...arguments and evidence support functionalist views of the role and functions of religion in contemporary society. Functionalists see society as based upon consensus, where each institution functions to help society work together as a whole with shared ways of thinking and behaving. One example of this is the Ten Commandments which include a number of the principles highlighted in the U.K law system. As a result of this, functionalists such as Durkheim and Parsons see religion as a means of integration and social control within society. They believe that the shared rituals and collective worship of religion help reinforce the consensual values and norms of society, and that without these shared values society could not function. Sociologist Bellah believes that there is a much stronger sense of consensus values in the USA, where strong religious roots are very apparent through American’s worshipping of the flag, thus worshipping their country. Parsons however still believes that this can also be seen in Britain. Functionalists also see religion as a form of social control, providing religious backing and answers for society's rules, so people will abide by them. Functionalists such as Malinowski also believe that it is a way of coming to terms with life changing events like death, marriage and baptisms, helping individuals within society to work through the crises of life. The question of whether or not religion is still relevant in a postmodern society is dependent upon a number of...
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...Evaluate Marxist contributions to religion 33 marks Marxism is a conflict theory that makes the assumption that capitalism oppresses the working class within society. This referring to the bourgeoisie (the rich) controlling the proletariat (the poor) as a means of labour through religion. Neo-Marxism believes there is conflict but has an alternative view to tradition Marxists. Marx believes that religion is made to keep the bourgeoisie and the proletariat separate from one another. He states that religion oppresses the working class by giving them a good work ethic by telling them to go to church and that they would be rewarded in the afterlife if they work hard. This allowed the ruling class to exploit them without them knowing, with full consent as they are too absorbed by being rewarded in the afterlife (e.g. going to heaven). This is why religion is said to be the division of classes. However, Durkheim disagrees with this and states that religious institutions play a central part in creating and maintaining value consensus, social order and social solidarity. This is said to be done through the sacred and profane. Sacred things inspire awe and wonder whereas profane things have no special significance, and are “mundane”. The argument is that worshiping the sacred is worshiping society due to the mass amount of power society has and provokes such a feeling. This means religion creates social solidarity within society as people who believe in religion share the same norms and values...
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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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...Function of Religion Is to Promote Social Stability – (33 Marks) The main sociologists that support the view that the main functions of religious beliefs is to promote social stability are functionalists. They believe that religion performs functions and helps society, this is because society’s most basic need is the need for social order and solidarity so that its members can cooperate and to do this there needs to be value consensus, which without this individuals in society would pursue their own selfish desires and society would disintegrate. One functionalist that supports this argument is Durkheim which he states that religion and its institutions play a central part in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity. He distinguishes the difference between the sacred and the profane. He says that the sacred are the 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. Therefore a religion is never simply a set of beliefs. It also involves definite rituals or practices on relation to the sacred and these rituals are collective which are performed by social groups. The fact that sacred things create such powerful feelings, Durkheim suggests this is because they are symbols representing something of great power and he says that this great power is society itself. Even though sacred symbols vary from religion to religion...
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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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...enlightens on how religion and family is affected by the functionalist perspective. The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. The functionalist perspective emphasizes the interconnectedness of society by focusing on how each part influences and is influenced by other parts. Each of the social institutions contributes important functions for society: Family provides a context for reproducing, nurturing, and socializing children; education offers a way to transmit a society’s skills, knowledge, and culture to its youth; politics provides a means of governing members of society; economics provides for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services and religion provides moral guidance and an outlet for worship of a higher power. Functionalism has received criticism for neglecting the negative functions of an event. Critics also claim that the perspective justifies the status quo and complacency on the part of society's members. Functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various parts of society will compensate naturally for any problems that may arise. Religion from a Functionalist...
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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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...the view that for the minority ethnic groups, the practice of religion and membership of religious groups is mainly a form of cultural defense (33 marks) Most people would disagree with Bruce’s idea that members from ethnic groups use religion as a cultural defense. The definition of social defense is "a form of resistance, when the group is seen as a threat in a hostile country". Other sociologists disagree with this concept and they believe instead religion offers a psychological function, dual role, cultural identity, social solidarity, value consensus and order and values and norms etc. There are many reasons why immigrants are attracted to religion instead of social defense. Immigrants have put a lot of focus on religion, unlike the wider population in the UK. Weber and Durkheim try to investigate why this is. Weber believes that immigrants had strong religious beliefs before they migrate to the UK, this is because deprived groups such as African and Polish people have strong religious beliefs before they even come to the UK. However Durkheim believes that religion helps to bond the communities together, particularly when under threat, he believes religion allows the 2 different groups to developed shared norms and values. This shows that social defense is not the only reason why immigrants are starting to have strong religious beliefs. Modood looks at religion and social identity. He believes that religion for Asians is intricately connected to their ethnicity. But this...
