...Functionalist theories of religion Understand functionalist theories and explain the role and function of religion, and how religion contributes to social stability. Durkheim on religion: He believes that it is a central institution for creating and maintaining value consensus and social solidarity. The key feature was not the belief in God, but a fundamental distinction between the sacred and profane found in all religions. The sacred and the profane For Durkheim, the key feature was not a belief in gods, spirits or the supernatural, but a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane found in all religions. The sacred are things set apart and forbidden, that inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions. By contrast, the profane are things that have no special significance-things that are ordinary and mundane. Furthermore, a religion is never simply a set of beliefs. It involves definite rituals or practices in relation to the sacred, and these rituals are collective-performed by social groups. The fact that sacred things evoke such powerful feelings in believers indicated to Durkheim that this is because they are symbols representing something of great power. In his view, this thing can only be society itself, since society is the only thing powerful enough to command such feelings. When they worship the sacred symbols, therefore, people are worshipping society itself. Although sacred symbols vary...
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...Parsons: Values and Meaning• Parsons sees religion helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes. He identifies two other essential functions that religion performs in modern society. • It creates and legitimates society’s central values. This is done my sacralising them. In the USA, Protestantism has sacralised the core American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline. This serves to promote consensus and social stability. • It is the primary source of meaning. It answers ultimate questions about the human condition e.g., why the good suffer and why some die young. Such events defy our sense of justice and make life appear meaningless, and this may undermine our commitment to society’s values. Religion provides answers to such questions, e.g. by explaining suffering as a test of faith that will be rewarded in heaven. By doing so, religion enables people to adjust to adverse events or circumstances and helps maintain stability Parsons: Values and Meaning• Parsons sees religion helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes. He identifies two other essential functions that religion performs in modern society. • It creates and legitimates society’s central values. This is done my sacralising them. In the USA, Protestantism has sacralised the core American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline. This serves to promote consensus and social stability. • It is the primary source...
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...Assess the of Functionalist theories in understanding religion today Functionalists have put forward their perspective on religion and how it benefits both society and the individual starting with how religion brings people together harmoniously, creating social cohesion and a sense of belonging as people believe in the same thing and all abide by the same rules. Religion creates and maintains a value consensus whilst giving society social order. By confirming to religious beliefs this allows us to gain morals and therefore Functionalists see religion as a positive aspect to society. Durkheim defines religion as ‘a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things’. He says all societies divide the world in to the sacred and the profane. Sacred are things set apart and forbidden, inspiring feelings of awe, fear and wonder. Profane are ordinary things that have no significance. Durkheim’s views on sacred symbols represents society’s collective consciousness which is the shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge that make social life possible; without such consciousness it would crumble. Participating in shared rituals binds individuals together reminding them that they are a part of a community. Religion defines values as sacred giving the people great power compared to the non-believers. Through collective worship society understands the moral bonds that unite them. Durkheim also argues that religion functions to reinforce the collective unity/ social solidarity...
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...Asses the usefulness of functionalist theories in understanding religion today Functionalists see society as a system that works together as a whole. Functionalism is based on a consensus; this is where each institution functions to help society by working together. Functionalists argue that religion is one of the institutions that promote social integration and social solidarity through value consensus. It is need to maintain social control Durkheim argues that religion brings people together creating social solidarity. This is done through ceremonies and ritual which unite people whether they are religious or not. He argues that most religions have ceremonies such as christenings, marriages, and funerals. Durkheim disguises between the sacred and the profane which are found in every religion. The sacred are things that are set apart or forbidden such as churches, temples. These things produce a sense of awe and respect where are profane does not. Profane are objects, activities which feature in individual’s daily life, such as shopping. Durkheim argues that ceremonies take people away from their profane part of life and bring into the sacred part of their lives. This creates a collective conscience as it unites society. Society today is more secular due to the reduction of religious beliefs rituals and ceremonies still bring people together. Functionalist would argue that even today religion still maintains social integration Durkheim argues that there is nothing special...
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...Evaluate Marxist views on the role of religion today (33 marks) Marxism is a macro theory meaning it looks at the effect of religion on society rather than separate individuals. Being a conflict theory it views the institutions in society to maintain inequality and uphold ruling class dominance- religion is no exception. Religion is considered a tool of social control as it uses hegemony to control the masses and legitimize ruling class superiority- simply used to keep the current status quo existing. Marxists believe that religion acts as the opium of the masses; this refers to the fact that it distracts and dulls the pain of oppression for the disadvantaged and those who feel like second class citizens, such as women or the working class. One example of this is that in the bible, it orchestrates that the meek shall inherit the earth”; this allows people to believe that although they are suffering now they will be rewarded in the afterlife and thus they accept their situation. Another example is that the bible says, “Rich man at his castle, poor man at his gate, god placed them high and low, their state he bestowed.” These examples are used by the ruling class as a theodicy of disprivilege to justify their position to themselves as well as to the masses’ -It acts as a smokescreen and dampens revolutionary spirit, preventing any chances of a revolution. Traditional Marxists argue that the ruling class have complete control of the infrastructure, meaning they control the superstructure...
