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RELIGION
Sociology 101
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Religion
religions is a universal found in every culture.
Religion was defined by Emile Durkheim as a “unified
system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred
things”
 Durkheim stressed the social impact of religion

• Interested in religious
behavior within a
social context
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Durkheim and the Sociological
Approach to Religion
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Sacred: Elements beyond everyday life that
inspire awe, respect, and even fear
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Profane: Includes the ordinary
and commonplace
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Functionalism
Functions of Religion
Manifest functions
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Religion defines the spiritual world and gives meaning
to the divine
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Religion also provides an explanation for events that
are difficult to understand
1. the purpose of life,
2. why people suffer, and
3.
the existence of an afterlife
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Religion - Functionalism
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Those answers give people a sense of purpose
Strengthened by such beliefs, people are less likely
to collapse in despair when confronted by life’s
calamities
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The Integrative Function
of Religion
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Durkheim viewed religion as an integrative force in
human society
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Gives meaning and purpose to people’s lives
Gives people ultimate values and ends to hold in
common
Strengthens social integration within specific faiths and
denominations
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In some instances, religious loyalties
are dysfunctional
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Religion and Social Control: The
Marxist Approach
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Marx was an atheist who believed that the existence
of God was an impossibility
Marx recognized that religion promoted stability
within society, but it also perpetuated patterns of
social inequality
According to Marx, religion serves elites, by
legitimizing the status quo and diverting people’s
attention from social inequities
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Marxist Approach
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In his view religion often drugged the masses into
submission by offering a consolation for their harsh
lives on earth: the hope for salvation in an ideal
after life
Marx described religion as "the opiate of the
people".
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Table 13-3: Sociological Perspectives on
Religion
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World Religions
Diversity in World Religions
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85 percent of the world’s population adheres to
some religion
Christianity is the largest faith around the world
with about 34 percent of the population.
it includes the Roman Catholic Church, the
numerous Protestant denominations, and the
Eastern Orthodox Church with over 1.9 billion
faithful
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World Religions
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About 85% of world’s population adheres
to some religion
– Christianity largest single faith,
Islam is second
• Monotheistic and impose moral code
– Differences among religions exceeded by
variations within faiths
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Religion

the second largest is Islam with about 19 percent,
and is the fastest growing of the major religions.
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Monotheistic and impose moral code
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Figure 13-4: Religions of the World
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Table 13-2: Major World Religions
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Organization of Religious
Behavior
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An ecclesia is a religious organization claiming to
include most or all of the members of a society and
is recognized as the national or official religion
Ecclesiae are conservative, in general, and do not
challenge the leaders of a secular government
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Denominations
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A denomination is a large, organized religion not
officially linked with the state or government
A denomination tends to have an explicit set of
beliefs, a defined system of authority, and a
generally respected position in society
The United States has the most denominations in
the world. It is a result of the immigrant heritage
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Denominations
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Eighty-seven percent of the population identify
themselves as Christian, and the largest Christian
denominations is the Roman Catholic Church, with
about 57 million members.
About 80 million people, or 60 percent of the
religious population are Protestant, but they are
divided into hundreds of denominations
The Southern Baptist Convention, with about 15
million members is currently the largest Protestant
denomination
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Religious Organization
█ Figure 15.3: Largest Religious Groups in the United States by County, 2000
Source: D. Jones at al. 2002:592.
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Sects
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A sect can be defined as a relatively small religious
group that has broken away from some other
religious organization to renew what it considers the
original vision of the faith
Sect formation is very common in the U.S.
Sects usually exhibit a higher degree of fervor and
loyalty than more established religious groups do
To sustain their membership, sects rely on active
recruitment, of new members
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New Religious Movements
or Cults
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New Religious Movement (NRM):
Small, secretive religious groups that
represent either a new religion or a
major innovation of an existing faith
– Similar to sects
– Tend to be small
– Viewed as less respectable than more
established faiths
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Table 13-4: Characteristics of Ecclesiae,
Denominations, Sects, and New
Religious Movements
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Religious Behavior

