...intentaban a comprender el fenómeno de las religiones. Lo hacían a través del estudio positivo y la reflexión normativa. Dentro del estudio positivo diferenciamos el nivel científico ,es decir el estudio analítico ,desde diferentes perspectivas y el nivel fenomenológico , el estudio global del fenómeno religioso. Hay cuatro ciencias que tratan lo religioso. Entre ellas diferenciamos: * Historia de las religiones- es una ciencia humana o ciencia social que tiene por objeto de estudio las religiones, o más exactamente los conjuntos de prácticas religiosas y creencias religiosas, ritos y mitos. Se establece como disciplina diferenciada de la teología (estudio filosófico de la divinidad -incluyendo la consideración de su existencia) y de la historia de la Iglesia (una rama de la historiografía con marcado carácter confesional católico) a partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, en el marco del desarrollo de las ideas laicas, el debate de separación Iglesia-Estado y el inicio de otras ciencias, especialmente la antropología, la psicología y la sociología (antropología de la religión, psicología de la religión y sociología de la religión). Tiene una proximidad muy directa con otras perspectivas de estudio científico de las religiones: los conceptos de religión comparada , de mitología comparada (o mitologías comparadas); menos directa con la fenomenología de la religión (filosofía de la religión en términos consistentes con la orientación de los creyentes); y se incluye, con...
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...paradigms 2. Defining religion and measuring religiositySubstantive and functional definitionsGiddens' and Durkheim's definitionsWays of measuring religiosity (attendance figures, the census)Problems of measurement - Davie. 3. Functionalism and religionDurkheim, Parsons, Malinowski, BellahReligion as a conservative force 4. Marxism and religionMarx and EngelsReligion as a conservative force (Marx)Religion as an initiator of change (Engels) 5. Neo-Marxism and religionGramsci, Maduro, TurnerReligion as an initiator of change 6. Feminism and religionDe Beauvoir, El Saadawi, WatsonReligion as a conservative force 7. Weber and religionHistorical study - Calvinism, LutheranismModern view - rationalisationReligion as a past initiator of change 8. Postmodernism and religionLyon, Bauman 9. Religious fundamentalismDefinitions, examples, links to secularisation 10. Religious participationBy social group (age, ethnicity, gender and social class) 11. Religious organisationsChurch, cult, sect, denominationTroeltsch, Weber, Stark & BainbridgeWallis - NRMsReasons for NRM turnover 12. SecularisationArguments for - Wilson, Weber, Bruce (etc)Arguments against - Durkheim, Parsons, ArmstrongProblems of measuring secularisation - Davie NEW: my A2 students have produced brief summaries of some of the topics above. Here are their revision notes to help other students. Marxism and religion Marxism is seen as a social conflict perspective and Marxists such as Marx and Engels believe that religion is a tool of...
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...Religions et politique dans le monde, de 1918 aux années 1980 Si la Première Guerre mondiale a pu permettre un certain renouveau religieux, après l’armistice les croyants s’interrogent : comment Dieu a-t-il pu permettre de telles horreurs ? L’entre-deux-guerres va donc se situer dans la droite ligne du phénomène déjà observé à partir du XIXe siècle : les sociétés occidentales se sécularisent progressivement, voire même se laïcisent, qu’elles soient de majorité protestante ou catholique. Quant aux pays colonisés, les religions locales se trouvent bien incapables de faire pression sur le gouvernement de la métropole, d’autant plus qu’elles sont souvent occupées à lutter contre les missionnaires envoyés par ces mêmes métropoles. Après l’élection de Jean-Paul II en 1978, ce processus de sécularisation semble s’être généralisé, atteignant aussi les pays du Tiers-monde qui accèdent à l’indépendance. Mais le cantonnement apparent des religions à leur rôle spirituel n’est peut-être pas aussi strict que l’on voudrait le croire : les religieux étant eux-mêmes des hommes, la tentation est grande pour eux d’utiliser ce magistère moral qui leur est conféré pour influencer le cours de la politique. On est dès lors en droit de s’interroger sur les interrelations entre les religions et la sphère politique, à la fois au sein des politiques intérieures et extérieures des États et des mouvements politiques qui traversent les sociétés. Après avoir étudié les moyens très divers d’influencer la...