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...Professor Kelley rises a question in his book “The Religion and Justice: The volcano and the Terrace” : “What is the relationship between religion and justice?”. Pursuing justice is a duty for Christians, but it is not a salient concern in some other religions. Which means justice is a part of Christianity, but not the part of other religions. Justice is the way you think and judge fairly, therefore all religions should contain the term of justice. There are many religions in the world, but all religions have similarities. Our ancestors said that there are many many providers but one god. God is always good, but providers build religions and changing it from the origin in the way they want. And after the question: “Is justice a part of religion?”...
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...“Evaluate the view that religion is an important source of moral values in contemporary societies” The debate as to whether religion is a vital source of moral values in contemporary society is continuous. Sociologists aim to know and understand exactly how and if religion plays any role in current society. This leads us to ask what exactly religion is. According to sociologists, there are three main ways of defining religion: substantive, functional and social constructionist. Max Weber (1905) describes substantive religion as a belief in a superior or supernatural power that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically. Substantive definitions are exclusive – they draw a clear line between religious and non-religious beliefs. To be a religion, a set of beliefs must include beliefs in God or the supernatural. Functional definitions, however, are inclusive – allowing sociologists to include a wide range of beliefs and practices. Emile Durkheim (1915) defines it in terms of contribution it makes to social integration rather than specific belief in a higher being. Milton Yinger (1970) identifies functions that religion performs for individuals, such as answering ‘ultimate questions’. Whereas, the final definition is social constructionist takes an interpretivist approach focusing how religion is defined by the individual. This definition believes that it is impossible to produce a single universal definition of religion to cover all cases since in reality different individuals...
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...Assess functionalist views on the nature and role of religion. (18m) Functionalism is a modern structualist theory based on consensus and shared norms + values, and they put forward the human body analogy to explain how society works as the human body analogy views institutions such as school and work as organs of the body and if one should fail the whole body representing society will be affected as a state of anomie would occur and so society would breakdown due to a state of normlessness but, should all the organs continue to function correctly then social order can be maintained. Functionalists believe strongly in the role of meritocracy and an NVS in order to make society an enhanced place by creating a sense of social unity. Functionalists such as Durkheim put forward functionalist’s views of religion and, he states that religion can bring about social solidarity, social cohesion and value consensus. He believes that Religion is essential in order to keep society out of a state of a chaos, and puts forward the idea that Society is sacred and needs to be worship and religion is in-fact an analogy for society but it is necessary as it helps us focus our worship via symbols such as the cross for Christianity or the prayer mat for Muslims. It is also stated that everything can be divided into the sacred and the profane, and by doing this you can understand society. He also...
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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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...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 Guinea. Malinowski, like Durkheim held the belief that religion reinforces...
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...Defining Religion Defining & measuring religion is very hard. Religion can be so personal that it's impossible to express and to quantifiably measure There tends to be 2 ways: Substance - trying to get what the essence of religion is Function - what religion does in society Inclusivist & exclusivist o Inclusivist definitions take a broad view of what constitutes 'religion'. They could include [political movements, social movements and organisation etc. as long as they seem to carry out the functions of religion. o This could be a tautological way to define religion - a religion is something that appears to carry out the function of a religion. But what are the functions of religion? Who decides and on what criteria? o Exclusivist definitions take a narrower view of what constitutes a religion. They try and narrow down to the specifically religious and would exclude political movements for eg. o The problem here is in defining what constitutes 'religious'. Getting to the core of 'the religious' is v difficult. Glock & Stark Measuring religion They suggest 5 dimensions of religion that could be applied in order to measure the degree of religiosity in a society o Belief - the essential beliefs of a religion - core theology o Practice - acts of public and private worship and ritual o Experience - subjunctive feelings of being associated with some higher power or being o Knowledge - depth of understanding...
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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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