anthro30 11 religion new
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Religion
Durkheim’s View of Religion
Durkheim’s viewUnified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred thingsReligion as collective actIncludes many forms of behavior in which people interact with others
Sacredelements beyond everyday life that inspire awe, respect, and even fear
Sacred and Profane
Profaneincludes the ordinary and commonplace
What do these represent among Catholics?
World Religion
Diversity in World Religions85% of world’s population adheres to some religion
World Religions
Buddhism; 463
Christian-ity; 2,281
Hinduism; 935
Islam; 1,553
Judaism; 15
World Religions (2011)
Role of Religion
Manifest functionsreligion defines the spiritual world and gives meaning to the divine
Functional Perspective
Latent functionsmight include providing a meeting ground for unmarried members
Offers people meaning and
purpose
Gives people ultimate values
and ends to hold in common
Religion and Social Support
Emphasis on divine and
supernatural allows us to do
something about calamities we face
The Integrative Function of Religion
Followers of Protestant Reformation emphasized a disciplined work ethic, this-worldly concerns, and a rational orientation for life
The Weberian Thesis
Liberation TheologyChurch should be used in political efforts to eliminate poverty, discrimination, and other forms of injustice
Conflict Perspective
FeministReligion as an instrument of women’s subordination, except for their role in religious socialization
Conflict Perspective
Marx argued religion impeded social changeReligion drugged masses into submission by offering a consolation for their harsh live on earth
A Conflict View
Focus on the religious behavior
Belief Ritual Experience
Interactionist Perspective
Belief• statements to which members of a particular religion adhere
Religious Behavior
Ritual• practices required or expected of members of a faith
Religious Behavior
Experience• feeling or perception
of being in direct contact with ultimate reality or of being overcome with religious emotion
Religious Behavior
Religious Organizations
EcclesiaeReligious organization claiming to include most or all of the members of a society
Recognized as the national or official religionDenominations
Large, organized religion not officially linked with the state or government
Religious Organization
Religious OrganizationSects
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.
Religious OrganizationNew 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 faithSimilar to sectsTend to be smallViewed as less respectable than more established faiths
Religious OrganizationComparing Forms of Religious Organization
Ecclesiae, denominations, sects, and new religious movements have different relationships to societyElectronic communication led to the electronic church
Religious Organization
Figure 15-3. Largest Religious Groups in the United States by County, 2000
Source: D. Jones et al. 2002:592
Religious Organization
Table 15-3. Characteristics of Ecclesiae, Denominations, Sects, and New Religious Movements
Adapted from Vernon 1962; see also Chalfant et al. 1994
Social Policy and ReligionReligion in the Schools
The IssueShould public schools be allowed to sponsor organized prayers or other expressions of religion in the classroom?Some want strict separation of church and stateWho has the right to decide these issues?
Religion in the SchoolsThe Setting
First Amendment’s 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
Social Policy and Religion
Social Policy and ReligionReligion in the Schools
Sociological InsightsSupporters 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
Religion in the SchoolsPolicy InitiativesActivism of religious fundamentalists in the public school system raises a question: Whose ideas and values deserve a hearing in classrooms?
Social Policy and Religion
End