Functionalists theories on beliefs

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What was Durkheim's overall view on religion?
Religion ensures social stability by providing a set of practices and beliefs that unite people
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What are sacred things (Durkheim)?
Special, inspire feelings of awe eg.church
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what are profane things (Durkheim)?
Ordinary eg. office buildings
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What did Durkheim see religion as?
Scared
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What did different sacred items do in society?
Perform functions of uniting people into single morel community (norms values)
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Why does Wolsey disagree Durkheim's sacred and profane ?
He argues no huge distinction between sacred and profane because what's sacred to one community won't be to another
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Provide another criticism for the sacred and profane
Outdated because of Secularisation eg. uk majority don't see religion as sacred
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In Durkheim's study of Totemism what tribe did he study and why?
Arunta- simple society so could study religion in its simplest form
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Why did Arutna create a sense of solidarity and belonging?
Would come together to worship sacred Totem
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What did Durkheim really think they were doing whilst worshipping the totem?
Worshipping society and power of the group
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Who argues Totemism hasn't provided its the essence of all religions
Worlsey (1956)
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Provide another criticism of totemism
May only apply to small scale societies and not large scale societies with 2 or more religions in conflicts
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Whats Durkheim's 'the collective conscience'
Shared set of norms, values, beliefs that make cooperation possible
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What did Durkheim believe reinforced the collective conscience?
Religious Rituals because they remind they are apart of a single morel community they owe their loyalty too
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Provide an example of the collective conscience
The ARMT ceremony within Sikh religion binding them together by taking 5 k's
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Provide 2 criticism for the collective conscious
-UK had over 170,000 religions making a collective conscience impossible
-Uk's main religion has decline proving a weak collective conscience
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What does Durkheim mean by religion performing Cognitive functions?
Provides it's followers with understanding of the world. Thus, religion was the beginning of human though, reason and understanding
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Provide an example of Cognitive Functions
Christianity with God being the creator that brought the world to the beginning of time
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Malinowski found religon had 2 types of psycholgical functions, what simple soceity did he study ?
Trobriand Islands
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What was Malinowski's first psychological functions?
Where an outcome is important but uncontrollable and thus, uncertain
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Explain what he meant by 'God of gaps'
Religious rituals fills the gaps where humans don't have control
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How did Trobriand help him conclude this?
Fishing practices
- Lagoon-safe so not ritual
-Sea - uncertain so ritual is performed
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Provide a criticm For when the outcome is importan but uncontrollable
He overexaggerates the use of rituals that help humans gain control and ease anxiety and many alternatives eg. alcohol, counseling
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What Malinowski's 2nd psychological fucntion?
At times of life crisis
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What does religion minimize?
the disruption caused by major life events eg. puberty, marriage, death
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How does religion minimize the disruption?
Creates a right of passage to help believers deal with stress so can return to normality eg. funerals
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Provide evaluation for the at times of life crisis
For some, death leads to losing faith eg. Reverand Nicholson renounced her faith when her daughter was murdered in 7/7 Lindon bombing
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What did Parson call the function of religion giving us ultimate questions in life like why good people suffer and why it's a test from God?
Religion is the primary source of life
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Why does parsons argue religon creates and legitmises socities central values?
Religion provides a set of moral beliefs that become greatly ingrained in us and society eg. not to kill or steal
Value consensus and social solidarity
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Provide a criticism for Parsons view
Difficult for religion to have a strong hold on societies where secularisation has occurred eg. UK only 7% attend church
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What does Bellah mean by a civil religion?
Beleif system that attaches sacred qualties to society itself
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What did Bellah want to find out?
How religion unifies multi-faith societies such as USA
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What's included in Civil religion in USA?
Loyalty to nation and belief in God expressed through rituals such as pledging allegiance to the flag and phrases 'God Bless America'
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Therefore what does the civil religon show us ?
Non-religious belief can perform similar functions to religion such as social unity and avoiding conflict
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Provide a criticism to Bellah's view
-some would say nationalism isn't the same as religion as there is no belief in the supernatural that makes religion distinctive
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Provide another criticism to Bellah's view
Civil religion may only celebrate national events because of habit not loyalties to society
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Card 2

Front

What are sacred things (Durkheim)?

Back

Special, inspire feelings of awe eg.church

Card 3

Front

what are profane things (Durkheim)?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What did Durkheim see religion as?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What did different sacred items do in society?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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