Download Chapter 13 Education and Religion

Chapter 13
Education and Religion
Chapter Outline
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Education and Religious Institutions
The Sociological Study of Education:
Theoretical Views
Education, Symbolic Interactionism, and
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Current Controversies in American
Education
Chapter Outline
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The Sociological Study of Religion:
Theoretical Views
Tension Between Religion and Society
Religion in the United States
Manifest Functions of
Education
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Cultural reproduction.
Social control.
Assimilation.
Training and development.
Selection and allocation of statuses.
The promotion of change.
Latent Functions and
Dysfunctions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The production of a generation gap.
The custodial care of children.
The creation of a youth subculture.
The rationalization of inequality.
The perpetuation of social inequality.
Conflict Model of Education
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The hidden curriculum teaches students
obedience and conformity.
Credentialism amounts to using
diplomas as passports to higher status.
Those of higher status can pass on their
status-heritage in procuring superior
education for their children.
Symbolic Interactionist
Perspective
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Two processes that take place within
the schools:
– interpersonal interactions
– self-fulfilling prophecies
Self-fulfilling prophecy
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Studies show teachers demand the most from
students who share their backgrounds:
 As a result, students learn less when they are
from a lower social class or different
race/ethnicity than is their teacher.
 When teachers assume that certain students
cannot succeed, they give those students
less opportunity to do so.
Social Class and Schooling
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Schools are a middle class domain
dominated by middle class teachers.
Middle class or upper middle class
children have likely been read to, and
given opportunities to understand art
and music.
Current Controversies in
American Education
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Tracking - the use of early evaluations to
determine the educational programs a child
will be encouraged to follow.
 High-Stakes Testing - In many school
districts, students must now pass
standardized tests before they can move on
to a higher grade.
 School choice - Options including tuition
vouchers, tax credits, magnet schools,
charter schools, and home schooling that
allow families to choose where their children
go to school.
Going to College
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45% of recent high school graduates
are enrolled in two or four-year colleges.
The number of minorities in college has
declined relative to Whites since 1975.
Non-Hispanic white women are most
likely to be enrolled in college and the
group most likely to graduate.
Educational Achievement of
Persons 25 and Older
% of High School Graduates
Ages 18 to 21 Enrolled in
College
Median Annual Income
Male
High
school
28,342
4 yrs.
College
49,984
Master’s
degree
61,959
Female
15,664
30,972
40,744
White
20,294
37,600
49,804
African
American
17,384
35,510
42,505
Hispanic
17,483
31,235
42,899
Sociological Study of Religion
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Sociologists define religion as a system of
beliefs and practices related to sacred things
that unites believers into a moral community
 Sociologists who study religion treat it as a
set of values.
 Sociologists examine the ways in which
culture, society, and class relationships affect
religion and the ways in which religion affects
individuals and social structure.
Religious Affiliation: United
States and Worldwide, 2000
Durkheim: StructuralFunctional Theory of Religion
Three elementary forms of religion:
1. Distinction between things sacred and things
profane.
2. A set of beliefs about the supernatural that
help people explain and cope with the
uncertainties associated with birth, death,
creation, success, failure, and crisis.
3. A body of rituals or practices.
Functions of Religion
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At the social level, religion gives the
tradition a moral imperative.
At the personal level, religion provides
support, consolation and reconciliation
in times of crisis or need.
Conflict Theory
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Marx saw religion as an “opiate of the
people.”
Modern conflict theorists are more
interested in how religion may act either
to express or repress class and
ideological struggles.
Weber: Religion as an
Independent Force
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Weber combined ideas from structural
and conflict perspectives.
Interested in the forms of religion and
their consequences for individuals and
society.
Argued that Protestantism incubated
fundamental values, such as the work
ethic which linked work to salvation.
U.S. Civil Religion
Important source of unity for the U.S.
 Beliefs: God guides the country.
 Symbols: The flag.
 Rituals: Pledge of Allegiance.
Distinctions Between
Churches and Sects
Examples
Churches
Sects
Catholics
Amish
Tension with society Low
High
Attitude toward other Tolerant
religions
Type of authority
Traditional
Intolerant
Organization
Charismatic
Bureaucratic Informal
Changing Religious
Commitment, 1962–2001
1962–65 2000–01
Belong to a church or
synagogue
73%
66%
Attended church last week
46
41
Have no religion
2
8
Religion is very important
to their own lives
70
60
Believe Bible is actual word
of God
65
33
Consequences of Religiosity
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People with higher levels of religious
affiliation tend to be friendlier, happier,
cooperative, and more satisfied with their
lives than others.
 Religious affiliation has also been linked to
socially conservative and authoritarian
attitudes that maintain the status quo.