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The effect of religions in society
The sociological perspective on religion
The sociological perspective on religion
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Recommended: The effect of religions in society
Religion plays a vigorous role in our existence. Sociologists believe that there is a connection between faith and humanity, how people live and their actions towards the way we live. Their aim is not to scrutinize this to prove if one religion is better than the other, but to corroborate the role of religion and its influence on our daily lives.
Religion has essentially three elements, what we believe, whether certain things should be prohibited and or what we should hold sanctified to us. Next, we have the practices, what we contemplate to be rituals, and then we have the church as a community when we intersection as one to celebrate and practice our sacraments.
Sociologist findings have proven that there are different perspectives when it comes to religion, the
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They placed much as they believe in God.
When it comes to the conflict theorists they were total opposite as they believe that the existence of God was somehow impossible. Both the functionalism and the interactionist had similar beliefs as the functionalist believed in religious activities (marriages, funerals etc.) just like the majority of the world today. They all had symbols that represent their religious beliefs such as the Muslims reflected on the moon and stars. However, for Christians, their most recognized symbol is the Cross which symbolizes the core belief of Christians who believe that Jesus died on the Cross as penance for our sins.
Now the struggle theorizers believe that religion was a routine urbanized to coerce people and is not good for humans. Restrictions were set for the people as an emblem of control where as they had to be governed by certain doctrines Marx thought. Correspondingly the functionalist felt that religion met all human wants and act as an expressive comfort to the
When beginning to look at religions and cultures and their intertwining effect on each other, you can see that a religion shapes society, and equally society shapes religion. When comparing the theories of two popular anthropologists, Durkheim and Geertz, I believe that Geertz’s theory is more realistic and reliable than Durkheim’s theory. Durkheim’s theory says that religion is a joined community effort that brings people together like a social glue, and uses the definitions of the sacred and profane to distinguish what makes things religious. On the other side, Geertz’s theory holds that religion is a cultural organization, and showed that religion and society can have an impact on each other, and religion is a set symbols of that promote an emotional response, ultimate meaning, ordering of the world, and marks a special status in one’s life. When examining both theories I saw that Geertz’s theory challenges Durkheim’s theory in the definitions of the sacred and profane, Durkheim’s view of religion as a social glue of society, and Durkheim’s neglection of the individual’s use of religion impacting society.
When it comes to the study of religion, there are certain methods and protocols that must be followed in order to analyze a tradition or practice from an objective standpoint. This is why most scholars who study religion utilize the functionalist approach in order to look for a particular function that religion plays in society. One of the key components of this approach is Methodological atheism, or remaining suspicious of supernatural claims. In addition, the functionalist approach breaks down religious claims into social functions and focuses on what purpose a religion serves for the insiders who practice it. This approach involves asking questions such as who is making a claim, about what, and what purpose it may serve to the society that implements this claim.
The sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. Thus, the purpose of this comprehensive exam is to give me an opportunity to demonstrate mastery over relevant theories, methods, and empirical findings in major subfields of the sociology of religion. This reading list also provides a strong foundation in the central theoretical perspectives, main classic and current debates, and prominent published empirical studies in the field. Hence, this reading list includes a core set of readings to which we most often refer in our studies and enables comprehensive analyses about the
Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply
We can apply Karl Mannheim’s sociologist approach to knowledge to the theories of two scholars of religion, Émile Durkheim and William James. “The ideas expressed by the subject are thus regarded as functions of his existence. This means that opinion, statements, propositions, and systems of ideas are not taken at their face value but are interpreted in the light of the life-situation of the one who expresses them” (Mannheim 50). Mannheim essentially believes that the acquisition of knowledge is based on the perspective of the observer. More obviously, their respective views stem from their fields of expertise; Durkheim, a sociologist, supports social constructionism as a rudimentary tool to understanding religion, while William James takes a psychological approach. Adhering to Mannheim, one theory is not necessarily more right than the other rather, they are simply perspectives based on relative positions. But fields of vision often overlap, especially with a common goal of defining religion.
