Download A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices aligned with a

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
In this lecture we continue our
investigation of social institutions by
focusing on religion, specifically…
 The origins of religious life.
 The elements that define all religions.
 Types of religions across history.
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 A religion is a unified system of beliefs
and practices aligned with a society's
sacred elements.
 All current societies have a religious
system.
 All types of human societies across time
have had some sort of religious
institution.
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Emile Durkheim revealed that all societies divide
social realms into the sacred (holy) and the profane
(secular).

Durkheim discovered the origins of religious life
when he studied Aboriginal populations of Australia.
 Durkheim discovered that Aboriginal religion was born
from the collective effervescence that emerged during
group activities.
 During social gatherings sacred qualities were applied to
people and things; these sacred qualities represented the
ideals of society.
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Religion is a evolutionary product that was
selected as a solution to problems of social
organization; religion operates to:
1. Reinforce institutional norms
2. Regulate socialization and social placement
3. Legitimate tension-producing inequalities
4. Alleviate personal anxiety and tension
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All religions involve the following four
elements:
1. A concern with the sacred and supernatural
2. Rituals
3. Beliefs about the nature of the supernatural
4. Cult structures
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The sacred represents special qualities imputed
to objects and events that have been touched
by supernatural forces or that symbolize the
supernatural.
 The sacred arouses intense emotions, allowing
religion tremendous influence in mobilizing and
controlling human action.
 Supernatural forces are believed to affect natural
events.
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Rituals are stereotyped sequences of behavior
directed to evoke the powers of the
supernatural; they link the natural and
supernatural worlds by activating emotions
toward the sacredness of the supernatural.
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There are two types of rituals:
1. Calendrical rituals
▪ Rituals based on regular schedules, e.g. birthdates of Gods.
2. Non-calendrical rituals
▪ Rituals performed sporadically or in times of crisis.
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Religious beliefs consist of two components:
1. Cosmology
▪ A cosmology is a set of beliefs concerning the nature of the
universe.
▪ Cosmologies often include a pantheon (group of
supernatural beings who alter events in the natural world).
2. Values
▪ Religious values indicate what is right/wrong, and are often
codified into a religious code (e.g. Ten Commandments,
Ethics of Confucius).
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A cult structure is a corporate unit where rituals
made meaningful by supernatural beliefs are
enacted.
 Cult structures represent the level of social organization
where beliefs and rituals become integrated.
 Cult structures vary in terms of…
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Size
Degree of bureaucratization
Existence of professional clergy and reliance on lay clergy
Degree of centralization
Stability of membership and exclusiveness of membership
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There are four types of cult structures
(religious groups):
1. Cults
▪ A cult is a new religion with few followers,
whose teachings and practices are at odds
with the dominant culture and prevailing
religion.
▪ All religions begin as cults.
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2. Sects
▪ A sect is a loosely organized religious group
that is similar to but larger than a cult.
▪ Sects often feel substantial hostility from
and toward society.
▪ Sects emphasize evangelism (active
recruiting of new members).
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3. Churches
▪ A church is a bureaucratized organization with
structured rules and some sort of hierarchy of
authority.
▪ Worship in churches tends to be formalized and
less emotionally driven than worship in cults and
sects.
▪ Church membership not evangelical, but internal
(new members are children of existing members).
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4. Ecclesia
▪ An ecclesia (or state religion) is a religious group
that is integrated into the dominant culture to
such a degree that it is difficult to differentiate
where one begins and the other ends.
▪ Ecclesia provide cultural identities more than
concern the supernatural.
▪ Examples include the Church of England, the
Lutheran church in Norway, Islam in Iran and Iraq.
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 The origin of Judaism is traced to
Abraham, who lived about 4,000 years
ago in Mesopotamia.
 Judaism was the first religion based on
monotheism—the belief in only one God.
 Prior to Judaism, religions were based on
polytheism—the belief that there are many
gods.
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Contemporary Judaism in the United
States has three main branches:
1. Orthodox Jews (this group adheres to the laws
espoused by Moses).
2. Reform Jews (this group is more liberal, uses the
vernacular in religious ceremonies, and has reduced
much of the ritual).
3. Conservative Jews (this group falls somewhere
between orthodox Jews and reform Jews).
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Christianity developed out of Judaism and
is based on the belief that Jesus Christ is
the Messiah God promised to the Jews.
 During the first 1,000 years of Christianity
there was only one church organization,
directed from Rome.
 During the eleventh century, Greek Orthodoxy
was established.
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In the Middle Ages the Roman Catholic
Church aligned with the political
establishment, and became corrupt.
 Martin Luther led a reformation of the church
against the corruption of Rome.
 The Reformation marked the beginning of a
splintering of Christianity; today there are about
two billion Christians, divided into hundreds of
semi-distinct groups.