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...How Far Is Religion a Conservative Force? (33 marks). In the views of functionalism, neo-functionalism, feminism, and Marxism, religion is a conservative force that prevents social change from happening and maintains the current status quo. Yet neo-Marxism and Weber contrast this view by saying religion is used as a force for social change, while post-modernism argues we have the ability to ‘pick and mix’ our religion with the growth of new-age religions. This is all then contrasted by fundamentalism, which looks to bring about social change to take society back to biblical traditions and values. Before we try and figure out if religion is a conservative force or not, we should first define the difference between substantive and functional definitions in sociology: substantive definitions are more concerned with looking at what makes religion distinctive, while functional definitions look at how it is that religion contributes to society as a whole. Starting with functionalism, this is supported by Durkheim, Malinowski and Parsons, this views religion as a conservative force. Durkheim split all items into two different categories: the sacred and the profane. The sacred items were ‘special, unworldly and forbidden’, while all other ‘normal’ objects were just profane, such as a chair. Specifically, Durkheim focused his research on the Aborigines. He found that their Totems were sacred (a Totem was a carved animal), and they were often carved from bull roar wood, the most sacred...
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...“Religion can be both a conservative force and an initiator of social change” to what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? Sociologists such as Durkheim and Marx have argued that religion is a conservative force in the sense that it maintains the status quo, disagreeing with sociologists such as Weber and Gramsci who say it is a more radical force and prompts change, and even some fundamentalist groups have gotten involved to argue that religion is conservative in the sense that it keeps tradition and the old ways. Even feminists such as De Beauvoir have had a say in this matter. Functionalists and Marxists have the general consensus that religion maintains the status quo within society rather than it causing social change. They believe that religion acts as a conservative force preventing social change. However, if any change happens it is due to the changes in society that shape religion. Religion as a conservative force can be defined in two ways; the first way of defining religion as a conservative force is to refer to religion as preventing change and maintaining the status quo. The functionalist perspective and Marxists perspective both provide arguments to support this definition of religion as a conservative force. Durkheim supports the idea that religion is a conservative force with his idea of a collective conscience, which is the shared morals and beliefs uniting society. Durkheim believed that "religion promotes social solidarity."...
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...Strong leaders are made from those who have struggled in their lifetimes or from those who are motivated by a cause. A life fraught with hardships and difficulties inspires greatness. Good leaders take the difficulties and turn them into fuel to make a difference. In the 1100s, Richard I of England fought for his religion during the Third Crusade against his formidable enemy, Saladin, sultan of Egypt (Regan 1998, 15). Richard also kept an eye on his throne while he was away fighting in foreign countries. Richard earned the French nickname “Coeur de Lion” – “Lion-Hearted” – for overcoming family struggles, his recurring military success, and his aptitude as a leader. Richard I’s religion was the reason he got involved in the Third Crusade, in his attempt to recapture Jerusalem. He had been a devout Christian since birth like the rest of his family. He grew up in southern France...
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...1. Appeal of Calvinism o They held important geographic areas and were heavily represented among the more powerful segments of French society o 2/5 of French aristocracy joined * They hoped to establish within France a principle of territorial sovereignty akin to the Peace of Augsburg * Calvinism served the forces of political decentralization. Calvinist conversations among powerful aristocrats as a means to achieve political goals o John Calvin and Theodore Beza saw this as a means to advance their cause o Beza converted Jeanne d‘Albert, the mother of the future Henry IV o The prince of Condé was converted by his Calvinist wife in 1558 o Calvinist religious convictions proved useful to their political goals Two main reasons to become a Calvinist with something to gain from the other o Religious Resistance made Calvinism a possible religion in Catholic France Secular/political reasons cast suspicion on religious intent Wanted to spread Calvinism, the religion As she had earlier sought Protestant support when Guise power threatened to subdue the monarchy, she now sought Guise support as Protestant influence grew. 1. Protestant Resistance Theory * Protestant leaders view on resistance against the emperor: o Luther: * approved resistance to the emperor after the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 o Calvin: * Condemned wilful disobedience and rebellion against lawfully constituted governments as un-Christian...
