...Evaluate the view that new cults and sects are replacing traditional religion as the means for experiencing and expressing religious belief in the world today In this essay, I will be evaluating the view that cults and sects are replacing traditional religion as for expressing religious belief in the world today. To do this I will be referring to a number of sociologists view on the idea of sects and cults. New religious movements such as sects and cults have become more common over the years. Many people are becoming influenced by these religious groups which tell citizens in society if they join them they will lead a better life. Many sociologists have argued that NRMs are increasing in size and popularity due to unjust events people are seeing in modern society. To begin with, many sociologists have argued that NRMs are no big influence on society and are just really to some extent a way of showing societies change, which is sure to happen over the years anyway. Wallis identified three main kinds of new religious movements. These are world affirming, world accommodating and world rejecting groups. Sociologists have argued the one that is short lived than the rest is the world rejecting. This group is usually classed as a sect or cult in which they are always highly critical of the outside world and demand significant commitment from their members. An Example of one of these is the Unification church (the Moonies) founded in Korea. They reject the mundane the secular...
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...Assess the view that religious beliefs and practices are changing to reflect a new era of diversity and choice. (33 marks) Some sociologists reject the secularisations theory, they are beginning to say that instead of religion declining, it is changing, in terms of changing to reflect a new era of diversity and choice. Sociologists such as Davie argue that religion isn't declining but the need to publicise it is reducing, religion is taking a more privatised form. This can explain the decline in churchgoers; they no longer feel like they have to go to church to be religious, now attending church is a matter of choice rather than society frowning upon those who chose not to go. This has brought around ‘believing without belonging’, thus the decline of traditional religion is matched by the growth of a new form of it. Proving that modern society is not becoming increasing secular but forming new religions through choice and diversity. However, Voas and Crockett reject the claims Davie puts forward, explaining that if her thesis was to be true the British Social Attitudes survey from 1983 to 200 would show that belief in God is increasing, although it shows that not only is church attendance declining but also peoples belief in God. If Davie were right with new religions forming the surveys would've shown higher levels of belief. Bruce also interjects the view that if those who are religious are not willing to invest time into attending church, this must reflect the declining...
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...Religion and worship are a personal matter to most people. Discussing these matters with strangers, or writing about them may be difficult at the very least. I have never given deep thought to what my personal belief system is nor have I written out or explored my thought processes on religion. I have always thought what my belief system is what it is. I have never studied the Bible and I do not have such strong convictions that my ideas cannot change. While science continues to evolve and try to explain everything in the universe one thing remains constant on Earth, almost all humans, no matter where he or she live, have some sort of religious belief or religious tradition. Their beliefs may be structured and a commonly held conviction of a traditional religion or it may be something such as atheism. My personal beliefs are as follows; I believe in an all empowering entity. I believe in God. My belief in the trinity is as follows, God is the Heavenly Father, His son Jesus Christ came to Earth and died to atone for the sins of man, the Holy Spirit is within each person as long as the individual believe in God and Jesus Christ. I cannot explain how I came to these beliefs. My family has never been overly religious and we never attended church so my beliefs were not ingrained from birth. Me religious belief system is almost like an entity that you cannot grasp, I have it in my heart and mind but it is probably cannot be explained in writing. I was raised in a predominately...
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... | | |Name of Indigenous | | |culture/religion presented in |Pech culture | |Web site | | |Consider the examples of roles| | |and observances held sacred by|None of the roles and observances are being kept alive today. The church has banned them and deemed | |these people. Is this practice|them witchcraft. These people can not follow their old faith without persecution. | |being kept alive? | | |Has the culture/religion |This culture was forced to evolve and their traditional beliefs have been banned. This culture has | |evolved over time? |evolved into a new religion and new ways. The old traditions have been lost. | | |...
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...African traditional religions embraced all aspects of life. Juju (also known to western as Voodoo or vodun) is one of these many religions that are widely practice in West Africa and the Americas. Unlike the strict parameters that are drawn in western religions between the secular and non secular world, Juju is a traditional religion that is all surrounding in all aspect of ones life. This essay will focus on Juju religion in West Africa and how it end up in the Americas. In modern day, most people in the western world have been taught to tribute Juju existence and development exclusively to the Fon tribe who inhabit the country of Benin in West Africa. However, there are more than thirty five different ethnic groups in West Africa who are responsible for the development of Juju religion. Another popular misconception regarding Juju’s religion is that it was developed in Haiti by African slaves who were transported to the new world. This theory is wrong, due to Haiti only been an independent republic since 1804, and some anthropologists have estimated Juju to be as much as 10,000 years old. Juju religion was already well established, completely developed and widely practice religion prior to its arrival in Haiti. Juju is also the official religion in Benin, the only African country that still proudly recognizes it as traditional religion. Western faith are been imposed to other African countries in order to legitimize themselves as a civilized nation. The Juju religion was...
