Beliefs

• Bellah (1960s ) took a Neo-functionalist approach in defining religion in a post -traditional society ( increase of secularisation ) he observed the rise of civil religion in America where they combined their traditional Christian values with those of the state ( American patriotism )
• Bellah stated that civil religion became a way of life for Americans , believing in a national identity based on 'American ideals ' and argued that americanism served as an assimilation for immigrants making sure they followed American values
• civil religion includes artefacts texts , specific ceremonies and rituals which were classed as sacred to Americans , ( constitution , independence day , pledge of alliance ) , Politicians such as raegan and trump ( political right ) used civil religion utilising it to help promote their campaigns to their voters .
• civil religion is critisised for being of resemblance to nationalism and aswell as its failure to adequately address the racial inequality and social exclusion (racial segregation and challenges minority groups still face )
• weber - substantive definition of religion - he argued that the role of religion was to fulfil individuals psychological and social needs which help shape individuals view of the world and influencing their economical behaviour
• WEBER focused on calvanism and how it was connected to the growth of capitalism and industrial nations . he identified key features of Calvinism( strong work ethic and reinvesting their profit back into their businesses ) which helped in the rise of capitalism .
• WEBER also put forward the three types of religious authority being (charismatic , traditional and rational )
• weber was criticised for :

  ignoring nations that slowly industrialised such a Scotland

  only applying Protestantism to fit his thesis and rejecting elements of Calvinism that did not approve of his idea
• Marx suggested that religion was the "opium of the people" where people were distracted from the realities of their lives and provided individuals with a temporary relief from the oppression of capitalism . Religion suggested to them that their reward for their hard work from this life would be served to them in the after life which motivated the proletariat to carry on working
• Marx stated that religion also acted as a conservative force which maintained the inequality of society as it inhibited social change from occurring , preventing a revolution from occurring ( communism)
• MARX is criticised for :