Religious beliefs: statements to which
members of a particular religion adhere
 Fundamentalism:
rigid adherence to
fundamental religious doctrines
 Fundamentalism found worldwide among
most major religious groups
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The Secularization of Culture
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Sociologists use the term secularization of culture to
refer to a culture that, once heavily influenced by
religion, has lost much of its religious influence
The only sphere of influence that religion retains in
advanced societies is the family
It is no longer the primary cohesive force in
societies, having been replaced by nationalism and
other secular and political ideologies
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Religion in the Schools
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The Setting
 First Amendment
protects religious freedom
 In 1987, Supreme Court ruled states could
not compel the teaching of creationism in
public schools
 Creationists want Bible’s version of
creation of world taught as the only theory
of evolution or as an alternative theory
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Religion in the Schools
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Sociological Insights
 Supporters
of school prayer and creationism
feel there is too much separation in schools
between the
sacred and the profane
 Opponents argue a religious majority
in a community might impose viewpoints
specific to its faith at the expense of religious
minorities
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Sociological Perspectives
on Education

Education is social institution that formally
socializes members of society
 Number
of people age 25 or over with a high
school diploma increased from 41% in 1960
to more than 85% in 2004
 Those with a college degree rose from 8% in
1960 to about 28% in 2004
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Sociological Perspectives
on Education
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Education is social institution that
formally socializes members of society
– Number of people age 25 or over with a
high school diploma increased from 41%
in 1960 to more than 86% in 2006
– Those with a college degree rose from
8% in 1960 to 28% in 2006
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Functionalist View
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Transmitting Culture
– Exposing young people to existing beliefs,
norms, and values of their culture
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Promoting Social and Political Integration
– Common identity and social integration
fostered by education contributes to societal
stability and consensus
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Functionalist View
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Maintaining Social Control
– Schools teach students punctuality,
discipline, scheduling, responsible
work habits, and how to negotiate a
bureaucratic organization
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Serving as an Agent of Change
Schools serve as a meeting ground
where people can share
distinctive beliefs and traditions
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Figure 13-1: Percentage of Adults Ages
25 to 64 Who Have Completed Higher
Education
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Conflict View
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Education is instrument of
elite domination
– Schools socialize students
into values dictated by the
powerful, stifle
individualism and creativity,
and promote relatively
insignificant change
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Conflict View
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The Hidden Curriculum: Standards of
behavior deemed proper by society are
taught subtly in schools
Credentialism: Increase in the lowest
level of education needed to enter a field
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Conflict View
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Bestowal of Status
– Schools tend to preserve social class
inequalities in each new generation
– Tracking: Practice of placing students in
specific curriculum groups on the basis of
test scores and other criteria
– Correspondence principle: Promotes
values expected of individuals in each social
class; perpetuate social class divisions
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Feminist Views
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Treatment of Women in Education
– In 20th century, sexism in:
• Stereotypes in textbooks
• Pressure to study traditional
women’s subjects
• Unequal funding for athletics
• Employment bias
– Women have made strides in
continuing education
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Interactionist View
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Labeling approach suggests that if
people are treated in particular ways,
they may fulfill expectations
Teacher-expectation effect: Impact of
teacher expectations and their large role on
student performance
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Table 13-1: Sociological Perspectives on
Education
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Bureaucratization of Schools
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Weber noted five characteristics of
bureaucracy:
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Division of labor
Hierarchy of authority
Written rules and regulations
Impersonality
Employment based on
technical qualifications
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Teachers: Employees
and Instructors
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Teachers undergo many stresses
– Between a quarter and a third of new
teachers quit within their first 3 years
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Fewer students choose teaching as
career due to perceived low income
– In 2007, 4.7% first-year college students
were interested in elementary education
and 4.7% in high school education
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Student Subcultures
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In colleges:
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Collegiate subculture
Academic subculture
Vocational subculture
Nonconformist subculture
• Each student is exposed to competing
subcultures and must determine which
seems most in line with his or her
feelings and interests
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Homeschooling
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More than 2 million children are
educated at home
– Good alternative for children with ADHD
and LD
– Homeschooled children score higher on
standardized tests
– Some theorists cite lack of social
involvement as problem
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Figure 13-2: Average
Salary for Teachers
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Figure 13-3: Public High
School Graduates by Race and Ethnicity,
2014 (projected)
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