...Here's an essay plan for.. "Assess the view that religion inhibits change". The studies with a "*" next to them are what I'd mention, but I've included the studies which would work. Paragraph 1 - Introduction - Give a definition of Social Change and state that the three founding fathers (Marx, Durkheim and Weber) were interested in social change. Paragraph 2 - Functionalism - I'd start by mentioning functionalism. Write a paragraph saying what it's about (organic analogy, socialisation, norms and values, etc). - Identify and explain some studies: -- Durkheim - Totem Poles -- Parsons - Core Values -- Malinowski - Life Crisis and Unpredictable Events* -- Civil Religions* - Link back by saying that due to religion being responsible for keeping norms and values running, society is unable to change. Therefore, functionalism inhibits change. AO2: Functionalism is sometimes considered too positive and ignores negative aspects of society such as oppression and conflict. Paragraph 3 - Marxism - Like Functionalism, Marxism states religion inhibits change. Write a little bit about Marxism and how it states that there is conflict between the middle and working classes. - Identify and explain some studies: -- Halvey -- Leech -- Hook -- Caste System* -- Camel Quote - "It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the gates of heaven".* -- Divine Right of Kings* AO2: Neo-Marxism - Otto Maduro and Liberation Theology. Could...
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...Assess the view that religion is a force for social change. (18 marks) Sociologist take different views on the role of religion on society. Functionalist sociologist such as Parsons argue that religion serves to help its members by providing answers and comforting them through challenging period in their life. Whereas Marxist and feminist believe that religion acts as a conservative force for society, in order to prevent social change. Weber argues that religion can be a force of social change. From his study of the ‘protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism’, he argues that Calvinist beliefs helped to bring about major social change, in particular developing capitalism in Northern Europe. Calvinist led an ascetic lifestyle by working long hours, practising self-discipline and shunning all luxuries. As a consequence of their hard work they became wealthier, leading them to take this as a sign of God’s favour and their salvation. Weber argues that the acquisition of more and more money is the spirit of modern capitalism. Therefore this shows that the religious Calvinist beliefs played a major part in the emergence of capitalism into the world. However other sociologist argue that religion is a conservative force as is aims to preserve and stabilises society, which in turn maintains the status quo. Although Marxist and feminist have different views on the role of religion they both agree that it contributes to social stability. Marxist argue that religion is a conservative...
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...The Reformation The Reformation was describing the changes of religion in England. Roman Catholicism was the primary religion, but during this time Protestants decided to challenge the Church's authority. The Church had been challenged before, but they were able to quickly put their challengers aside. It wasn’t until Martin Luther discriminated against the Church that a real problem was created. Luther discriminated against the church by calling the Pope and all the clergy servants of Satan. He preached that the Catholics had no right to interpret the Bible. He believed that if it could not be found in the Bible, then people had the freedom to do what they wanted. He taught that people were saved by their faith, not by their good deeds. The...
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...As we know, religions affect our life everyday at every level. “Religions can therefore be understood as operating at multiple scales: individuals and collective; local, regional, and transnational.”(Veldman, 4) Religions help us shape our philosophy and behaviors. “For example, the worldview it provides could shape how the individual or group interprets changes in the weather, and the resources to watch it provides access could influence member’s ability to adapt.”(Veldman, 4) So we believe religion could play a significant role in mitigation of the climate change. Veldman et al states 4 reasons of religion’s potential for helping to facilitate climate change in his book, social science, religions, and climate change; “first, religions may...
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...Should I Change My Religion The pioneer preachers imagined an honest store keeper who sold fabric by the yard and he measured each sale with a yardstick that had been mounted to counter. Eventually, his son, also an honest man, inherited the business and continued to measure fabric and rope with the same yardstick. Sometime later, a salesman stopped by the store with a free yardstick. The son declined the offer stating that his father had used the older one for fifty years and that he was satisfied to continue using it. Then, the salesman laid the new yardstick beside the old one to emphasize the ease of reading the numbers and to the surprise of both men the old stick was an inch short. It contained all thirty-six inch marks, but somehow...
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...Sociologists suggest that there is a relationship between religion and social change but there are two main arguments. One is that religion has not helped or contributed to social change as some sociologists as that religion is a conservative force, which believe in traditional values and beliefs about moral issues and that they oppose changes that would allow individuals more freedom in personal and sexual matters. For example the Catholic Church which forbid divorce, abortion and artificial contraception. Most religion’s as a conservative force also uphold ‘family values’ and often favour a traditional patriarchal domestic division of labour. Keeping roles separate and traditional, this shows that it is not acting as a force for social change and that it would like to keep things all traditional. Similarly it can act as a conservative force as it functions to preserve things as they are. It stabilise society and maintains the status quo. Functionalists argue that religion does this by it maintaining social stability and preventing society from disintegrating. Marxists and feminists believe that religion is an ideology that supports the social structure and acts as a means of social control, creating stability in the interests of the powerful, which helps to maintain the status quo by preventing the less powerful from changing this. Marx also sees religion as it prevents the working class from uprising and therefore helping to maintain the stability of capitalist society...