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Islam (followers are known as Muslims)
began in the same part of the world as
Judaism and Christianity; like the Jews,
Muslims trace their ancestry to Abraham.
 The founder, Muhammad, established a
theocracy (a government based on God being
the ruler, his laws the statutes of the land, and
priests his earthly administrators).
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After Muhammad’s death, a struggle for
control split Islam into two branches that
remain today:
1. The Shi’ites
▪ The Shi’ites are a conservative branch inclined to
fundamentalism, or the belief that true religion is
threatened by modernism and that faith as it was originally
practiced should be restored.
2. The Sunni
▪ The Sunni are generally more liberal than the Shi’ites.
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Hinduism, the chief religion of India, goes
back about 4,000 years but has no specific
founder or canonical scripture.
 Canonical scriptures are texts thought to be
inspired by God.
 Instead, several books expound on the moral
qualities people should strive to attain.
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Hindus are polytheists (they believe there
are many gods).
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A central belief is karma (spiritual
progress).
 Hindus believe that there is no final judgment, but
reincarnation—a cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
 Every twelve years, a purifying washing in the
Ganges River takes place. Millions of people
participate.
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About 600 B.C., Siddhartha Gautama
founded Buddhism.
 During meditation he discovered the “four noble
truths” which emphasize self-denial and compassion.
 Buddhism is similar to Hinduism in that the final goal
is to escape from reincarnation into a nonexistence
of blissful peace.
 Buddhism spread rapidly into many parts of Asia.
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 Buddhism’s four noble truths:
1. Existence is suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is desire.
3. Suffering ceases when desire ceases.
4. One must follow the “noble eightfold
path” to end desire.
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5.
Right occupation or
living
6.
Right effort
Right speech
7.
Right-mindedness
Right conduct
8.
Right ecstasy
1.
Right belief
2.
Right resolve
3.
4.
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Confucius (China 551-479 B.C.) urged social
reform and developed a system of morality
based on peace, justice, and universal
order.
 The basic moral principle of Confucianism is to
maintain jen (sympathy or concern for others).
 This principle means treating subordinates as
one would like to be treated by those superior.
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Major
Religions
of the
World
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 The functionalist perspective on
religion states that religion…
 Answers questions about ultimate
meaning.
 Creates social solidarity.
 Provides guidelines for everyday life.
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 The functionalist perspective on
religion states that religion…(cont.)
 Serves as an agent of social control.
 Helps people adapt to new environments.
 Supports a society’s government.
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 Functionalists also cite elements of
religion that are dysfunctional,
including:
 Religion as justification for persecution.
 Religion used by nations to justify war.
 Terrorism associated with religion.
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There are five common themes that
explain why religion motivates terrorists:
1. They believe their values are under attack by evil
forces that want to change the world.
2. They are convinced God wants action.
3. They believe violence will resolve the issue.
4. They are convinced God has chosen them.
5. Their perspective is nurtured by their community.
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Conflict theorists are critical of religion,
emphasizing that it supports the status
quo of a society and maintains social
inequality.
 Karl Marx claimed that religion was “the opium of
the people.”
 Religion is an escape for the lower class who hope
for a better life in the afterlife; it therefore blinds the
lower class to their worldly misery and allows social
inequality to perpetuate unabated.
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Conflict theorists cite that religion and
government are often connected.
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Religion thus becomes validated by law
and legitimates the social order, e.g.:
1. Individuals in a society are told that existing social
arrangements represents what God desires.
2. Christian “divine right of kings” (God determines
who is king; to disobey the king is to disobey God).
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Examples of how religion justifies the
social order (cont.):
3. Egyptian’s believed the pharaoh was a God.
4. Traditional Hindu teachings decree that
those attempting to change the caste system
will come back in the next life as a lower
caste member.
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Symbolic interactionist perspectives on
religion focus on how religion provides
values and meaning in people’s lives.
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Sacred symbols assist in communication and
creating shared realities.

Religion provides the basis for mutual group
identities and establishes norms that govern
the behavior of individuals.
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The importance and influence of religion
has changed in industrial societies, for
example:
 Church attendance has declined in most
industrialized countries (not in the U.S.):
▪ United States: 40% over the past 60 years.
▪ Canada: 60% in 1945; 20% in recent years.
▪ Ireland: 91% in 1973; 34% in 2005.
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Society
Percentage Claiming
Religion is “Very
Important” in Their Lives
United States
United Kingdom
Canada
Italy
South Korea
Germany
Japan
France
59%
33%
30%
27%
25%
21%
12%
11%
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 The industrial revolution caused a
decline in the influence of theistic
religions and allowed the emergence and
growth in influence of a number of
secular ideologies.
 New ideologies that emerged in Europe
during the 17th and 18th century reduced (or
eliminated) the role of supernatural beliefs.
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 The following new ideologies are
based on the belief that human
destiny is largely subject to human
control:
1. Democratic republicanism
▪ “Government of the people, by the people, and for
the people.”
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2. Capitalism
▪ Spawned by Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776).
▪ Free markets are necessary to promote economic
growth.
▪ Government intervention unnecessary and hindering.
3. Democratic socialism
▪ Assumes socialist principles are appealing to most
people.
▪ Means of production public owned; political
democracy essential.
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4. Revolutionary socialism
(communism)
▪ Abolishment of private property.
5. Environmentalism
▪ A moral code and ascetic purpose of humans to
forgo the exploitation of habitat and consumption
of natural resources for human purposes and
benefit to preserve nature.
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6. Nationalism
▪ The ideology that emphasizes the importance of a
nation or ethnic group.
7. Pragmatism
▪ Pragmatism offers no pre-conceived notions of
how societies should be organized, but rather
asserts that social institutions should be judged by
their consequences and those that prove
beneficial should be preserved while those that do
not should be eliminated.
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8. Hedonism
▪ Hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure.
▪ Increased time spent on consumer
entertainment, drug use, vacations, and the
like represent the value of hedonistic
lifestyles that define industrial cultures
(especially America).
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