  • ignoring the positive aspects that religion provides for individuals ( such as a community and sense of belonging ) collectivism
  • ignores the functions religion provides in eastern society ( hinduism , giving back , charity ) focusing mainly on western society
  • ignores how individuals have personal choice and can reject the structural influences religion provides ( atheists )
• Marx saw religion as a conservative force which helped to uphold ruling class power and oppression ( using religion to pass on their ideology to the proletereat in order to be able to exert control over them ) . The superstructure , religion , helps the ruling class in maintaining inequality and justifying the social hierarchy .
• there is no universal definition for religion and what constitutes it , this is due to the diversity of belief systems (globally) .
• Theistic religion focus on sacred powers of God and the belief that God is the ultimate source of all things ( they may believe in one god , monotheistic , or believe in many gods , polytheistic ).
• christianity is one of the most popular religions globally having approximately 2 billion followers , taking up 30% of the population . (monotheistic - Jesus Christ ) and is split into 3 different denominations - catholic Protestant or orthodox , they all hold different teaching or versions of christianity and the sacred text ( bible )
• islam is the second most popular religion holding 25% of the global population (teachings of Allah and prophet Mohammad - monotheistic )
• 15% of the global population follow the teachings of hinduism ( can be seen as a polytheistic or monotheistic religion) and belief in the supreme existence of brahman , the creator of the universe . Their belief in different dieties ( goddesses and gods separate them from different denominations of hinduism ) - difficult to explain through western terminology , however is highly influential for society
• buddhism is based of philosophies , practices and ceremonies that are meant to help people achieve enlightenment and not based on the belief of a god but rather buddha , and done through the three universal truth and separating yourself away from material needs and desire
• Taoism ( one of the approved religions in china ) - a philosophy that emphasises the importance of living in harmony with nature , more open to interpretation due to its diversity of having formal and informal denominations
• the three main approaches to defining religion is substantive , functional and social constructionist
• religion is the set of ideas and beliefs about the world
• substantive definition of religion is the belief in supernatural power that is unable to be explained through scientific means and empirical evidence , ( weber - stated that whether a belief can be classed as a religion or not depends on what is believed , such as in gods etc ) , helps to separate religion from ideologies ( set of beliefs and ideas that help to justify the position of something / someone in society )
• functional definition of religion ( Durkheim / parsons ) - religion is a social institution that provides a sense of meaning and purpose to life , helping to provide individuals with a social and psychological function , can aide in the maintenance of social order , social cohesion and harmony and help bring people together through their shared bonds
• social constructionist definition of religion ,( broadest of the three definitions )due to the diversity of religion it is hard to create one definite definition of religion and rather defined by those that practice it and the process of understanding how those sets of beliefs come into existance , use of interpretivist methods to help understand reasoning
• popper suggested one way in which religion can be differentiated from science and this was how religion is a closed belief system rarely being open to being challenged where as science is an open belief system where new ideas are constantly being scrutinised by its members as-well as being based upon direct observations and facts whereas religion is based upon faith and cannot be falsified due to the beliefs in supernatural
• ideologies may be referred to as more of a political term and the belief in cohesive ideas about politics e.g liberalism , socialism , conservatism . can also be based of the perspective of the person ( marxist , feminism ) .
• Marxist see the ideologies of the ruling class as a dominant belief system which help to reproduce and justify the social and economic inequality , which they use against the proletariat .
• The concept of ideologies for marxists is a source of control and manipulation by those with power ( ruling class ) over those without helping to keep those individuals compliant forcing them to accept the capitalist way, helping to create a false class conciseness helping to prevent a revolution through the use of ISA ( Althusser ) , which makes them believe that their position is deserved due to the inability to achieve in a meritocratic society and religion as an institution helps to do this
• femenists believe that society is controlled by patriarchal society where the position of men and their power is justified which also convinces women that their exploitation by men is due to the results of the division between male and female which is natural. male traits being of more value to society than those possessed by females . this also evident in religion due to the positions of women
• conflict theories suggest that ideologies help to maintain power differences between different social groups and religion helps to aid this .
• there is no universal definition for what science is but rather is described through the series of characteristics that it possesses , objectivity , value freedom , unbiased , based upon evidence and facts , being falsified and empirical evidence which lead some individuals to discount sociology as a science do to its interpretivist and subjective nature
• popper suggested that science is an open belief system and can be constantly scrutinised and challenged so our understanding of science is not fixed and based of observable facts whereas religion is based of blind faith
• Kuhn suggested that science is not as open as individuals suggest it to be and used scientific paradigms to help prove this point( body of knowledge which is developed over time and is accepted as the truth over time when challeneged and new information is discovered which replaces the old way of thinking) However this process is often delayed and science may not be as open as it suggests to be as some information may be rejected if it is in contrast with existing knowledge and cannot be seen as objective as it is dependant on those who make the choice of accepting the view
• science may also be see as not being objective and may be influenced by personal opinions and biases and external factors such as the body that fund their research and show what is intended to and reject what conflicts with their research therefore subjective and may be seen as a social construct
• Durkheim - functionalist - explained religion through a functionalist definition and argued that religions performs a major and essential function for society . helping to promote a form of social cohesion , and acts as a key institution in promoting value consensus in society and maintaining social order, it also acts as a conservative force , ensuring rapid changes in society are kept in check and also prevents anomie
• Durkheim studied the arunta tribe in Australia hoping to understand the function their belief system performed for the individuals and for the community itself . Durkheim classified their actions into 2 different catogaries , sacred ( activities that brought people together e.g rituals ceremonies ) and profane ( activities that were day to day activities and no particular meaning ).
• weber - protestant ethic thesis - argues that the protestant reformation led to the development of capitalistic societies due to the emphasis placed on hard work and thriftiness . weber states that the protestants had a strong work ethic and saw work as a moral duty and a means of achieving salvation . they also viewed money as a sign of god's blessing and success in business was seen as a sign of divine favour . this meant that many protestants became successful entrepreneurs and merchants leading to the growth of capitalism
• functionalists believe that religion has a positive impact on society and promotes social solidarity and social integration . it encourages conformity and obedience to authority figures and reinforces traditional values and norms . it also provides support during times of crisis and suffering .
• Durkheim viewed the arunta as being a primitive religious belief system which was based on sacred artefacts or 'totems' which acted as a focal part for their ceremonies and rituals which helped give these groups their sense of belonging and identity being a celebration for the collective conscience for society helping to create a bond between individuals bringing them together.
• Durkheim suggested that the four functions for religion are :

  • discipline ( norms and values help to regulate behaviour which leads to self diciilpline and social order )
  • cohesion (through religious ceremonies +traditions allows individuals to reaffirm their commitment to society strengthening social bonds
  • vitalising ( pass down similar religious traditions n+ vs from generation to generation
  • euphoric ( allows individuals to allleviate their frustrations and become part of something that is bigger than themselves and rationalising their actions as it has a purpose