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...Introduction The Hispanic world is dominated mainly by Catholicism. It is estimated that in the United States alone about 70% of Hispanics claim their practicing religion as being Catholic. Hispanic Catholics believe that health is a gift given by god and should not be taken for granted. The prevention of illness and injury is an accepted practice that is accomplished through prayer, the wearing of religious medals or amulets and keeping religious relics in the home. The visiting of shrines, offering prayers and the lighting of candles is a frequently observed practice. Many homes have shrines setup with statues and pictures of saints and candles are lit here and prayers are recited. Other notable minority religions of the Hispanic world also include: 1) Protestant 2) Judaism 3) Islam. Catholicism When the Spanish conquered the new world they were determined to spread the Catholic faith with no regard to the indigenous religions already present at the time they arrived. This introduction of the Catholic religion to the indigenous peoples brought about what is called religious transculturation when the Catholic religious practices mixed with the indigenous religious practices. Transculturation created an incredible variety of celebrations, rituals and physical representations of the elements of the Catholic religion such as Jesus, the cross, the saints, the novenas and the rituals in general. Celebrations Many of the celebrations of the Catholic Hispanic world are...
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...Ethnics govern our behavior everyday of our lives. There are many different factors that shape our ethical world view such as family, religion, experience, and authority. Everyone does not have the same concept of ethics, everyone have his or her own ideas of right and wrong. Since ethics are different for each person, there would be different paths on the process of making a ethical decision. Beyond personal ethics, there are ethical systems are defined by religious systems and by our governing system. In our country we follow a “Judeo-Christian ethnics” system. That type of system lays out such behaviors such as respecting other’s property, honoring parents, and being kind to others. So overall, as society we try to adhere to such guidelines. But even with an ethical system like that, there are still laws in place by our government to ensure everyone is treated ethically. Even though each person follows a set of ethical standards, ethics works effectively when there are consequences to our actions. Knowing that there are consequences, people will choose different ethical choices than if there is no consequences. There are many laws and rules established by our government just to make sure we all are following ethical standards. By placing forms of punishments, our ethical decision making is always influenced to avoid punishment. Religions also place punishments to influence people ethics such as the concept of “hell” in Christianity. Like personal ethics, there are also...
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...Most of the value and customs of east Asia are laid by following the roots of their religions. Daoism and Confucianism are two of the most popular religions in China. Daoism or also known as Taoism , is traced to the collection of poems called the Dao dejing ( The classical of the Way and Its Power). For Daoism , daoist truths must be experienced by oneself. The Dao is a manifest in the yin and yang forces. The Yang is described as as force representing the active, hard, warm dry, bright, positive masculine, and the yin has the exact opposite of the previous descriptions. These two are complementary forces which must be in balance in order to de ideal. In Daoism , everything in nature consist of these two energies. In Daoism the main problem with society is that one does not know who they truly are and we keep resisting ourselves from our actual self. In order to be in harmony, ones goal is to have a natural and simple life. This can be done by practicing the Wu wie which means inaction or nonpurposeness, meaning no ambitions, no desires, no needs. If a person is able to achieve such , they would be able to live the natural and simple life and be in harmony with the Dao. Now, the other religion also commonly used or lived by in china is Confucianism. This religion was from the time of Confucius, he was the founder. This religion was preoccupied with the way of social harmony, instead of the cosmic harmony as it was seen in Daoism. In Confucianism, humans are improvable by...
