Sociology Religion Essay
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- Created by: HannahCook
- Created on: 22-02-16 19:34
Functionalism
Durkheim:
- Religion creates social sloidarity and unity
- Totemism (visualisation of belief)
- Worshipping same thing - brings people together
- C- Doesn't explain social change, does not focus on individual.
Parsons:
- creates and legitimises society's values - creates consensus and agreement.
- Can answer questions no one else can, prmary source of meaning.
- Create stability from dtresses of day to day life.
- C- (marxists) cover to hide oppression of working class in society.
Bellah:
- civil religion, patriotism, Queens coronation - social solidarity.
- promotes social unity.
- American way of life - social sloidarity, share norms and values.
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Marxism
Marx:
- Religion is an illusion to ease pain produced by exploitation and oppression.
- Part of superstructure, justify and legitimises subordination of w/c and domination of m/c.
- distortion of reality, form of ruling class ideology maintaining 'false class consiouness'.
- Cover up divisions.
- 'Opium of the people'- numbs the pain of oppression and exploitation.
- C- Yinger, perform many different functions, good for society, help people cope.
Lenin:
- 'Spiritual Gin' - confuses w/c, keeps them oppressed, religion soothes.
- Stop w/c overthrowing captitalism.
Conservative force: r/c ideas shaped by and legitimising class inequalities. Status quo maintained and not questioned or challenged.
Caste System.
C- can provide genuine comfort, cannot just be dismissed as illusory.
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Neo-Marxism
Engels:
- Can lead to revolutionary change.
- Start as a response to exploitation and become sourse of resistance and change.
- Early christian sects opposing Roman Rule = communist and socialist political movements.
Gramsci:
- Rejects traditional marxist views that cultural superstructure reflects infrastructure.
- Beliefs can be as real and important as economic forces.
- Hegemony in Catholic Church serves r/c, but religion doesn't inevitably play this role.
Maduro:
- Religion has some independence from economic system.
- liberation theology-Latin America Catholic clergy critical of oppressive regimes, part of popular struggle.
- Catholic clergy part of anti-communist activity in Poland before abandonment of communism,
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Feminism
- Sacred texts- Gods are male (Bible; Eve created from Adams rib; Mary - a prositute and virgin.)
- Most religious leaders are male, R.C - women cannot be priests. Women cannot be rabbis in orthodox Judaism.
- Women socialised to be more passive, obedient and caring.
- Women can't touch Qu'ran iv menstruating - polluted.
- Jewish women cannot read scripture and must sit in balconies so don't distract men.
- El Saadawi-(muslim radical fem) men interpreted religion in patriarchal way in the past, use religion as an abuse of power.
- Daly- Christianity is a patriarchal myth.
- Simone de Beauvoir- oppressive to women, compensate women for 2nd class status.
- C- Woodhead- use religion to gain liberation. Veiling- symbolise resistance to oppression and reinforce cultural identiy. Choose to wear veil to escape confines of home and enter employment. Strong belief men should respect women, empowering them.
- Stone- Old Testament Torah written and interpreted by mean and incorporates traditional biases against women. Women identified with body, instinct, nature, sin, childbearing and domesticity.
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