Social Groups and Religion

how can you measure religiosity?

.census
.church census
.surveys
.data her by religious organisations themselves

1 of 56

what is the limitation of these measures specifically census?

ppl may not take it seriously, ppl put Jedi knights as a religion, making it the 4th biggest religion beating Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism

2 of 56

what is limitation of these measures specifically church census?

only a particular date, it doesn't give accurate picture as its only attendance

3 of 56

what the difference between religionist and religious belief?

religiosity is the extent to which a person partakes in religious activities where as religious belief is whether they believe in a religion/hold a religious belief ie can hold a religious belief but show no religiosity

4 of 56

what support is there for 'holding religious belief but show no religiosity'?

the number people who have a faith but font regularly practice their faith is significantly high

5 of 56

what is another limitation of the measures used?

religious organisations themselves may inflate membership to show the impression that they are a significant social institution

6 of 56

is there a difference in social class and belief?

Yes there are a no of key differences in relation to r.b and social class not only in membership but also in relation to particular religions, denominations, sects, etc

7 of 56

according to traditional marxists where is religion more prominent? which idea and sociologist does this stem from?

believe religiosity/religious participation is more prominent in most deprived areas of society, comes from weber's theodicy of disprivilege, the idea that religion acts as aa spiritual gain for the masses

8 of 56

what does religion do for wc compared to mc?

for the wc, it provides a way of coping with the deprivation and oppression, and a reward in the afterlife, where as the mc use it as a means of justifying their authority and capitalist ideologies

9 of 56

what did YouGov survey found in 2015?

that 62% of church goers are mc and 38% were wc

10 of 56

what is one explanation of this?

offers opportunities for social networking which the middle class make use of

11 of 56

what did another sociologist find about the differences in classes and church attendance?

Farthing found MC were regular church attendances, upper class were occasional church goers and wc were least likely to attend

12 of 56

where are sects most likely to get support from?

From deprived and marginalised groups in society

13 of 56

who are cults more likely to attract?

Bfrom deprived and marginalised groups in society

14 of 56

what did sociologists had differing opinions about who cults attract and what did they say?

Bruce and Heelas argued New Age Cults and World Affirming NRMS have mire appeal to the more affluent in society due to consumer nature of the group

15 of 56

why does it get more complicated for religion and social groups and what support is there for this?

as there are more differences in religions ie The Anglican Church is more mc then Roman Catholic Church/methodist church, A.C takes an anti-established perspectives on social issues

16 of 56

what social group is associated to the Roman Catholic church?

WC as its well established and is linked to newer migrant communities

17 of 56

what social group is associated to the Methodist church?

wc dure to geographical areas where faith is well established ie industrial areas of the north England , also used to be a sect so attracted wc

18 of 56

why do nam and cults appeal to mc (2 reasons)? what sociologist suggested this?

.due to spiritual deprivation suggested by Bruce as those with few material needs place higher value on spiritual needs
.mc individuals feel less successful then peers so turn to religion to answer questions

19 of 56

what gender is more likely to attend church and self-report their religiosity?

females

20 of 56

what did the church census show in 2005?

congregations were divided by 57% females and 43% males

21 of 56

what is one reason for gender and religiosity? include sociologists

.gender role socialisation- Miller+Hoffman, f more religious cuz they're socialised into traits such as empathy/submissiveness (expressive leader role taking kids to church) (+Walter+ Davie-women feel closer to god- involvement/creation in life)

22 of 56

what is another reason?

.greater life expectancy- f live longer then men so they are more likely to be widowed and living on their own, lead to greater religiosity to support building a network or get closer to partner

23 of 56

what is another reason?

.social deprivation+marginality- f more likely to face social and m originality then men, experiencing more alienation from wider society, circumstances means that f look to religion for support in groups for solutions

24 of 56

what is another reason?

.status frustration- experienced by f who lack personal fulfilment or status due to being confined to home or low mc job, religion participation can help overcome/compensate this

25 of 56

why are women more likely to join NRM? include sociologists

.organismic deprivation- f are more likely to suffer ill health so will look to sects and cults for healing
.ethical deprivation- f more morally conservative, so more likely to see world in moral decline, shame view was sects and cults

26 of 56

continuing w previous card

.social deprivation- sects and cults tend to attract poorer groups in society and f more likely to be in poverty then f
Glock+Stark

27 of 56

what did another sociologist argue?

DeBeavoir argue that females are sold a false ideology by religious teachings

28 of 56

name the evaluation for this

-feminism, Aune et al, changing role of f, changing family rs
-Woodhead- there are changes with how women engage w religion home centred work centred jugglers

29 of 56

continuing w previous card

-data is questionable, based on church attendance
-may be socially desirable for f to say they're r
-some sects male dominated+have extreme view of f

30 of 56

what are the trends in Aage and religion? who found this?