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...Evaluate Feminist views on the role of religion in society today The feminist school of thought is not just an ideology nor paradigm that can be accepted; but has been (and may always will be) a growing political movement for the equality of women, fair treatment of females all over the globe and annihilation of the oppression of patriarchy and misogyny. Feminist pioneers include Oakley and Woodhead who are usually the face of modern feminist ideology. There are many different types of feminists in the world today: Liberal, Marxist, Radical and Black feminists all play a part in the fight for female equality with men and many of their fights have been going on for very long times (one such example is the Suffragettes’ fight for the right to vote). The feminist school of thought is a structuralist theory and a macro-theory, focusing on the entire population rather than mere individuals. However feminists do take on board some ideas from micro-theory schools of thought such as their research methods – an example of this is when Ann Oakley conducted (unstructured) interviews with pregnant women for over 9 hours. On the basis of religion, the feminist school of thought (based on its ontological assumptions) would see religion’s role as a patriarchal and misogynistic apparatus of society. It’s possible to go far into history and look at the misogyny of biblical times to support the feminist’s point of patriarchy in society. Christ Jesus had 12 male disciples. King Solomon, nearing...
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...“Assess the usefulness of consensus theories such as functionalism, to our understanding of contemporary society”. Functionalism is a structural consensus theory; it explains society in its totality, and assumes that the social world exists in a state of harmony. For functionalists such as Durkheim, society is a living, external organism, and its existence precedes its members; “society makes man (or woman)” in other words. Such a view of society has been massively useful for understanding the world we live in on a macro scale, and the fundamental propositions of the likes of Durkheim and Parsons constitute a huge area of contemporary sociological thought, specifically for the political and sociological right. However, it is clear that functionalism is no longer “in vogue”, and many actually see it as outdated and out of fashion, as its utility has been limited by a number of damaging criticisms and challenges from other sociological theories. Nevertheless, it has paved the way for much sociological research and continues to provide a useful explanation of society. In essence, functionalists see society as a “body”, which is composed of many different “organs” (institutions) which all functions together for the benefit of the whole. The social anthropologist Radcliffe-Brown for example, proposed that individuals are organised into society just as cells are organised into a body. Individual cells may die, but they are replaced and the body lives on, just as individual members...
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... a) Identify and briefly explain some of the ways in which religion could be said to ‘exert social control over the members of society’ (June2006) b) Identify and briefly explain some of the ways in which functionalists see religion meeting the needs of society and / or individuals. (June 2007) New syllabus: 12 mark questions a)Using material from item a and elsewhere, briefly examine the extent to which religion can still be said to be functional for individuals and society (June 2002) b) Briefly examine the evidence and or arguments in favour of the view that religion can act as a force for change in society (June 2006) c) Briefly examine post-modernist views on the nature and role of religion (June 2007) NEW SYLLABUS: 40 mark essay questions • Assess the role and functions of religious institutions and movements in contemporary society. (40) Sample A2 paper (Issued May 2000) • Evaluate the view that religion acts as a conservative force in modern society (40) Jun 2001 “The main function of religion is to provide people with a code of behaviour which regulates personal and social life.” Assess the extent to which sociological arguments and evidence support this view of religion in modern society (40) January 2002 Assess and evaluate the relationship between religion and social change. (40) Jan 2003 Assess the view that in most societies, religion functions more to cause conflict than to bring about harmony...
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...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 sociologist Bellah...
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...CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS GCE Advanced Level MARK SCHEME for the May/June 2014 series 9699 SOCIOLOGY 9699/33 Paper 3 (Social Inequality and Opportunity), maximum raw mark 75 This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have considered the acceptability of alternative answers. Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for Teachers. Cambridge will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes. Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2014 series for most IGCSE, GCE Advanced Level and Advanced Subsidiary Level components and some Ordinary Level components. Page 2 1 Mark Scheme GCE A LEVEL – May/June 2014 Syllabus 9699 Paper 33 (a) Explain how the achievement of pupils may be influenced by pupil sub-cultures. [9] 0–4 A few general observations about pupils’ educational achievement, with no direct links to the question, would be worth 1 or 2 marks. A basic account of what is meant by pupil sub-culture, with no further development in relation to the question, would be placed in the higher part of the band. 5–9 Lower in the band, answers are likely to provide a basic...