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...Religion can be both a conservative force and an initiator of social change”. To what extent to sociological arguments/evidence support this view. The view that religion acts as a conservative force stems from the structuralist theories of Functionalism and Marxism. Both see religion as facilitating the existence of society in its current form, although their views do differ substantially. For the Functionalist Emile Durkheim, religion, like many other social institutions, acts in the same way as one of the body’s vital organs, in that it “keeps society alive”. In other words, religion has a number of functions that serve the purpose of maintaining social stability and harmony. For example, functionalists believe that through the act of collective worship in the form of religious practices, religion helps bond and unite individuals; it acts as a “social glue” that promotes value consensus and social solidarity. Functionalists see religion as a conservative force in that it helps to integrate individuals and allows them to realise the “collective conscience” (a set of moral codes and values). In contrast, Marxists see religion as acting as a conservative force by preventing revolutionary change. In Marx’s words, “religion dampens the flames of working class revolution”; acting as an “opiate” which makes a life of ruling class oppression more bearable. For example, Engels claimed that the appeal of Christianity lies in the hope of “salvation from bondage and misery”. Those who...
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...to whether sociologists believe religion does or does not inhibit social change will be discussed throughout this essay. Whereas sociologists such as Functionalist and Marxists believe that religion acts as a conservative force, thus inhibiting social change whether that is positive or negative, others believe that religion is a radical force and a major contributor to social change Firstly, functionalists believe that religion socialises its members through promoting shared norms, values and morals which prevent change as it promotes integrity and social solidarity. Functionalists such as Durkheim and Parsons argue that life is impossible without the shared norms, values and morals enforced in society and without them, believe that society would fail. Durkheim sees religion as having traditional conservative beliefs about moral issues and many oppose changes that would allow individuals more freedom in their personal lives for example, the Catholic Church forbids divorce and abortion etc. This supports the idea that religion inhibits change because it upholds the functionalist ideology of ‘family values’ and often favour the more traditional and out-dated ideas of family such as the patriarchal domestic division of labour. However, it is hard to see how religion can socialise the majority of society and stop social change from happening when in today’s society, only a minority of people regularly attend church or believe in a traditional religion. Furthermore, Functionalist...
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...Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the contribution of religion to social change. (18 marks) Weber found that religion could cause social change, such as the Calvinism and capitalism. The Calvinists believed in predestination, so God had already chosen the elect to go to heaven and the individuals who hadn’t, could not do anything to change that. They believed that God was far above and beyond this words and greater than any mortal, that no human could possibly claim to know his will. This left the Calvinists feeling an ‘unprecedented inner loneliness’. When this is combined with the doctrine of predestination, this created a salvation panic amongst the Calvinists. They also believed in asceticism; self-discipline and self-denial. Refraining from a life of luxury. So, instead of spending a lot of money, they put money back into their business. And they believed in the idea of a vocation or calling. Before Calvinism, the idea of a religious vocation (a calling to serve God) meant renouncing everyday life to join a convent or monastery. Weber called this otherworldly asceticism. Calvinists knew God’s plan for humanity, which came from the Bible and it revealed that that they were put on Earth to do glorify God’s name by our work. So, for the Calvinists, this meant constant, methodical work in an occupation and not a monastery. However, work could not earn salvation; this was simply...
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...Middle East had numerous religions that persisted and changed during the time period of 600 C.E. to 1450. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are some of the main religions that continued during that time period. Many of the Middle Eastern people’s beliefs in religion have not changed since 600 C.E. to 1450. The religion that is still continued and the majority of people practice is Islam. In early 600 C.E. the religion of Islam originated in the city of Mecca. Mecca was chosen as the holy city because of the Ka’ba, which is a holy shrine dedicated to Allah and Muhammad. Islam follows the teachings out of the holy book, called the Qur’an. The followers of Islam include the believed that there was a prophet and he was named was Muhammad. They believed in an afterlife and that angels are real. Islam was and continues to be a monotheistic religion, that worships one god, Allah. There are the Five Pillars of Islam which are rules that the practicing people must follow. The religion is based on the Five Pillars are testimony of faith, praying five times a day, giving a zakat, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. The beliefs of the Islamic society did not change drastically between 600 C.E. to 1450. The Islamic world has changed over time as it has expanded beyond its cultural territories. The expanded Islamic world also improved their trade system and education system. The changes and continuities are largely due to its religion, trade system, political...