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...New Age Religion: The Body, Mind, Spirit Holistic Health and Modern Medicine Just like the world has evolved through time in almost every aspect, religions have not stayed the same either, new religions have been created with their roots in old traditions. Different religions have been formed and established with this day and age. Some are science-related; some are traditional; other religion deviates from the norm; and some consist of combinations of traditional and new ideas. Example of this is the New Age movement. However, it is not a new religion it is considered old but became popular only in 1970s. It is a compilation of different practices, beliefs, teachings and religions that are being practiced by different ancient societies around the world. This religion treats the body, mind and soul as one entity and considered them interconnected. It promotes traditional medicine from different cultures, religions and beliefs found everywhere in the world. It can also be viewed as holistic healing of illnesses and diseases (Puttick 129). Russell Chandler described it as “A hybrid mix of spiritual, social, and political forces, and it encompasses sociology, theology, the physical sciences, medicine, anthropology, history, the Human Potential movement, sports and science fiction” (17). Although New Age main point is to be something relatively new, making it the third larges religious group, its roots are as old as the eastern religions of Hinduism and...
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...Religion acts as a conservative force. Discuss. 33 marks Religion can be seen as a conservative force in two different senses. The first being that it is often seen as conservative in the sense of being ‘traditional’, defending traditional customs, institutions, moral views, roles etc. Basically it upholds traditional beliefs about how society should be organised. Secondly it is conservative because it functions to conserve or preserve things as they are. It stabilises society and maintains the status quo. Most religions have traditional conservative beliefs about moral issues and many of them oppose changes that would allow individuals more freedom in personal and sexual matters. An example of this would be the Catholic Church forbidding things such as divorce, abortion and artificial contraception. Having said this with the recent acceptance of the use of the condom from the Pope to prevent the spread of HIV it shows that the church has great power of its follower’s beliefs. People who may have had no problem with the use of the condom before may now speak this belief out loud now it has been condoned by the church in some way. Similarly, most religions uphold family values and often favour a traditional patriarchal domestic division of labour. An example of this would be the Church of England’s belief that the man should be head of the family. Traditional conservative values also predominate in non-Christian religions. Hinduism endorses male domestic authority and the...
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...ATR vs. Taoism All the religions of the world differ from each other in many different ways, but some have very synonymous concepts and origins. In this case, ATR (African traditional religion) will be compared to Taoism. Now, African traditional religion is a label referring to a variety of religions indigenous to Africa. Like tribal religions from other parts of the world, African religious traditions are defined largely along community lines. Traditional African religions involve teachings, practices, and rituals that lend structure to indigenous African societies. These traditional African religions also play a large part in the cultural understanding and awareness of the people of their communities. Now, Taoism also known as Daoism refers to a variety of religious traditions that have played a major role in East Asia for over 2 thousand years. Taoist thought generally focuses on nature, men-cosmos correspondence, health, longevity, action through inaction, liberty, and spontaneity. Taoism has a few concepts that differ from ATR that I would like to point out. For example, Taoism has a “founder”.Laozi is the founder of Taoism who lived in 6th century BC. Taoism have a different kind of belief in deity. Taoist believes the supreme being/ultimate truth is beyond words or any conceptual understanding. When asked to name it, it is referred to as Tao or the Way. The Power of the Way is referred to as Te. Although Tao and Te are similar to other practices' ideas of God...
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...changes. We have changed from a modern to a postmodern society, and this has had a big impact on the religious beliefs that we hold. For example, in a traditional society, a person is born into a religion, they will learn about that religion from a young age and it will shape their personality and lives. However, in modern society, people have become disillusioned with the stories, or metanarratives, of the major religions, with the increase in rational thinking and scientific discoveries and advancements, in science and technology, leading to traditional religion experiencing secularisation and losing influence over society and its people, with church attendance at an all-time low. At the same time, postmodernists argue that new religious movements (NRMs) are now growing, as people want to fulfil something spiritual in their lives, as they have become tired of the materialistic, money driven society we live in today, alluding to the argument that religion may not be disappearing, but just changing to fit a postmodern society. Hervieu-Leger suggests that religion has declined due to 'cultural amnesia'. In the past, religion was handed down to children by the family, the school and Sunday school. But this tradition has now broken down, meaning that children today are less likely to get a religious identity from their family, so they know much less about traditional religion. Postmodernists argue that the emphasis in postmodern society is for the individual to make choices in their...
