...contextFundamentalism- | Religion and social Change | Religion as source of conflict or consensus | Religiosity: Class | Religiosity: Age | Religiosity: Gender | Religiosity: Ethnicity | Belief Systems: Religion | Belief Systems: Science: | Belief Systems: ideology | Jun12 | Religion is still the most significant ideological influence in the world today. ’To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? (33 marks) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Critically examine sociological views of sects in society today. (33 marks) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that women are no longer oppressed by religion. (18 marks) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jan 12 | The growth of New Age and similar movements is evidence of a spiritual revolution in society today.’ To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? (33 marks) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Assess the usefulness of functionalist theories in understanding religion today.(33 marks) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that most people today choose not to be lifelong members of religious organisations. (18 marks) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jun ’11: | Assess the view religion is a force for social change (18 marks). | | | | | | |...
Words: 827 - Pages: 4
...SCLY 3: Beliefs in Society Revision Guide 2009-10 Name: Remember: You have to revise everything, because essay questions will focus on more than one area of the specification. The specification: The relationship between religious beliefs and social change and stability * Functionalism: conservative force, inhibition of change, collective conscience, Durkheim and totemism, anomie; civil religions * Marxism: religion as ideology, legitimating social inequality, disguising exploitation etc * Weber: religion as a force for social change: theodicies, the Protestant ethic * Neo-Marxism: religion used by those opposing the ruling class, liberation theology * Feminism: religious beliefs supporting patriarchy * Fundamentalist beliefs: rejecting change by reverting to supposed traditional values and practices. Religious organisations, including cults, sects, denominations, churches and New Age movements, and their relationship to religious and spiritual belief and practice * Typologies of religious organisations: churches, denominations, sects and cults, with examples of each New Religious Movements and typologies of NRMs eg world rejecting/accommodating/affirming; millenarian beliefs, with examples of each * New Age movements and spirituality, with examples * The relationship of these organisations to religious and spiritual belief and practice. The relationship between different social groups and religious/spiritual organisations and movements, beliefs...
Words: 23270 - Pages: 94
...“New Religious Movements can best be distinguished by the degree of commitment they ask of their followers”. (Barker) To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view of NRMS. A new religious movement (NRM) is a comprehensive term used to identify religious, ethical, and spiritual groups, communities and practices of relatively modern origins. NMRs have grown since the 1960s, such as the Moonies, Scientology and Krishna Consciousness. They have grown because of the marginality of marginality – Weber (1922) argued that sects appeal to disprivileged groups who are marginal to society; sects offer a solution to their lack of status by offering their members a theodicy of disprivilege – a religious explanation of their disadvantage and many sects and millenarian movements have recruited from the marginalized poor, relative deprivation – it is possible for someone who is quite privileged to feel deprived compared with others; e.g. some middle-class people may feel spiritually deprived and so people may turn to sects for a sense of community; Stark and Bainbridge argue that it is the relatively deprived who break away from churches to form sects and rapid social change – which Wilson argued undermined established norms, producing anomie (normlessness); those most affected may turn to sects, e.g. Methodism during the industrial revolution. Wallis distinguishes between three types of NRM depending on whether their attitudes to wider society are world-rejecting...
Words: 1326 - Pages: 6
...SCLY 3: Beliefs in Society Revision Guide 2009-10 Name: Remember: You have to revise everything, because essay questions will focus on more than one area of the specification. The specification: The relationship between religious beliefs and social change and stability * Functionalism: conservative force, inhibition of change, collective conscience, Durkheim and totemism, anomie; civil religions * Marxism: religion as ideology, legitimating social inequality, disguising exploitation etc * Weber: religion as a force for social change: theodicies, the Protestant ethic * Neo-Marxism: religion used by those opposing the ruling class, liberation theology * Feminism: religious beliefs supporting patriarchy * Fundamentalist beliefs: rejecting change by reverting to supposed traditional values and practices. Religious organisations, including cults, sects, denominations, churches and New Age movements, and their relationship to religious and spiritual belief and practice * Typologies of religious organisations: churches, denominations, sects and cults, with examples of each New Religious Movements and typologies of NRMs eg world rejecting/accommodating/affirming; millenarian beliefs, with examples of each * New Age movements and spirituality, with examples * The relationship of these organisations to religious and spiritual belief and practice. The relationship between different social groups and religious/spiritual ...
Words: 23270 - Pages: 94
...A2 Sociology ASSESSMENT PACK 2015-16 A2 Level Sociology Student Tracking Sheet | |Current Grade |Target Grade |Lates |Attendance | |September | | | | | |November | | | | | |January | | | | | |March | | | | | |May | | | | | | |Families |Education | |UMS | | | |Grade | | | | |Handed in on |Mark |Grade |What is the target for my next piece of work? |Above/ On/ Under Target | |Assessment/Homework |time...
