Religion and Social change
- Created by: Marianna Keating
- Created on: 12-06-17 11:07
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- RELIGION AND SOCIAL CHANGE
- Religion as a conservative force
- Religion's beliefs
- Most religions have a traditional conservative belief
- Oppose changes to personal and sexual matters
- Divorce
- Abortion
- Contraception
- Gay marriage
- Traditional views on gender roles and family values
- Bride must love, honor and obey their husband
- Oppose changes to personal and sexual matters
- Most religions have a traditional conservative belief
- Religion's beliefs
- Religion's functions
- Religion and consensus - to preserve things as they are and to maintain status quo
- Creates social solidarity
- Prevents society from collapsing
- Religion and capitalism - religion prevents social change
- Disguising exploitation prevents a revolution
- Religion and patriarchy - conservative as it acts as an ideology to legitimize patriarchy
- Religion as a force for change
- Weber - religious beliefs can bring about social change
- Calvinism
- Religious beliefs brought about modern capitalism - capitalism used to be based on greed for wealth and luxury consumption
- Modern capitalism is now based on systematic, efficient, rational pursuit of wealth
- 'The spirit of Capitalism'
- Calvinist beliefs
- Predestination
- Predetermined souls will be saved - 'the elect' - individuals can't change this as God's decision has been made
- Divine transcendence
- God is greater than any mortal
- No human can know his will other than what is in texts
- Creates an inner loneliness/ salvation panic = don't know if they have been saved and cannot earn it
- No human can know his will other than what is in texts
- God is greater than any mortal
- Asceticism
- Self-discipline and self-denial - avoid excess and devote to God
- The idea of vocation or a calling
- God's plan comes from the Bible
- We were put in earth to glorify God's name by our work
- Constant, methodical work in an occupation
- We were put in earth to glorify God's name by our work
- God's plan comes from the Bible
- Predestination
- How Calvinism led to capitalism
- Calvinists led an ascetic lifestyle shunning all luxury, work long hours - idleness is a sin
- Their wealth and success performed a psychological function - allowed them to cope with their salvation panic
- As they get wealthier, they saw it as a sign of God's favor and their salvation
- Driven by work ethic. they accumulated wealth - not spend it on luxuries, they reinvested it into their businesses
- The very spirit of modern capitalism - where the object is simply the acquisition of more and more money as an end in itself
- Driven by work ethic. they accumulated wealth - not spend it on luxuries, they reinvested it into their businesses
- As they get wealthier, they saw it as a sign of God's favor and their salvation
- Their wealth and success performed a psychological function - allowed them to cope with their salvation panic
- Calvinists led an ascetic lifestyle shunning all luxury, work long hours - idleness is a sin
- Religious beliefs brought about modern capitalism - capitalism used to be based on greed for wealth and luxury consumption
- Hinduism and Confucianism
- Weber - the protestant work ethic is not the only cause of capitalism
- Material and economic factors are also factors
- Weber - the protestant work ethic is not the only cause of capitalism
- Other countries had higher levels of economic development but didn't develop into modern capitalism
- China and India - more developed - no capitalism due to a lack of religious belief system
- Both Hinduism and Confucianism lack the drive to systematically accumulate wealth that is needed for modern capitalism
- Evaluation of Weber
- Weber overestimated the role of ideas and underestimates economic factors
- Technological change not religion brought capitalism
- Capitalism did not develop in every country that had Calvinist beliefs - Scotland
- Religion and social protest
- Bruce - looks at two examples of how religious ideas have been used to inspire protest movements and have tried to change society
- The Civil Rights Movement
- Bruce looks at the struggle of black Americans in the 1960-60s
- Slavery has been abolished but blacks still lacked political and legal rights
- Martin Luther King key in the Civil Rights Movements
- Churches were the meeting point
- A sanctuary from white violence
- Rituals, prayers, hymns as a source of unity in the face of oppression
- A sanctuary from white violence
- Churches were the meeting point
- Black clergy could shame whites into changing the law by appealing to their shared Christian values of equality - gained national support
- R is an ideological resource - provides beliefs and practices that protesters could draw on for support
- Religion allowed them to take the moral high ground - point out hypocrisy - funeral of MLK as a rally
- Bruce - an example of how religion can be involved in a secular struggle and to help bring about social change
- Bruce looks at the struggle of black Americans in the 1960-60s
- The New Christian Right
- Politically and morally conservative, Protestant fundamentalist movement - 1960s opposed liberalization of America
- Spread their message by the media and networking
- Televangelism to convert and recruit new members - links with the Republican Party
- Spread their message by the media and networking
- Aim to take America back to God
- Anti abortion, gay marriage, divorce, sex education, pro traditional gender and family roles
- Bruce - largely unsuccessful - don't cooperate with other religious groups - opposition from groups who stand for freedom
- Failed movement for social change - Americans don't want to be ruled by religious leaders - don't want to be ruled on people's opinions on how they should live
- Politically and morally conservative, Protestant fundamentalist movement - 1960s opposed liberalization of America
- Marxist, religion and change
- Ideas have relative autonomy - partly independent of the economic base - religion has a dual character=it can be a force for change as well as stability
- Marx - religion can humanise a world made inhumane by exploitation, even if the comfort is an illusion
- Heart of a heartless world - Soul of soulless conditions
- Engels - R inhibits change by disguising inequality - can change the status quo and encourage social change
- Ernst Bloch - the principle of hope - R has a dual character - can have a positive and negative influence on social change
- R can inspire protest and rebellion - utopia creates our dreams of a better life
- Utopia - deceive people with promises of rewards in heaven - help people see what needs to change - vision of a better world
- Liberation Theology
- A movement that occurred within the Catholic Church in Latin America
- For centuries it has been conservative and encouraged fatalism to accept poverty and support the elite
- LT occurred due to deepening rural poverty and urban slums - human right abuse
- LT set out to change society
- Priests help poor to set up base communities - protection of church - literacy programmes - ed
- Lost influence - condemned by the church for resembling Marxism
- R not always conservative force - can be revolutionary force
- Success of it depends of how social change is defined - helped bring about democracy
- A movement that occurred within the Catholic Church in Latin America
- Millenarian Movements
- Have a desire to create the Kingdom of God on the earth
- Christ will come to the world and rule for a second time
- Creating an imminent transformation by supernatural powers
- Christ will come to the world and rule for a second time
- These movements appeal to the poor as it promises imminent improvements
- Can lead to unrest and threaten colonial rule
- Worsley - movements are pre-political
- Use religious ideas, images and united native populations that spanned tribal divisions
- Engels - social change that they have created represent the first awakening of the political self-conscious
- Have a desire to create the Kingdom of God on the earth
- Religion and Hegemony
- Gramsci - when hegemony is established the RC can rely on popular consent to their rule - less need to coercion
- Hegemony is never guaranteed - WC can always develop an alternative vision of society
- Counter - hegemony
- Hegemony is never guaranteed - WC can always develop an alternative vision of society
- R has a duaol character -can support the RC or can help WC challenge the RC
- Clergy act as organic intellectuals
- Billings - textile workers vs coalminers - miners had leadership, organisation and support from religion
- Gramsci - when hegemony is established the RC can rely on popular consent to their rule - less need to coercion
- Religion as a conservative force
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