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...Religion can be defined as Religion is the relationship between a human being and the superhuman power. The various ways in which religion is expressed include (name five only) feelings of fear, legend, myths, prayer, rituals, and the application of religious precepts to the conduct of social life. Early modernization theorists viewed religion (with regard to politics) as an obstacle to modernization; Religion undermines socio-economic development; It undermines the development of modern states; They hoped that modernization of the Third World would lead to gradual decline of religion from public life; eventual disappearance of religion; That did not happen; Religion is very much alive; It remains part of politics. Dependency theorists view religion as unimportant; Give it only an occasional footnote in their writings; They blame colonial powers for having used religion to colonize today’s Third World. Political scientists have developed the following nuanced understanding of the relationship between religion, state and modernity they argue that all religions have legitimized the state’s authority at some point in history; in some respects, religious leaders and institutions may inhibit development; they oppose important aspects of social change; de-legitimize the political system; can try to make it look unpopular; they may encourage, facilitate development; modernization can induce the political secularization can induce peaceful co-existence between state (politics)...
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...Messianic Judaism Many people are born and raised in a religion without ever feeling complete or whole. There are those born and raised Jewish but never felt Judaism provided the answers for which they sought. These unsatisfied Jews have often looked to other religions for their answers. Many of those answers have been found in a form of Judaism that is often looked down upon by the more traditional Jews. This Messianic Judaism combines the core beliefs of Christianity with the traditional Jewish lifestyle. This combination of two distinct religions has shown the world that a religion can allow its members to maintain their traditional lifestyle while providing them with the spiritual nourishment they long for. Messianic Judaism Messianic Judaism is a branch of Judaism that believes Yeshua or Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah as foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible. Messianic Judaism also believes that the Bible, which consists of the Tenach or Holy Scriptures and the B’rit Hadasha or New Covenant, is the only infallible and authoritative word of God (Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, 2008). This belief includes that the Bible comes from divine inspiration and its teachings are the final authority in matters of faith and how to practice that faith (International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues, 2010). The significant difference between Messianic Judaism and traditional Judaism is the inclusion of Yeshua as the Messiah...
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...most largely practiced religion, many Westerners are unhappy with its traditional beliefs, and are instead turning to Eastern religious views such as Hinduism and Buddhism. This is because people are interested in the spiritual practices of Eastern religions, such as yoga and meditation. Also, Westerners are threatened by the belief that their actions in this world will decide whether they spend eternity in heaven or in hell. Finally, Westerners are tired of a theistic God and all the questions that this idea of a God causes. Therefore, Westerners are turning toward Eastern religions because of its spiritual habits, its moral reasons for good behaviour, and its rejection of traditional monotheism. Followers of Western religions are raised to believe that their actions in life will affect where they spend eternity, so they behave morally to avoid damnation in hell. They align themselves with the idea of a Supreme Being responsible for all of creation and the destiny of humans’ lives on earth (Velasquez 4.5). This Supreme Being is said to be omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and all-good. Westerners focus less on spiritual components, instead behaving to please their God through prayer and attending mass (Velasquez 4.5). The beliefs of Eastern religions, however, are completely different. Easterners live a life of discipline and moderation to ground themselves and be humble, rather than to find eternal happiness (Velasquez 4.5). Because Eastern religions believe in reincarnation...
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...belonging is a term used by Davie to describe the fact religion is becoming more privatised, as people have more choice in religious practices that they felt obligated to follow in the past. Many sociologists, such as Davie, argue that religion is not declining; it is just taking an alternate form – such as believing without belonging. Spiritual shopping, a term used by Hervieu-Leger, and ‘Jesus in Disneyland’ are two other ways in which religion is taking on a different relationship within society today. However, other theorists argue that the belief in religion is in fact declining in society, as illustrated by structural differentiation. Weber and disenchantment also support this idea, as well as Functionalists who state that religion involved belonging as well as believing. Firstly, Davie argues that today’s society is trending toward ‘vicarious religion’, where a small number of professional clergy practice religion on behalf of a much larger number of people, who experience it second hand. Even though church attendance may be declining, religious belief is still strong as many people still use the church for rites of passage (e.g. a wedding or a christening). Bibby found that 25% of Canadians attended church regularly, yet 80% of people said they held religious beliefs. Indicating that less people feel obligated to attend church and obey traditional religious teachings, they are able to still have faith in religion but within their private sphere of the home. Similarly...
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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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...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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