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...conversion to Islam. Theory is valuable in so far as it illuminates different aspects of a phenomenon. Various theoretical approaches include some dimensions and exclude others. Scholars of conversion must be aware of theoretical issues and systematically utilize theoretical options with sophistication. Such an approach will expand understanding of conversion and also enhance comparative studies of conversion. Theoretical orientations considered in this paper include: globalization, post-colonial, feminist, cross-cultural, religious/spiritual, intellectualist, narrative, identity, ritual, psychoanalytic, archetypal, attribution, attachment, process/stage, and Islamization theory. L’auteur analyse et offre un panorama des théories disponibles pour réaliser une étude des...
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...The idea of war is abhorred by the overwhelming majority of people, so why is it still a part of reality today? Whether the reason is for economic or territorial gain, regime change, or religious influence, involved parties always attempt to rationalize the actions of war. How can war be justified if it results in the destruction of entire cities and the loss of innocent lives? The justification of war is one of the most provocative debates in the history of mankind. A theory that aims to clear up the circumstances where war is morally tolerated is the “Just War” theory. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the just war theory is: “The notion that the resort to armed force is justified under certain conditions; also, the notion that the...
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...After the discovery of the New World, many European countries sought to explore the lands. The countries of Spain and England wanted to set foot in North America. While they all had their own reasons, the three main reasons for their exploration were economic, religious, and for individual glory. When Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain in 1492, his original goal was to find riches in Eastern Asia. Throughout the rest of the European Exploration, this remained a primary goal of the explorers. When the New World was discovered, many explorers believed that it was just a small body of land that sat between Europe and East Asia. Because of this, many explorers, such as John Cabot, still attempted to find routes to the West Indies. John Cabot...
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...To what extent is religion a Conservative Force? (33) Religion could be seen as a Conservative Force from different perspectives such as: Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism. However, other perspectives disagree with this and see religion as a Force for Social Change. There are different ways in which sociologists define religion. There is a substantive definition, and functional definition and a social constructionist definition. Substantive definitions focus on the content or substance of religion belief such as the belief in God or the supernatural. Functional definitions focus on the psychological functions it performs for the individuals or society. Social constructionists focus on how the members of society define religion themselves: they argue that it is impossible to produce a single universal definition of religion to cover all cases because different people have different definitions of religion. Religion can be seen as a conservative force in two different senses: it is seen as conservative in the sense of being ‘traditional’ as it upholds traditional beliefs about how society should be organised. It is also seen as conservative as it functions to preserve things as they are. Functionalists see society as a system of interrelated parts or social institutions. Each institution performs certain functions which each contribute to maintaining the social system by maintaining a need. The key feature of religion was not a belief in Gods, Spirits or the Supernatural,...
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...la première partie de la question, nous allons définir les six modes de connaissance de la réalité, qui sont les suivantes : la magie, l’animisme, la religion, la philosophie, la théologie et la science. Par contre, avant de commencer, nous trouvons important de définir la nature. « La nature est la totalité des choses, d’évènements, de faits et de phénomènes qui se transforment en écosystèmes et nous pouvons distinguer 2 types de nature : la nature naturante et la nature dénaturée » (Samedy : 2012 : p.405). La nature naturante représente les écosystèmes qui n’ont pas été sujet du processus du travail humain rationnel et la nature dénaturée sont les écosystèmes dont les formes originales d’existence ont été influencées, changées et/ou transformées par l’être humain rationnel. Les connaissances ont grandies dans la nature et au fil du temps, différents modes de connaissances ont été développés et les phénomènes observés dans chaque mode de connaissance ont évolués. Pour bien comprendre la connaissance, il faut l’observer comme un élément pouvant seulement fonctionner lorsqu’il y a un sujet pensant et un phénomène (ou objet appréhendé). Et c’est la représentativité du phénomène qui change d’un mode de connaissance à l’autre. Grâce aux connaissances, les êtres humains rationnels peuvent séparer l’aspect de nature et de culture. Maintenant, définissions les six modes de connaissances : 1. Le mode de connaissance magique : « La magie est un ensemble de...
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