Brierley
.church attendance increased for over 65s
.since 1980, no of under 15s attending church haas halved
.half of uk churches have none under age of 20 in congregation

31 of 56

what is one reason the elderly is more religious?include sociologist

.the aging effect- as ppl come close to end of lives, interest in spirituality increases, can lead to greater religiosity as ppl look for answers about after life and forgiveness for past sins (+explains elderly f religiosity) Voas+Crockett

32 of 56

what is another reason? include sociologist

.the generational effect- current elderly generation may be more religious due to upbringing (socialised into it) which was less secure (war) than todays youth (due to social change), Norris+Inglehart call this an existential security theory

33 of 56

what is another reason?

.acts as a way for older people to have social network and socialise as they are disintegrated from wider society, church can help with that

34 of 56

what is one reason the youth are less religious? include sociologist

.socialisation- arweck+beckford, unlikely parents pass religious beliefs to children, vaos suggests this can be due to growth of inter faith marriages

35 of 56

what is another reason? include sociologist

.ritualism and tradition- Brierley 87% of 10-14% year olds in 2015 felt church was boring and that they couldn't relate to the rituals and traditional teachings, so they avoided attending

36 of 56

what is another reason? include sociologist

.individualism- Mayo, r has become more of a personal choice in post-modern society, the young dont feel pressured to affiliate themselves in a particular church or religion, chose to spend their free time on leisure activities and hobbies

37 of 56

what is another reason?include sociologist

less education on religion ie decline in Sunday schools when prior over half of children in uk attended, Bruce

38 of 56

name the evaluation

-census data on no religion and christianity likely to understate the scale of this issue, ie small but sig. group of young ppl doing census did comedy (Jedi knights)
-several ppl may define themselves are religious w/o practicing faith

39 of 56

continuing w previous card

-data on other ethnicities shows differing evidence ie young muslims take much more interest in their religion

40 of 56

what is found more in uk ethnic minorities? include sociologist who found this

almost all majority ethnic groups in uk are more religious and show high levels of religiosity then white British
Modood et al from survey (+not outdated)

41 of 56

highlight three main trends in religious in ethnics
include sociologist

.Pakistani and Bangladeshi muslims saw being muslim as their primary identity not ethnicity (Jacobson)
.young muslims had greater knowledge on religion than parents-

42 of 56

continuing w previous card

-modood et al found declining religion in Sikh men ie less likely to wear turban than their fathers)

43 of 56

what did a sociologist find around race and church?

Brierley- black ppl twice as likely to attend church then white ppl, muslims, hindus and black christians more likely to see religion as important and attend weekly at their place of worship

44 of 56

what is cultural defence? include sociologists

Bruce argued it is when religion offers support and a sense of cultural identity in uncertain or hostile environments
Bird argued its when religion can be a basis for community solidarity, a means of preserving ones-

45 of 56

continuing w previous card

culture, language and a way of coping with oppression in a racist society

46 of 56

what is cultural transition? include sociologists

Herberg argued it is when religion can be a means of easing the transition into a new culture by providing support and a sense of community in the new environment
Pryce argued Pentecostalism is a highly adaptive-

47 of 56

continuing w previous card

religion which provided migrants with values that were appropriate to their new world in a format they can understand

48 of 56

why are ethnics closely linked to religion if they go through social deprivation and marginality?

a sense of dissatisfaction with a lack of status in society may account for higher religiosity amongst ethnics was they tend to be the poorest in uk, r also provides of a source of identity and status that is lacking from the mainstream ie through promoti

49 of 56

what are ethnics closely linked to religion if they go through social identity?

religion can provide identity for ethnics such as dress food and customers as well as ritual and festivals they celebrate, this helps members resist denial of their status and devaluing culture through racism

50 of 56

what did other sociologists suggested?

.Johal found that religion is more important in multicultural/faith society
.Davie found religion can bring a sense of belonging

51 of 56

what 5 reasons did another sociologist find that explains Davie's point?

Bird found 5 reasons for this;
1. high levels of religiosity in non wstrn countries, new immigrants in uk come from less secular countries so keeping hold of religion helps with feeling they know the place -

52 of 56

continuing w previous card

2. membership of a religious group provided a sense of community/identity
3.maintaining cultural identity/traditions
4. religious socialisation- children come under pressure to maintain religious traditions for parents-

53 of 56

continuing w previous card

5. A way to deal w oppression

54 of 56

name the evaluation

-data questionable, represent a social construction not a social fact ie religiosity very important in minority ethnic groups therefore lack of faith would be deviant caused by levels of atheism

55 of 56

continuing w previous card

-bruce's explanation suggest high levels of religiosity are not down to high levels of religious belief but other social factors
+much of data is in recent migrant communities and supports it

56 of 56

Get Revising

Social Groups and Religion

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Back

Card 3

Front

Back

Card 4

Front

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

Comments

Similar Sociology resources:

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Back

Card 3

Front

Back

Card 4

Front

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

Comments

Related discussions on The Student Room

Similar Sociology resources: