Religion and Social change

• 'Traditional' customs, roles, etc - upholds beliefs about how society should be organised.
• Functions to preserve things - stabilises society/maintains status quo
• Catholic church - men head of households
• FUNCTIONALISM - functions maintain stability/prevetn society from disintegrating
• MARXISM - prevents change - legitimates exploitation/inequality - false consciousness in W/C (prevents revolution)
• FEMINISM - ideology legitimate patriarchal power - maintains subordination

CALVINISM brought about modern capitalism in North Europe (16th/17th century)

• Modern capitalism - systematic, efficient, rational pursuit of profit for own sake not consumption

PREDESTINATION  - predetermined which souls to be saved (elect) and which would not - can't be changed/altered

ASCETICISM - abstinence, self-discipline, self-denial

• The idea of VOCATION/CALLING - renounce everyday life - put on Earth to glorify God's name by work - can't earn salvation but religious duty

WEALTH INCREASE - God's favour - contrary to original doctrine unknowable

• Driven by work ethic - accumulate wealth by most efficient/rational means - no permitted to squander on luxuries

• HINDUISM - ascetic religion - favour renunciation of material world - orientation was OTHER-WORLDLY - directed followers towards material world - not ascetic
• CONFUCIANISM - THIS-WORLDLY religion - directed followers towards material world - not ascetic

KARL KAUTSKY (1927) - overestimates role of ideas - underestimates economic facotrs in bringing capitalism into being

R.H.TAWNEY (1926) - technological change (NOT religion) caused capitalsim birth - only after did Bourgeoisie adopt Calvinism to legitimate economic gain

• Capitalism didn't develop in every country where there were Calvinist - MARSHALL (1982) - lack of investment capital/skilled labour

• Black Clergy importatnt - played decisive role (support/moral legitimacy to activists) - able to shame whites into changing law by appealing to Christian value

• Organisation take moral high ground - hypocrisy

• Channelling dissent - express political dissent

• Acting as honest broker - chruches provide context for negotiating change - resepcted by both sides of conflict

• Mobilise public opinion

• New Christian Right - take America 'back to God' 

• Campaigners find difficulties in cooperating with other religions

• Lacks widespread support - strong opposition from those who stand with freedom of choice 

• RELATIVE AUTONOMY - partly idependent of economic base of society

• 'The soud of soulless conditions' and 'the heart of a heartless world' - dual character

• 'Principle of hope' - dreams of better lfie that contains images of the perfect world (utopia)

• LIBERATION THEOLOGY - movement that emerged within catholicism - strong commitment to poor/opposition to military dictatorships

• 3 factors - deepening rural poverty/growth of urban slums throughout Latin America 

• Human right abuses from military takeovers

• Growing commitment among Catholic priests to ideology supported poor/opposed violations of human rights

• Religious ideas radicalised Catholic clergy in defence of peasant/workers - makes them see that serving the poor was part of their Christian duty 

• Roman Catholic Churches opposed - drives social change/revolutionary (challenged hierarchy)
• LIBERATION THEOLOGY offers radicak solution to poverty - collective improvement through political action in public sphere
• PENTECOSTALISM conservative - individual self-improvement through private sphere

WORSLEY - millenarian movements expect total/imminent transformation of this world by supernatural means - create heaven on Earth (life free from pain, death etc) collective movement

• Promise immediate improvement - arise in colonial situations - economic exploitation/cultural/religious domination--> Cargo cults

• Religious ideas/images but unite native populations in mass movements that spanned tribal divisions
• HEGEMONY - ideology domination
• Religion = counter-hegemony - dual character
• Leadership, organisation, support