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Religion
Profane and Sacred
Differentiating Between Ordinary & Extraordinary
• Emile Durkheim
– Religion focuses on things that surpass the
limits of our own knowledge
Profane – “outside the temple”- Ordinary elements
of everyday life
Sacred – That which is extraordinary, inspiring a
sense of awe, reverence, and even fear
• Religion – The social institution
involving beliefs and practices based
upon a conception of the sacred
• Ritual – formal, ceremonial behavior
• Faith
– Belief anchored in conviction rather
than scientific evidence
• If not science, what?
– Scientific sociology is interested in the
consequences of religious belief rather
than a direct critique of the belief
systems
Structural Functional Analysis of
Religion
• According to Durkheim religion has 3 major functions
– Social cohesion – Unites people through shared symbols, values,
and norms
• Totem – an object in the natural world collectively defined as
sacred
– Social control – The use of religious symbols and language to
control human behavior has always been with us
– Provides meaning and purpose – Personal spirituality allows
humans to pass through tough times without total collapse
• Critical Evaluation
– Downplays religion’s dysfunctions such as generating social
conflict and violence
Symbolic-interaction Analysis of
Religion
• Religion is socially constructed (although
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perhaps with divine inspiration). Through rituals
like prayers, fasts, observances we sharpen the
distinction between sacred and profane
– According to Peter Burger placing our brief
lives in some cosmic frame of reference gives
us the semblance of security and permanence
Critical Evaluation
– Socially constructed religion only works if we
ignore that it is a social construct
– Downplays religion’s link to social inequality
Social-conflict Analysis of Religion
• Religion serves the ruling elites by legitimizing
the status quo and diverting people’s attention
from social inequities
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– Disrupts cultures with attempts to “convert heathens”
– Focuses on the “better world to come” Marx called it
the “opium of the people”
Critical Evaluation
– Downplays religion’s efforts to promote social equality
as in the abolition of slavery and the civil rights
movement
Religious Organizations
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Church – organization that is well integrated into society
State church – formally allied with the state
Denomination – independent of the state and pluralistic
Sect – a type of religious organization that stands apart
from the larger society
– Leaders sometimes have charisma – extraordinary personal
qualities that can turn an audience into followers
• Cult – religious organizations that are substantially
outside a society’s cultural traditions
Religion in the U.S.
• RELIGIOSITY
– REFERS TO IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION IN A
PERSON’S LIFE
– TYPES:
• EXPERIENTIAL: EMOTIONAL TIES
• RITUALISTIC: FREQUENCY OF ACTIVITIES
• IDEOLOGICAL: DEGREE OF BELIEF IN
DOCTRINE
• CONSEQUENTIAL: TIE INTO DAILY
ACTIVITIES
• INTELLECTUAL: KNOWLEDGE OF RELIGION
Religious Practices Are Found to Be
Tied to Various Other Social Patterns
• Social class
– High achievement: Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and
United Church of Christ congregations
– Moderate achievement: Methodists and Catholics
– Lower achievement: Baptists, Lutherans, and members
of sects
– Jewish people tend to be represented among the
higher achievers due to stress on education and
achievement
• Race and ethnicity
– Many religions are tied to specific regions and societies
in America
• Irish Catholics, Anglo-Saxon protestants, Greek
orthodox, Russian Jews, etc
History of religion
• IN PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
– RITUALS PRACTICED 40,000 YEARS AGO
– EMBRACED “ANIMISM”
• ELEMENTS OF THE NATURAL WORLD ARE CONSCIOUS LIFE
