Slide 1

12
Education and Religion

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 2

EDUCATION

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 43

Slide 3

Figure 42-2: Annual Median

Earnings by Educational Level

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 4

Figure 42-1: Higher Education

Completion Rates (BA/BS), Selected Countries

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 5

Figure 42-3: Foreign Students by

Major Countries of Origin and Destination

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 6

Sociological Perspectives
on Education

Education is social institution that

formally socializes members of society
Proportion of people age 25 or over with a
high school diploma increased from 41%
in 1960 to more than 86% in 2008
Proportion with a college degree
rose from 8% in 1960 to 29% in 2008

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 7

Functionalist View

Transmitting Culture
Exposing young people to existing
beliefs, norms, and values of their culture
Internet offers new and potentially
revolutionary way to transmit culture

Promoting Social and Political Integration

Common identity and social integration
fostered by education contributes
to societal stability and consensus
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 8

Functionalist View

Maintaining Social Control

Schools teach students punctuality,
discipline, scheduling, responsible
work habits, and how to negotiate
a bureaucratic organization

Serving as an Agent of Change

Schools serve as a meeting ground
where people can share
distinctive beliefs and traditions
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 9

Conflict View

Education is instrument
of elite domination
Schools socialize students
into values dictated by the
powerful and stifle
individualism and creativity
to promote relatively
insignificant change

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 10

Conflict View

The Hidden Curriculum: Standards

of behavior deemed proper by
society are taught subtly in schools
Credentialism: Increase in the lowest
level of education needed to enter a field

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 11

Conflict View

Bestowal of Status
Schools tend to preserve social class
inequalities in each new generation
Tracking: Practice of placing students
in specific curriculum groups on the
basis of test scores and other criteria
Correspondence principle: Promotes
values expected of individuals in each social
class; perpetuate social class divisions
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 12

Feminist Views

In 20th century, sexism found in:

Stereotypes in textbooks
Pressure to study
traditional womens subjects
Unequal funding for athletics
Employment bias
Women have made strides
in continuing education

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 13

Interactionist View

Labeling approach suggests that

if people are treated in particular
ways, they may fulfill expectations
Teacher-expectancy effect: Impact
of teacher expectations and their
large role on student performance

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 42

Slide 14

Table 42-1: Sociological Perspectives on Education

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 43

Slide 15

Bureaucratization of Schools

Weber: characteristics of bureaucracy:

Division of labor
Hierarchy of authority
Written rules and regulations
Impersonality
Employment based on
technical qualifications

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 43

Slide 16

Student Subcultures

In colleges:

Collegiate subculture
Academic subculture
Vocational subculture
Nonconformist subculture
Each student is exposed to
competing subcultures and must
determine which seems most in line
with his or her feelings and interests
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 17

RELIGION

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 18

The Sociological
Approach to Religion

Durkheim and the Importance of Religion

Religion: Unified system
of beliefs and practices
relative to sacred things
(Durkheim)

Collective act
Includes many forms of
behavior in which people
interact with others

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 19

The Sociological
Approach to Religion

Durkheim and the Importance of Religion

Sacred: elements beyond everyday
life that inspire awe, respect, and even fear
Profane: includes the
ordinary and commonplace
Sociologists study religion through:
Norms and values of religious
faiths through their substantive beliefs
The social functions it fulfills
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 20

World Religions

89% of worlds population

adheres to some religion
Christianity largest faith, Islam 2nd largest
Judaism forms historical
foundation for Christianity and Islam
Hinduism embraces number
of gods and reincarnation
Buddhism developed as reaction
against Hinduism; uses meditation
to overcome selfish cravings
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 45

Slide 21

Table 45-1: Major World Religions

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 22

Sociological Perspectives
on Religion

Manifest functions: Open and stated

functions; religion defines the spiritual
world and gives meaning to the divine
Latent functions: Unintended, covert, or
hidden functions; might include providing a
meeting ground for unmarried members

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 23

The Integrative
Function of Religion

Durkheim viewed religion as an

integrative force in human society

Gives meaning and purpose to lives

Offers ultimate values and ends
Strengthens social integration
Socializes young children
Can be dysfunctional

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 24

Religion and Social Support

Religions emphasis on divine and

supernatural allows us to do
something about calamities we face
Encourages people to view personal
misfortunes as relatively unimportant
Faith-based community organization taken
more responsibilities in social assistance

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 25

Religion and Social Change

The Weberian Thesis

Protestant ethic: Followers of
Protestant Reformation emphasized
a disciplined work ethic, this-worldly
concerns, and a rational orientation for life
Spirit of capitalism has
emerged as generalized cultural trait

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 26

Religion and Social Support

Liberation theology: Church

should be used in political efforts
to eliminate poverty, discrimination,
and other forms of injustice
May be dysfunctional

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 27

Religion and Social

Control: A Conflict View

Marx: religion impeded social change

People focus on other-worldly concerns
Religion drugged masses into submission
by offering consolation for harsh lives on earth
To whatever extent religion influences
social behavior, it reinforces existing
patterns of dominance and inequality

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 28

Feminist Perspective

Theorists stressed fundamental role

women play in religious socialization
Women generally take subordinate
role in religious governance
Women play vital role as
volunteers, staff, and educators
In U.S., women more likely than men
to be affiliated with religion
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 44

Slide 29

Table 44-1: Sociological Perspectives on Religion

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 45

Slide 30

Components of Religion:
Belief

Religious beliefs: Statements to which

members of a particular religion adhere
Fundamentalism: emphasizes
doctrinal conformity and literal
interpretation of sacred texts
Found worldwide
Spirituality not as strong in industrialized
nations as in developing nations
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 45

Slide 31

Rituals

Religious rituals: Practices required or

expected of members of a faith
In recent decades, participation in religious
rituals tended to hold steady or decline

Religious experience: Feeling or

perception of being in direct contact
with ultimate reality or of being
overcome with religious emotion
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 45

Slide 32

Table 45-2: Components of Religion

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 46

Slide 33

Religious Organization

Ecclesiae: Religious
organization claiming to
include most or all
members of a society
Denominations: Large,
organized religion not officially
linked with the state or government

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 46

Slide 34

Religious Organization

Sects: Relatively small religious

group that broke away from some
other religious organization to
renew original vision of the faith
Fundamentally at odds with society
and does not seek to become
established national religions
Established sect: Out-growth
of a sect that remains isolated
2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 46

Slide 35

Comparing Forms of
Religious Organization

Ecclesiae, denominations, and sects

best viewed as types along a continuum
From individual perspective, religion
and spirituality remarkably fluid
One sign of fluidity is
rapid rise of electronic church

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 46

Slide 36

Table 46-1: Characteristics of Ecclesiae,

Denominations, Sects, and New Religious Movements

2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.