Religion and Social Change

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  • Created by: Gcostin
  • Created on: 21-02-18 15:34
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  • Religion and Social change
    • Religion as a conservative force
      • traditonal
      • maintaining status quo
      • traditional conservative beliefs about moral issues oppose changes that allow freedom- catholic church forbids divorce
      • uphold "family values" support patriarchal domestic divisions of labour- hinduism endorses arranged marriage
      • conserve/preserve things. creates social stability
      • functionalists: maintains social stability and prevents disintergration
      • Religion and capitalism- conservative ideology prevents social change
      • religion and patriarchy- conervative force that legitimates patriarchy and maintains oppression of women
    • Weber
      • religious beliefs of calvinism brought emergance of modern capitalism
      • modern capitalism- systematic, efficient, rational pursit of profit- spirit of capitalism
      • Calvinist beliefs
        • Predestination- god determines who will be saved- you can not change this
        • Divine transcendence- god is so above his world no one can claim to know his will
          • calvinists feel unprecendented inner lonliness- "salvation panic"
        • Asceticism- self discipline
        • Idea of a vocation- calling to serve god- in everyday world of work
      • calvinists shut out all luxury and worked hard to promote self discipline
        • driven by worth ethic
        • if they prospered it was a sign of gods favour
      • Tawney- technological change not religious ideas brought about capitalism
      • Kautsky- over estimate role of ideas and underestimating economic factors. Capitalism came before calvinism
    • Religion and social protest
      • Bruce
      • American civil rights movement
        • black civil rights attempted to end racial segregation
        • movement began in 1955 and direct action through marches, protests were held
        • black clergy shamed whites into changing laws by appealing to share christian values
        • religion in this context is an ideological resource
          • taking the moral highground
          • channelling disent
          • acting as an honest broker
          • mobilising public opinon
      • The new christian right
        • politcially morally coservative protestant conservative group
        • aims to make abortion, homosexuality and divorce illegal
        • believes in traditional gender roles
        • uses televangelism- tv raise funds
        • NRC is unsuccessful as it has only ever has 15% of follwoing
        • american democratic values allow for americans being comfortable legalising homeosexuality
    • Marxism, Religion and Change
      • religion can have a duel character- sometimes being a force for change as well as stability
      • Principle of hope
        • Bloch
        • religion has a duel character
          • religion inspires change- inspire protest and rebellion
        • religion is our dreams of a better life
        • images of utopia can blind people- promises of a better life in heaven
          • a vision for a better world and strive for social change
      • Liberation theology(LT)
        • emerged in catholic church in latin america
        • growth of rural poverty and urban slums and human right abusers following military take-overs
        • LT emphasis "praxis"- political action guided by theory
          • priests leading literacy programmes
        • LT avoided dictatorship and bringing social democracy in Latin America
        • Pentecostal challange
          • individuals must pull themselves out of poverty by changing their personal behaviour
        • Maduro- LT shows religion can be revolutionary- LT helped bring democracy
      • Millenarian movements
        • Woresly
          • total and imminent transformation of this world by supernatural means, creating heaven on earth
          • appeals to poor as they promise immediate action
          • Cargo cults- islanders felt deprived when cargo arrived for the colonists
            • believed cargo was meant for them but had been redirected to the whites
            • brings about widespread unrest
      • Religion and Hegemony
        • Gramsci
        • maintain control through hegemony
        • italy 1960s- conservative ideological power of catholic church helped win support for the fascist reigme
        • religion can challenge the ruling classes
          • w/c see's through the ruling class hegemony
      • Religion and class conflict
        • Billings
        • applies Gramsci's ideas to coalminers and textile workers
          • both were w/c and evangelical protestant
            • miners were more militant, struggling for better conditions
        • miners benefitted from the leadership of organic intellectuals
        • different levels of militancy can be understood in terms of hegemony

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