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
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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
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Functionalist’s accounts of education Functionalism is based on the view that society is a system of interdependent parts held together by a shared culture or value consensus. Each part of society, such as family, economy or the education system in this case, performs functions that help to maintain society as a whole. For some sociologists/functionalists, such as Durkheim or Parson for example, the real function of education is to act as a means of promoting consensus, by socialising people into
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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)
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and functioning of human society (Oxford). When the topic of discussion is sociology, Auguste Comte, the “father of positivism” would come to mind, as it was he who first coined the term “sociology” (Kreis, 2009). Comte also emphasized that the study of society must be scientific and he pushed sociologists to employ the use of qualitative methods such as observation, historical comparative analysis and experimentation. Sociological Perspective is the way in which we view sociological phenomena (Long
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Using material from the item and elsewhere, assess the functionalist explanations of the causes and extent of deviance. (21marks) Functionalism is based on the idea of each members of society sharing a common culture and one value consensus, which provides solidarity and binds individuals together by directing them what to strive for and how to conduct themselves. In order for solidarity to be achieved, society must have two main mechanisms; socialisation which instils the shared into its members
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fountains are but a slight relief for those homeless until an authority figure moves the person(s) on. In small suburban areas, most of the homeless are hidden and out of view. The United States faces many social problems; however, homelessness is a major dilemma. To understanding the issue of homelessness from a sociologist point of view, different lenses need to be used. The sociological perspectives of functionalism, conflict structuralists, and symbolic interactionism, provide the best angles to assess
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AS Sociology Sample 20 mark question Assess the Marxist view of the role of education (20 marks) Marxists view society as based on conflict. They believe that the role of all institutions in society can be understood in terms of how they relate to the economic system. They therefore see the education system as an institution which reproduces the class system and provides the economy with a suitable workforce. The labour force needs professional and managerial workers, as well as skilled
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problems such as domestic violence worse, as women believe they should 'stand by their man' no matter what the outcome is. These women may blame themselves for being bad wives and see themselves as deserving to be punished. Feminists reject Parsons' view that women were biologically determined and believe they are socially constructed. They blame the media for this construction of women, often portraying them as housewives, cleaners, domestic servants offering comfort and support for men and presenting
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Marxists believe that the capitalist system is just a way in which the ruling classes (the bourgeoisie) control and exploit the workers (the proletariat), and it focuses on the unequal conflict between these two sectors of society. Marxists believe that the capitalist system is criminogenic – which means that by its nature it inevitably causes crime. As item B states, Marxists see crime in the capitalist system as ‘a tool of the ruling class’ where they can control the working class and crime is
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