Download Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen
Religion
Using a separate sheet of paper answer the following questions:
How do you define
religion?
What does religion mean to
you?
Do you believe in the
supernatural?
If you do believe in the
supernatural, how do you
imagine it to be?
Religion – A unified system of beliefs and practices concerned
with sacred things
Sacred – Holy; set apart and given a special meaning that goes
beyond, or transcends, immediate existence
Profane - Nonsacred
Sociologists do not study religion to find out its truths, rather they
study religion to understand the role in plays in peoples lives
Read “Religion at War” pg. 466
T/F Most wars are about religion?
Are religious wars a part of functionalism or conflict theory?
All societies have religion in some form…what is its function?
Emile Durkheim – 1st to study religion scientifically
His social functions of religion…do you agree?
-Gives formal approval to existing social arrangements
-Encourages a sense of unity
-Provides a sense of understanding
-Promotes a sense of belonging
Conflict Theory, Karl Marx &
“The Opiate of the Masses”
How did Marx see the powerful
using religion? Do you agree?
Max Weber & Social Change
through Religion
Spirit of Capitalism – The obligation to
reinvest money in business rather than
spend it
Protestant Ethic – A set of values,
norms, beliefs, and attitudes stressing
hard work, thrift and self-discipline
How did these ideas lead to social change?
What role did Calvinists play in developing these ideas?
Church – A life-encompassing religious organization to which all
members of a society belong
Denomination – One of several religious organizations that most
members of a society accept as legitimate
Sect – A religious organization that arises out of a desire to reform
an existing religious organization
Cult – A religious organization whose characteristics are not
drawn from existing religious traditions within a society
Branch
Davidians in
Waco, Texas
1993
Religiosity – Ways in which people express their religious
interests and convictions
How do people display religiosity?
Belief – what a person considers
to be true
Ritual – a religious practice
Intellectual dimension –
knowledge of faith
Experience – feelings attached
to the religion
Consequences – what happens
as a result of your choices
Snapshot of America pg. 480 – What generalizations can you make?
Secularization – Process by which the sacred loses influence over
society
How does Fig. 14.6 on pg. 485 compare with the chart on pg. 468?1
Fundamentalism – The resistance of secularization and the rigid
adherence to traditional religious beliefs, rituals, and doctrines
Why is fundamentalism so strong today?
Religion, Class, Politics, Science and Society