RELIGION AS A CONSERVATIVE FORCE / FORCE FOR CHANGE

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RELIGION AS A CONSERVATIVE FORCE

  • Religion is often seen as conservative in the way of being 'traditional', it upholds traditional beliefs about how society should be organised.
  • It is conservative because it functions to conserve or preserve things as they are. It stabilises society, maintaining status quo.

RELIGIONS BELIEFS

  • Many religions have traditional conservative beliefs about moral issues, many oppose changes that would allow more individual freedom in personal/sexual matters. EG Catholic Church forbids contraception, abortion, divorce, opposes gay marriage and condemns homosexual behaviour.
  • Many religions uphold family values and favour a traditional patriarchal domestic division of labour this is shown in the belief that men should be the head of the house/family. 

RELIGIONS FUNCTIONS

  • RELIGION AND CONSENSUS - Functionalists see religion as a conservative force as it functions to maintain social stability and prevent society from disintegrating. EG promotes social solidarity by creating VALUE CONSENSUS, reducing the likelihood of society collapsing through pursing of own selfish desire through others. Helps individuals also deal with stresses that without religion would disrupt society.
  • Marxists and feminists see religion as an ideology which supports social structure, acting as a means of social control. It creates stability in the interests of the powerful and therefore helps in maintaining the status quo by preventing the WC from changing things.
  • RELIGION AND CAPITALISM - Marx sees religion as a conservative ideology, which prevents social change. It creates false consciousness in the WC, preventing revolution and maintaining capitalist society.
  • RELIGION AND PATRIARCHY - Feminists see religion as a conservative force due to it acting as an ideology which legitimates patriarchal power and maintaining women's subordination in the family / wider society.

RELIGION AS A FORCE FOR CHANGE

MAX WEBER

  • Study of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Calvinsim. 
  • The religious beliefs of Calvinism helped bring about major social change especially the emergence of modern capitalism in the 16th and 17th century.
  • Past societies had capitalism in the sense of greed and wealth, which was spent on luxury consumption, but…

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