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...Asses the view that religion was mainly a conservative influence but today is more of a force social change (33 marks) Weber sees religion as a form of social change as he believes it brought about modern capitalism. He uses the example of Calvinists. Calvinism was a new religion formed where they believed God had predetermined idea of who would go to heaven and who would hell. This caused panic within the believers and as a coping mechanism they lived and ascetic lifestyle and reinvested their money to prove that they were worthy to be one of the chosen souls that got to heaven. This created modern capitalism as Calvinists would work to the top and reinvest their money into themselves instead of disrupting wealth equally, forming a class society. One criticism of Weber is that it was not the Calvinist belief system that brought about the capitalist attitudes that he claims but rather an alternative to earn money as they were excluded from society and professions. However that could be countered as other religious minorities were excluded and didn’t exceed bringing about modern capitalism like Calvinists did. Functionalists however would completely disagree with Weber as they see religion as a conservative force as they believe it maintains social stability. It is argued that religion performs this function by creating value consensus so people are less likely to pursue their own selfish interest, bringing a risk of society collapsing. For example in the biblical scripture it...
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...Assess the view that religion is not in decline but simply changing as a result of changes in wider society (33 marks) Secularisation theorists argue that religion is in decline. However, others have argued that religion is not in decline, but it is in fact changing. They believe it is changing in accordance to the changes within society such as greater individualism, consumerism and privatisation, all which present a shift towards postmodern societies. Grace Davie argues that religion isn’t declining but is taking a much more privatised form. She argues that we now have people in society who ‘believe without belonging’, this means people hold religious beliefs but don’t necessarily go to church because they don’t feel they have to go to church in order to be seen as being a religious person. Therefore, the decline in traditional religion is matched by the growth of a new form of religion. Davie notes a trend towards vicarious religion, which is where a small number of professional clergy practice religion on behalf of a much larger group of people. This pattern is typical in Britain where church attendance is low, but people still use the church for rites of passage in order to ‘hatch, match and dispatch), this related to people using the Church for occasions such as Baptisms, weddings and funerals. She compares vicarious religion as the tip of an iceberg and sees it as evidence for believing without belonging. For example, people may not be able to attend church due to work...
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...Assess the view that religion is not in decline but simply changing as a result of changes in wider society (33 marks) Wilson defines secularisation as when “religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose social significance”. Secularisation theorists argue that religion is in decline. However, others have argued that religion is not in decline, but it is in fact changing. They believe it is changing in accordance to the changes within society such as greater individualism, consumerism, or a shift towards postmodern societies. Grace Davie argues that religion isn’t declining but is taking a much more privatised form. She argues that we now have believing without belonging, where people hold religious beliefs but don’t necessarily go to church because they don’t feel they have to go to church. Therefore, the decline in traditional religion is matched by the growth of a new form of religion. Davie notes a trend towards vicarious religion, which is where a small number of professional clergy practice religion on behalf of a much larger group of people, who experience it at second hand. This pattern is typical in Britain where church attendance is low, but people still use the church for rites of passage (e.g. baptisms, weddings and funerals). She compares vicarious religion to the tip of an iceberg and sees it as evidence for believing without belonging. For example, people may not be able to attend church due to work commitments, they have children to look after or maybe they...
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...Assess the significance of religion as a factor in bringing about change in the nature of royal authority between 1540 – 1642 Between 1540 and 1642 England saw six different rulers; an examination into the religious changes, personality and relationship with parliament will bring about an answer in to the change of nature of royal authority. During 1540-1642 religious change led to rebellions and conflict proved highly embarrassing and potentially fatal to the monarchy ‘The church acted as a bedrock of authority. It had been a source of authority in late medieval society’ says Nicholas Fellows. After the reformation of the church Edward VI had to deal with situation of confusion left from his father. Edward was a firm supporter of the religious reforms and by 1549 England had made a caution step towards Protestantism. The western rebellion 1547 illustrated a strong sense of religious conservatism. The complaints that caused the rebellion were the changes that were thought to have taken place in the baptism and confirmation and the rebels wanted the restoration of many of the old religious practices. Article two’s call for the restoration of the six articles undermined all the work of the Edwardian reformation, they also had a strong desire for the ceremony and ritual of catholism. The rebels attacks communion and both kinds of the new prayer book which were symbolic of the new religion, clearly most of the demands was an attack of Protestantism and furthermore an attack...
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...Assess the view that religion was once mainly a conservative influence but today is more a force for social change (30 marks) In the past religions role as a conservative force was portrayed by the monarchy, ruling the divine rights in medieval Europe, and the Egyptian pharaohs were considered as almost God-like figures and so no one questioned their authority. Feminists and Marxists both agree that religion is a conditioning device that oppresses people, diluting the demand for social change to protect the interests of the men and the ruling class. This is partially supported by the Functionalist approach, Durkheim expressed the belief that religion provides social cement, reinforcing traditional beliefs chosen by religious moral code; such as the 10 commandments for Christianity, for the good of society. However there are numerous examples of ways where religion has acted as a force of change, such as the war in Palestine, the wars in former Yugoslavia and in a positive way, the actions of religious leaders, such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King. In today’s society religion has acted as both a conservative force and a force of social change, as shown by ‘Islamic Fundamentalists’ in Iran and Afghanistan, and Christian fundamentalism reintroducing the teachings of creationism in the US. Religion is also seen to be a conservative force because it functions to preserve things as they are, it stabilises society and maintains status quo. Most religions have conservative moral...
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