Words: 9631 - Pages: 39
...COURSE PCS # (Assigned by Administration) PREREQUISITES: None Catalog Description (40 Word Limit): Study of human interaction focusing on social influences shaping personality, structure and dynamics of human society. Topics include: sociological perspective, culture, society, social interaction; social change in global perspective; socialization; families; social class; and social stratification; race and ethnicity; and deviance. | | |CONTENT LECTURE LAB OUTLINE | |HOURS HOURS | Study of Sociology (What is Sociology, Methods) 5 Individual and Society (Culture, Socialization, Social Interaction, Groups, Networks, Organization, Conformity and Deviance) 10 Stratification (Class, Global, Gender, Racial and Ethnic, Aging) 15 Social Institutions (Government, Work, Economy, Families, Education, Religion) 10 Social Change (Health, Sexuality, Population, Urbanization, Environment, Globalization) 5 EVALUATION: Quizzes X Exams X Oral Pres. x Papers X Lab Work Projects x Comp.Final X Other Group Activities Textbook: ...
Words: 1165 - Pages: 5
...globalisation. Exclusivists think that secularisation is definitely happening whilst inclusivists argue that it is not happening, rather that society is experiencing resacralisation, that there are other religions such as NRMS and New Age Spirituality which are equally valid. Woodhead and Heelas suggest that there are two versions of secularisation. Firstly the disappearance thesis states that modernity is bringing about the death of religion. This thesis tends to use Church statistics as evidence. Crockett found that in 1851 40% Church attendance and in 2007 2% attended. In 2002 2/3 attended a religious service such as weddings no more than once a year. However there are problems concerning the use of Church statistics, regarding their reliability and validity. Statistics tell us very little about the social meaning of religion as Davie suggests many people can believe without belonging. Bellah also notes that religion is now private and individualised, such qualitative beliefs may be invisible to the sociological eye and consequently difficult to measure using quantitative methods. Opinion polls are also problematic as it tells us very little about these social meanings. What people say in opinion polls may be very different to what they actually do. Also priests may not tell the truth about the numbers at...
Words: 2142 - Pages: 9
...Most people generally accept that as a country, America was founded on religions principals. Many of the writings of the founding fathers, including our own Declaration of Independence, include religious doctrine as not only the partial justification for our separation from mother England but also as a part of the vision of how our new nation would be successful. Over time, our society and culture have changed so that today, even though people claim to be religious, religion is certainly not as main stream in our culture as it once was. By better understanding our society in colonial America, how the denominational makeup of churchgoers has changed, how our legal system has both protected and not protected religion’s presence in our daily lives, the influence of different organizations and social movements on religious practices and perceptions, the change in how Christians are perceived and finally the changes in the message that the church is preaching the reader will be able to understand not only how America has changed but also how contemporary Christian leaders and organizations are trying to remain relevant and consistent with God’s word. Colonial America & Our Founding Fathers From the settling of our nation to the Revolutionary War, religion was much more a part of mainstream society. The pervasive nature of religion had an impact on those who led the fight for our freedom. The period of history leading up to the Revolutionary War is commonly referred to as the Great...
Words: 2718 - Pages: 11
...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 of the teachings and beliefs of a religion o Consequences - impact of being religious on daily activities These 5 dimensions illustrate the problem of measuring religiosity Which need to be taken into account? Does a religion have to satisfy all these dimensions? Which carry the greatest importance? Functionalist o See the function of religion to be the...
Words: 4894 - Pages: 20
...THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS: EVALUATING THE CONTEMPORARY STANCE ON ABORTION ABSTRACT The willful taking of another man’s life has been termed immoral not only in the religious parlance. In the political realm, fundamental human rights and humanitarian principles hold the protection and preservation of human life as the most important exigency to be unflinchingly promoted among nations. While the principle of “right to life” has been promoted by many UN nations, the phenomenon of abortion has become a reality not frowned at among these nations but one that is encouraged as an expression of human freedom and an instrument of population control. In this article, we shall provoke, and not just provide, theological cum sociological reflections on the act of abortion so as to lay bared the often taken for granted assumptions of its right and left wing proponents. INTRODUCTION The term “Abortion” is etymologically rooted in the Latin word “Aboriri” meaning “miscarry”. Going by this etymology, one may literarily define abortion as either a mechanized or unintended termination or miscarriage of a pregnancy. Technically speaking, abortion is the deliberate act or a medical operation purported to end a pregnancy at an early stage. It is the ending of the life of a fetus before it is able to survive on its own. Most of the arguments that have ensued on abortion recently are based mainly on whether the fetus is a human or a tissue. They all in like fashion gear toward showcasing...