Thus, the definition of religion varies based on the disciplines and approaches. Some of its definitions are broad and comprehensive while some are narrow and exclusionary. There is a wide-range of definitions in various ways. So, each definition can be viewed as a way of understanding and seeing the multidimensional meaning and practice of religion. A typical definition of religion refers to a set of beliefs, symbols, and rituals, which are based on the ideas of the sacred, which in turn unites believers into a socio-religious community. Sociologists generally define religion by reference to the sacred or they focus on the social aspect of religion rather than the theological because it makes social analysis and comparison possible (Scott 2014:641). Similarly, Geertz (1973) argued that religion involves a meaning system with an interrelated set of beliefs, symbols, values, moods, and motivations. Another important dimension of religion refers to its structural system with established status, organizational patterns, and even bureaucratic dilemmas. Religion also is composed of a belonging system, with friendship networks, group boundaries, and informal norms which may be quite independent of the formal structure or official meaning systems (Roberts and Yamane 2015).
Religion is an organized collection of beliefs and cultural systems that entail the worship of a supernatural and metaphysical being. “Religion just like other belief systems, when held onto so much, can stop one from making significant progress in life”. Together with religion come traditions that provide the people with ways to tackle life’s complexities. A subscription to the school of thought of great scholars
Chapter 1 B: One of the approaches that define religion to me is the Functional Approach by Milton Yinger. He focused on what “religion does” (Roberts and Yamane 2012:6). In other words, how do people function based on their faith or religion. This approach is how people in society function based on how religion affects them. The functional definition is more inclusive because sociologist who uses this approach look at all forms of religion or faith-based practices that people have, new and old. What I liked most from this definition of religion is that a person can have faith in sacred things (God, gods, goodness) or the secular (science and technology), or both. This approach helps people in society understand the life they live in and how
During the European industrialization, theorist Émile Durkheim was the first to analyze religion in terms of societal impact. Durkheim defined religion as a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things” (Keirns, N. et al, p. 337, 2012). In terms of society, Durkheim overall believed that religion is about community: It binds people together (social cohesion), promotes behavior consistency (social control), and offers strength for people during life’s tribulations (meaning and purpose) (Keirns, N. et al, p. 337, 2012). He held that the source of religion is the collective mind-set of society and that this cohesive bond of social order resulted from common values in a society (Keirns, N. et al, p. 337, 2012). Additionally, he contended that these values need to be maintained to sustain social stability (Keirns, N. et al, p. 337,
Functionalists believe religion is a conservative force that performs positive functions of promoting social integration and social solidarity through the reinforcement of value consensus. In this essay I will draw on ideas from Durkheim, Malinowski, Parsons and Bellah. I will then evaluate these theorists with Marxist, feminist and postmodernist perspectives in order to assess the extent functionalism helps us to understand religion today.
Because of the colossal impact of religion in the countries surveyed the only accurate way to peek at how these people understanding themselves and their place in the world is to first have an understanding of the major religion or religions that are at work within a given society. But that statement demands the question, how is it that through religion we define ourselves? My research relies heavily on the inte...
one another. Sociologists look at these groups by means of the sociological perspective. This involves looking at a certain behavior like it has never been looked at it before. When done right one can come to a deeper level of understanding about behavior.
While all three functionalists provided interesting theories to the function of religion, the Marxist theory is superior or to its evidence in today’s society. With the growth of capitalism throughout the global economy, it is easy to witness the economic disparity between the proletariats and the bourgeoisie. There is also a clear correlation between the disappearing role religion is playing in modern society and protest by the proletariat do reduce the amount of power the top 1% earners have in society. Karl Marx would tell no undoubtedly attribute the correlation back his theory that people use religion to cope with the unfair economic conditions they are in. With the influence of religion decreasing, people feel no obligation to be content anymore.
Therefore, religion cannot stop deviance but at the same time some relation with other deviance and religion cannot be said to just be social bond (Bainbridge 1989, p.294). One theory alone is not enough to explain said findings. It is true to state or theorize that the lack of religion may have increased suicide, based on how diabolical and unwelcoming the deviance was in older time. They tended to reject the burial of bodies that have committed suicide, now however, this is not the case, and churches tend to any human body. (Bainbridge 1989, p.294) It is to say that from the conclusion that religion’s power in society changes in time as society itself changes (Bainbridge 1989, p.294).
Sociology of religion which has been introduced to the science world in the nineteenth century is of western origin. Sociology of religion whose areas of interest have diversified since its birth has been subjected to a divide as classical period and modern period over time. The classical period has an important effect on the modern period. When the studies of the classical period sociologists -Comte, Durkheim and Weber- are examined, it is observed that both general studies have been carried out and the methodology of sociology as a new field of science and sociology of religion have been tried to be established. It can be stated that the systemized and methodic sociology of religion has laid the groundwork to the studies which have been degraded