FORMS THAT AFFECT HUMANITY
– NO FULL-TIME RELIGIOUS LEADERS
• IN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
– SCIENCE HAS OFTEN REPLACED RELIGION AS A SOURCE OF
COMFORT AND CERTAINTY
– SCIENCE IS SILENT WHEN IT COMES TO ANSWERING “WHY” WE
AND THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE EXISTS
– OFTEN THESE TWO BELIEF SYSTEM ARE AT ODDS WITH ONE
ANOTHER
Religion’s Changing Face
• Secularization – historical decline in the importance of
the supernatural and the sacred
– Religion isn’t going away, but rather some features are in decline
• Civil religion – A quasi-religious loyalty binding people in a
basically secular society
– American way of life has its core rooted in a moral belief system
• Religious revival
– New age spirituality flourishes
– Membership in mainstream churches dwindles
– Interests increases in Fundamentalism – a conservative religious
dogma that opposes intellectualism and worldly accommodation in
favor of traditional otherworldly religion
Fundamentalism
• Interpret sacred texts literally
• Rejects religious pluralism
• Pursues the personal experience of
God’s presence
• Opposes “secular humanism”
• Endorse conservative political goals
The Electronic Church
• Some organizations especially fundamentalist are
becoming electronic churches
• Prime-time preachers include: Oral Roberts, Pat
Robertson, and Robert Schuler
• 10 million regular watchers; 40 million watch some
every week
• The internet is one of the most recent modalities to
spread religion to people
• Pope John Paul II called it the “new evangelism”
Christianity
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2.0 BILLION FOLLOWERS
85% OF AMERICANS AND CANADIANS
CHRISTIANITY BEGAN AS A CULT
IT IS MONOTHEISTIC (ONE GOD)
JESUS CHRIST IS CENTRAL FIGURE AS
BOTH MAN ON EARTH AND SON OF GOD
PREACHES PERSONAL SALVATION
MANY SPLITS FROM ORIGINAL FORM OF
ROMAN CATHOLICISM
Islam
• 1.2 BILLION FOLLOWERS
• NOT ALL MUSLIMS ARE ARABS
• THE MIDDLE-EAST, ASIA, AND PARTS OF AFRICA ARE
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ISLAMIC-CENTERED
ISLAM IS THE WORD OF GOD AS REVEALED TO THE
PROPHET MUHAMMAD, BORN IN MECCA AROUND 570
THE QUR’AN URGES SUBMISSION TO GOD (ALLAH) AS
THE PATH TO INNER PEACE
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
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RECOGNIZE ALLAH AS THE TRUE GOD
RITUAL PRAYER
GIVING OF ALMS TO THE POOR
FASTING DURING RAMADAN
MAKING THE ONCE IN A LIFETIME PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA
Judaism
• 15 MILLION ADHERENTS WORLDWIDE
• NATIONAL MAJORITY ONLY IN ISRAEL
• JEWS BELIEVE THAT A COVENANT EXISTS BETWEEN
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GOD AND GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE
THE TORAH EMPHASIZES MORAL BEHAVIOR IN THE
WORLD
DENOMINATIONS:
– ORTHODOX JEWS ARE VERY TRADITIONAL
– REFORM JUDAISM IS MORE CHURCH-LIKE
– CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM ACTS TO BRIDGE THE FIRST TWO
BELIEF SYSTEMS
• ANTI-SEMITISM
– PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST JEWISH PEOPLE
Hinduism
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THE OLDEST OF ALL WORLD RELIGIONS
MORE THAN 800 MILLION BELIEVERS
FOUND MOSTLY IN INDIA AND AFRICA
NO SACRED WRITINGS LIKE THE BIBLE
PRINCIPLES:
– DHARMA REFERS TO CORRECT LIVING
– KARMA REFERS TO BELIEF IN SPIRITUAL PROGRESS
THROUGH REINCARNATION
• NIRVANA REPRESENTS SPIRITUAL PERFECTION
AND A RELEASE FROM THE CYCLE OF REBIRTH
Buddhism
– 350 MILLION PERSONS
• ALMOST ALL ASIANS
– RESEMBLES HINDUISM IN DOCTRINE AND
CHRISTIANITY DUE TO ITS TIES TO THE LIFE
OF ONE INDIVIDUAL
• SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA
– ACHIEVED “BODHI” OR ENLIGHTENMENT
– BECAME “BUDDHA”
– NO “GOD OF JUDGMENT,” BUT DAILY
ACTION HAS ITS CONSEQUENCES
Confucianism
– 100,000 PERSONS IN NORTH AMERICA
– PRIOR TO THE 1949 REVOLUTION, IT WAS AN
ECCLESIA: THE OFFICIAL RELIGION OF CHINA
– PERHAPS IT IS MORE A WAY OF DISCIPLINED
LIVING THAN A RELIGION