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...Explain the contribution of functionalism theory to our understanding of the role of religion in society. Functionalism sees society like a human body. In order for it to work effectively all parts of the body must function properly. For society to work therefore everyone within it must function and behave properly. Functionalists argue that any society has certain functionalist prerequisites (certain basic needs or requirements). These must be met for society to survive and include care for the young and socialisation of new generations into the culture of society. Social institutions such as family, religious institutions meet functional prerequisites, maintaining order and stability in society. This stability is based on socialisation into norms and values on which people can agree. These norms and values are known as value consensus and it is this consensus that functionalists believe maintain a peaceful society without much conflict between people and groups. Emile Durkheim stated that religion has three major functions in society: it provides social cohesion to help maintain social solidarity through shared rituals and beliefs, social control to enforce religious-based morals and norms to help maintain conformity and control in society, and it offers meaning and purpose to answer questions about the unknown. Religion, he argued, was an expression of social cohesion, promoting social solidarity. Bronislaw Malinowski studied natives from the Trobriand Islands of New...
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...As an immigrant, I spent most of my life in the Middle East, specifically the Islamic Republic of Iran. As known by many and popularised by the media, Iran is a very religious country. In fact, religion has found its way into the education system and most households. During my study back there, religion was a mandatory subject for all students who were past grade five, and Quran was taught to students starting from the second grade. Subsequently, most students grow up with the religious beliefs taught to them from a very young age and they would take initiative acting in accordance to the structure, which might come across as primitive to the western culture. This is a very apparent example of religiosity of the state in Iran. Ever since the...
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...which religion can still be said to be functional for individuals and for society (18 marks) Functionalists define religion as promoting social solidarity and integration. This can be described using the biological analogy- each segment of society performs a function, this maintains an equilibrium, without which society would disintegrate. Functionalists see religion as contributing positively to society, as it performs functions for the individual as it creates a sense of purpose for life, both religion for society and the individual then creates equilibrium. Durkheim argued that society worships the sacred and the profane, “The scared” are objects that set religions apart, and they are used to inspire individuals and bring other individuals together, an example of this is The Bible, The Bible is a sacred object for Christians, The Bible can bring the Christian community together as it is something that the religion worships. Durkheim believes that when people worship their sacred objects they are worshipping society. This is shown in Toteism religion, the worship of objects influence the tribe, the Aruntas, way of life. This reinforces solidarity and cohesion. Some can also say religion creates a “Collective Conscience”, as the sacred symbols can reflect society, the rituals of the religion maintains the social solidarity, and gives a sense of belonging as others share the same values and norms. This therefore suggests it has a function for society through the theory of...
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...There are three primary sociological theories discussed in Chapter One of the text, Introduction to Sociology. Briefly summarize each theory and the major differences across the Functionalist, Conflict, and Symbolic Interaction perspectives. The Structural Functionalists Structural functionalist theory was formulated by Radcliffe-Brown, and expounded by Evans-Pritchard: The structural functionalist sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability and focuses on the relationships between the various social institutions like government or religions. This theory recognizes that there is an inherent drive within human societies to stick together and strive toward equilibrium, the cohesion issue. Social inequality refers to any scenario in which individuals in a society do not have equal social status. Social cohesion describes the bonds that bring people together in a society. Interdependence is a central theme referring to the parts of society sharing a common set of principles. (Vissing, 2011) The Conflict Theorists The conflict theory focuses on the negative, conflicted, and ever-changing nature of society by emphasizing the social, political, or material inequality of a social group with a ruling class and a subject class including classes, genders, races, religions, etc. Within society people have differing amounts of material and non-material resources (the wealthy vs. the poor) and that the more powerful groups...
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...INTRO Some sociological theorists see religion as being conservative in the sense that the role of religion is to reinforce or promote social order. Durkheim advocated religion is social cement Marx suggested religion is a form of social conflict. Nevertheless, there are alternative approaches identifying the way in which religion is a force for social change. However, the debate between religion being conservative and those who see it as force for social change should consider the significance of religious beliefs and institutions in contemporary society. Durkheim – functionalist Religion is a conservative force which functions to maintain social order in society Studied religion is primitive societies, an aboriginal Australian tribe specifically Concluded religious ceremonies reinforced social solidarity. Parsons – functionalist Equally Parsons believed that religion plays an important role in society Religion gives meaning Enables people to make of their situation For example, uncertain events which arise such as death and natural disasters. Criticisms of functionalists Functionalist claims can be criticised for consensual assumptions as it completely ignores how religion is in fact a source of social conflict. For example the ongoing conflict in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants. Functionalists fail to highlight that religion can be disruptive within society instead of being purely consensual...
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