Religion and social change

• Religion as a conservative force


  1. Defending traditional customs, institutions, or moral views

  2. Conserving or preserving things as they are, maintaining the status quo
• Religion's conservative beliefs


  • Opposing changes that allow individuals more freedom (e.g. Catholic Church forbids divorce, abortion, artificial contraception)

  Upholding 'family values', supporting a traditional patriarchal domestic division of labour (e.g. Hinduism endorses arranged marriage)
• Religion's conservative functions


  • Contributing to social stability (functionalist, Marxist, and feminist views)
• Religion and consensus


  Functionalists see religion as maintaining social stability and preventing disintegration, e.g. promoting social solidarity by creating value consensus and helping individuals deal with disruptive stresses
• Religion and capitalism


  Marxists see religion as a conservative ideology preventing social change by legitimating or disguising inequality, creating false consciousness in the working class and preventing revolution
• Religion and patriarchy


  Feminists see religion as legitimating patriarchal power and maintaining women's subordination in the family and society
• Weber's view of religion as a force for change

  • The religious beliefs of Calvinism helped to bring about the emergence of modern capitalism in Northern Europe

  Calvinism had several distinctive beliefs (predestination, divine transcendence, asceticism, idea of a vocation or calling) that unconsciously contributed to the spirit of capitalism
• Certain material or economic factors were necessary for capitalism to take off, but the lack of a religious belief system like Calvinism prevented it in other societies (e.g. Hinduism in ancient India, Confucianism in ancient China)
• The American civil rights movement

  • The Black clergy led by Dr Martin Luther King were the backbone of the movement, giving support and moral legitimacy to activists

  Religion was an ideological resource that protesters could draw on for motivation and legitimation
• The New Christian Right (NCR)


  • A politically and morally conservative, Protestant fundamentalist movement that has gained prominence since the 1960s

  Aims to make abortion, homosexuality and divorce illegal and take the USA 'back to God'

  Uses televangelism to raise funds and make converts

  Has been largely unsuccessful due to lack of support from more than 15% of the population
• Marxism, religion and change

  Religion can have a dual character, sometimes being a force for change as well as stability

  Religion can inspire protest and rebellion, expressing 'the principle of hope' - our dreams of a better life, containing images of utopia
• Liberation Theology (LT)


  • A movement that emerged within the Catholic Church in Latin America in the 1960s, with a strong commitment to the poor and opposition to military dictatorships

  Emphasises 'praxis' - practical action guided by theory, e.g. priests leading literacy programmes and raising political awareness

  Played an important part in resisting dictatorship and bringing about democracy in Latin America
• The Pentecostal challenge to Liberation Theology


  While LT offers a radical solution of collective improvement through political action, Pentecostalism's solution is conservative - individuals must pull themselves out of poverty by changing their personal behaviour
• Millenarian movements


  • Expect the total and imminent transformation of this world by supernatural means, creating heaven on earth

  Appeal mainly to the poor because they promise immediate improvement, often arising in colonial situations
• Gramsci's ideas on religion and hegemony

  The ruling class can use religion to maintain control through ideological domination or leadership of society (hegemony)

  However, religion can also challenge the ruling class by helping the working class see through the ruling-class hegemony
• Religion and class conflict

  • Differences in levels of militancy between coalminers and textile workers can be understood in terms of hegemony and the role of religion

  The miners benefited from the leadership of organic intellectuals - miners who were also lay preachers