribe


  • Worshipped the sacred totem as a symbol of their clan's origin and identity, the shared totemic rituals reinforced the group's solidarity and sense of belonging
• Postmodernists argue that Durkheim's view lacks contemporary relevance as society now has multiple faiths, which can create potential conflict as religions clash
• Parsons


  The role of religion is to create and legitimate society's norms and values, and to act as a source of meaning to help individuals cope with unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes
• Conflict theorists such as Lenin criticise Parsons' view that religion legitimates the norms and values of dominant groups
• Parsons' second function of religion providing a source of meaning lacks contemporary relevance as people often turn to science for answers instead of religion
• Malinowski

  Religion performs psychological functions for individuals and promotes social solidarity by bringing people together in times of need. It provides a sense of control in uncontrollable situations and a sense of comfort in times of life crisis
• Malinowski's view is deterministic as it assumes people will turn to religion in times of crisis, but there is a rise in secularisation and people are more likely to turn to science or retail therapy
• Traditional Marxists


  Religion's function is to provide comfort to workers experiencing alienation, and to legitimate inequality by making the dominant class position appear to be divinely ordained
• Traditional Marxist view lacks contemporary relevance as people don't turn to religion for 'opium' anymore due to the rise in secularisation, and they may turn to retail therapy or drugs instead
• Feminists argue that religion is a patriarchal institution that reflects and perpetuates inequality based on male dominance and control of women
• De Beauvoir


  Religion is an instrument of male dominance used to subordinate women, giving them a false belief that their suffering will be rewarded in heaven
• El Sadaawi criticises the view that religion prevents gender equality, arguing that it is patriarchal cultures that reshape religion to promote patriarchal ideology
• Armstrong


  The exclusion of women from priesthood and the segregation of sexes in places of worship are evidence of the marginalisation of women in religion, which is a result of the rise of monotheistic religions with a belief in one all-powerful male God
• Radical feminists argue that the wearing of the hijab by Muslim women is not to empower them but something forced upon them by men, and has led to instances of honour killings
• Liberal feminists believe that religion can help women fight patriarchy and be a force for social change, as seen in the examples of Islamic veils and women in top positions in the Church of England
• Weber


  Religion can be a force for change because it can bring economic development and make society wealthy, as seen in the case of Calvinists and their ascetic lifestyle
• Kautsky argued that capitalism existed before Calvinism developed, and that capitalists were attracted to Calvinism because it helped to justify the pursuit of profit
• Church


  Large, formal hierarchy, seen as respectable, linked to the state
• Sect


  Demand commitment, charismatic leader, seen as deviant, world-rejecting
• Denomination


  Broadly accept society values, not linked to the state, impose only minor restrictions, world-accommodating
• Cult


  Least organised, individualistic, world-affirming
• Weber


  Sects tend to develop amongst marginal groups in society who feel they are not receiving the status and economic rewards they deserve, and sects offer a religious explanation and justification for their suffering and disadvantage
• Wallis, Stark and Bainbridge


  Relatively deprived people, including the middle class who feel spiritually deprived, break away from churches to form sects that can offer them compensators for their deprivation
• Postmodernists argue that the theory of relative deprivation leading to sect formation lacks contemporary relevance as old barriers such as class are no longer relevant
• Durkheim, Bellah


  Sects arise during periods of rapid social change that create a sense of normlessness and uncertainty, leading people to turn to alternative values and beliefs
• The Jesus People sect promoted an anti-materialist mindset as a way to challenge the consumerist culture of the time and encourage a deeper connection with spiritual matters
• Postmodernist argue that this lacks contemporary relevance as old barriers such as class are no longer relevant, so people aren't going to feel relative deprived
• Social change


  Sects arise during periods of rapid social change
• Anomie

  A sense of normlessness and uncertainty over social guideline for behaviour
• Increase in sect membership in the 1960's

  MC youth experiencing a crisis of meaning regarding the materialistic values of their parent culture so they turned to alternative drug and pop culture
• The Jesus People sect


  Promoted an anti-materialist mindset by encouraging its followers to prioritize spiritual values over material possessions
• There is evidence to support that more people are joining New Age Movements today rather than traditional religion especially young people
• There is also evidence to suggest that rather than joining sect, people join a fundamentalist movement in response to these rapid changes
• Sects

  World rejecting organisations that come into existence because of schism splitting from the established church because of a religious disagreement over religious doctrine
• Sects

  • Often short lived and within a generation they either die out, or they compromise with the world and abandon their extreme ideas
• Second generation


  Sect membership is based upon voluntary adult commitment where people choose to follow beliefs of the religion. Once members start to have children, the children themselves can't give the same commitment because they are not old enough to understand the teachings
• Amish sect hasn't died out and compromised, it has remained the same and kept its values
• Protestant work ethic


  Sects with an ascetic creed will encourage their members to work hard and save money, as a result the members are upwardly socially mobile once they have acquired their wealth so will no longer want to belong to an organisation that caters for marginal members