Words: 2205 - Pages: 9
...Mission The General Education curriculum helps build the foundation for understanding historical traditions, contemporary issues, the interdependence of local, urban, national and global communities and the importance of psychological, artistic, religious and scientific inquiry. This program is designed to give the student the opportunity to interact with the multifaceted forces that are continually transforming and reshaping our world. The broad based, interdisciplinary scope of the area requirements is designed to help students acquire the knowledge, perspective, skill and professional acumen that is necessary to become thoughtful and responsible citizens and leaders in an increasingly complex world. The General Education curriculum is focused on fostering urban leadership by developing the cross-curricular emphases of writing effectively, thinking critically, managing information successfully, valuing diversity, practicing social justice, presenting orally and visually and learning to learn. Curricular Emphases: To accomplish these goals the general education curriculum, through its cross-disciplinary approach, provides exposure to a wide variety of disciplines while focusing on developing the essential, broad based, intellectual abilities of problem solving, decision making and leadership with a commitment to lifelong learning. The general education program emphasizes the development of oral and written communication skills; knowledge of the arts...
Words: 3737 - Pages: 15
...number of copies to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is an autonomous agency engaging in multidisciplinary research on the social dimensions of contemporary problems affecting development. Its work is guided by the conviction that, for effective development policies to be formulated, an understanding of the social and political context is crucial. The Institute attempts to provide governments, development agencies, grassroots organizations and scholars with a better understanding of how development policies and processes of economic, social and environmental change affect different social groups. Working through an extensive network of national research centres, UNRISD aims to promote original research and strengthen research capacity in developing countries. Current research themes include: Crisis, Adjustment and Social Change; Socio-Economic and Political Consequences of the International Trade in Illicit Drugs; Environment, Sustainable Development and Social Change; Integrating Gender into Development Policy; Participation and Changes in Property Relations in Communist and Post-Communist Societies; and Political Violence and Social Movements. UNRISD research projects focused on the 1995 World Summit for Social Development included Rethinking Social Development in the 1990s; Economic Restructuring and Social Policy; Ethnic Diversity and Public Policies; Social Integration at the Grassroots: The Urban...
Words: 19278 - Pages: 78
...Catholicism from 1492, and of the Church of England from 1620; the arrival of the Evangelicals or nonconformist missionaries, Moravians, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians from the mid-eighteenth century; consolidation and growth of various European denominations in the region in uneasy tension with the proliferation of independent black Christian groups and African religions in the post-emancipation era from 1833; the contest for political, economic and religious independence after 1870, including the shift from British Imperial intervention and influence to those from North America, and national independence after 1962. Contemporary studies in anthropology and sociology of religion speak of 'religions on the move', or the process of transmigration and transculturation, as it refers to dynamic, reciprocal, transitory and multidimensional creations in shaping a 'poly-contextual world'. This implies that religions have to be regarded as cultural and spiritual phenomena whose 'taken-for granted' essence1 has resulted from transcultural and transnational processes of mutual 1 Klaus Hock, University of Rostock, abstract for an essay on the African Christian Diaspora in Europe, January 2002 (unpublished); R. Stephen Warner, and Judith G. Wittner (eds.), 1 influence, interaction and continuous adaptation to new environments, developments and encounters. The emphasis here is on 'a new model of understanding religion which emphasizes...
Words: 8882 - Pages: 36
...Catholic Religion - The world has more than one billion Catholics and with the ever growing population, it will only get larger in number. To be a Catholic means to have complete faith in God and his divine grace. Having God's divine grace means to obey it and keep it holy as it was created by God and given to his people. The religion itself is based on this and the people take it very seriously. Catholics believe that all people are of good nature but when one commits a sin it not only hurts that one person but the people and the Church.... [tags: Catholicism, What Catholics Believe, informative] 1922 words (5.5 pages) $14.95 [preview] Catholic religion - CATHOLIC RELIGION To belong to the church one must accept as factually true the gospel of Jesus as handed down in tradition and as interpreted by the bishops in union with the pope. The most important thing in this divine tradition is the Bible, its text determined and disseminated by the church. The church, according to the Roman Catholic catechism, is the only Christian body that is “one, holy, catholic (universal)”. The doctrine of apostolic succession is one of the key parts of the Catholic faith.... [tags: essays research papers] 748 words (2.1 pages) $14.95...
Words: 9141 - Pages: 37
...with the study of moral statistic, and the first among these was Suicide rates -Emile Durkheim studied the relationship between suicide and social forces, he held that behavior should not be considered an individualistic matter, but in a broader social context. He argued that there is a link between the degree of social integration and suicide. He believed the greater the autonomy or Independence of a category of people, the higher the suicide rate. He came up with the term Anomie, which is a floundering, or loss of purpose and direction people experience during periods of extreme social change. -Max Weber's theory was that social behavior can only be understood when the meanings of the people's actions are known, it is necessary to understand the attitudes, feelings, and beliefs. He called this Verstehen, a German word for understanding. -Karl Marx focused on the struggle between social classes of people. Marx called owners of the means of production the bourgeoisie and the non-owners the proletariat. Marx believed that a social class was determined solely by economics. -W.E.B Dubois researched conflict theory as it pertained to racial prejudice in hopes of achieving justice for his race. He helped found the NAACP. -Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead studied the effects of symbols such as nods of the head, clinched fists, smiles, frowns, stares, etc., as individual behaviors that influence group behaviors. They also...
Words: 20445 - Pages: 82