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SOCIOLOGY
Richard T. Schaefer

15

Religion

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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15. Religion
Durkheim and the Sociological Approach to Religion World Religions The Role of Religion Religious Behavior Religious Organization Social Policy and Religion
McGraw-Hill
2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Durkheim and the Sociological Approach to Religion

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

Durkheim viewed religion as collective act

Religion includes many forms of behavior in which people interact with others Acknowledged religion is not the only integrative force
McGraw-Hill
2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 4

Durkheim and the Sociological Approach to Religion

Sacred: elements beyond everyday life that inspire awe, respect, and even fear Profane: includes the ordinary and commonplace

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 5

World Religions
Diversity in World Religions
85% of worlds population adheres to some religion
Christianity is the largest single faith, the second largest is Islam Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism developed in India. Buddhism primarily found in Asia

Differences among religions are striking, but they are exceeded by variations within faiths
McGraw-Hill
2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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World Religions
Figure 15-1. Religions of the World

Source: J. Allen 2005:3031

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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World Religions
Table 15-1. Major World Religions

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 8

The Role of Religion

Functions of 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

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 9

The Role of Religion

The Integrative Function of Religion
Offers people meaning and purpose Gives people ultimate values and ends to hold in common

Religion and Social Support

Religions emphasis on divine and supernatural allows us to do something about calamities we face
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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 10

The Role of Religion

Religion and Social Change
The Weberian Thesis
Followers of Protestant Reformation emphasized a disciplined work ethic, thisworldly concerns, and a rational orientation for life

Liberation Theology
Church should be used in political efforts to eliminate poverty, discrimination, and other forms of injustice
McGraw-Hill
2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 11

The Role of Religion

Religion and Social Control: A Conflict View
Marx argued religion impeded social change
People focus on other-worldly concerns Religion drugged masses into submission by offering a consolation for their harsh live on earth
McGraw-Hill
2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 12

The Role of Religion

Table 15-2. Sociological Perspectives on Religions

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Religious Behavior
Belief
Religious beliefs: statements to which members of a particular religion adhere

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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 14

Religious Behavior
Ritual
Religious Rituals: practices required or expected of members of a faith

Experience
Religious Experience: feeling or perception of being in direct contact with ultimate reality or of being overcome with religious emotion
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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 15

Religious Behavior
Figure 15-2. Religious Participation in Selected Countries 1981 and 2001

Source: Norris and Inglehart 2004:74

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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 16

Religious Organization
Ecclesiae
Religious organization claiming to include most or all of the members of a society
Recognized as the national or official religion

Denominations
Large, organized religion not officially linked with the state or government
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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 17

Religious Organization
Sects
Relatively small religious group that broke away from some other religious organization to renew the original vision of the faith
Sects are fundamentally at odds with society and do not seek to become established national religions.

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 18

Religious Organization
New Religious Movements or Cults
New religious movement (NRM): small secretive religious groups that represent either a new religion or a major innovation of an existing faith
Similar to sects Tend to be small Viewed as less respectable than more established faiths
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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 19

Religious Organization
Comparing Forms of Religious Organization
Ecclesiae, denominations, sects, and new religious movements have different relationships to society Electronic communication led to the electronic church

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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Religious Organization
Figure 15-3. Largest Religious Groups in the United States by County, 2000

Source: D. Jones et al. 2002:592

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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 21

Religious Organization
Table 15-3. Characteristics of Ecclesiae, Denominations, Sects, and New Religious Movements

Adapted from Vernon 1962; see also Chalfant et al. 1994

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 22

Social Policy and Religion

Religion in the Schools
The Issue
Should public schools be allowed to sponsor organized prayers or other expressions of religion in the classroom?
Some want strict separation of church and state Who has the right to decide these issues?

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2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 23

Social Policy and Religion

Religion in the Schools
The Setting
First Amendments provisions on religious freedom
In 1987, Supreme Court ruled states could not compel the teaching of creationism in public schools Many school districts now require teachers entertain alternative theories to evolution and to the creation of the universe

McGraw-Hill

2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 24

Social Policy and Religion

Religion in the Schools
Sociological Insights
Supporters of school prayer and of creationism feel use of nondenominational prayer cannot lead to the establishment of an ecclesia in U.S. Opponents of school prayer and creationism argue religious majority in a community might impose religious viewpoints at the expense of religious minorities
McGraw-Hill
2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Social Policy and Religion

Religion in the Schools
Policy Initiatives
In 2003, President Bush declared schools that prevent school prayer could lose government funding
Religious fundamentalists have pushed their agenda through the political process

Activism of religious fundamentalists in the public school system raises a question: Whose ideas and values deserve a hearing in classrooms?
McGraw-Hill
2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.