Chapter 14

Religion

Religion, Science and Sociology

• Can religion and science coexist?– Because religion involves matters beyond human

observation and because science is all about observation, these two institutions can potentially conflict.

– Religion is a social institution– Sociologists analyze the relationship between

society and religion and the role in plays in people’s lives.

What is Religion?

• Religion – (According to Durkheim)– “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things,

uniting adherents into a moral community”

• Transcendent reality – a set of meanings attached to a world beyond human observation.

Three Elements of Religion

1) Beliefs that Some Things are Sacred– Sacred – entities/aspects of life that have to do with the

supernatural that inspire awe, reverence, respect, fear– Profane – ordinary

2) Practices concerning this considered sacred.

3) A moral community resulting from a group’s beliefs and practices

Functionalism and Religion

Religion performs certain functions:

• Answers questions about the ultimate meaning of life

• Emotional comfort, social support

• Uniting believers into a community (integrative function)

• Provides guidelines for everyday life

• Social Control

• Adaptation

• Support for the Government

• Social Change

–There are also dysfunctions of religion including: War and Terrorism and Religious Persecution

Symbolic Interactionism and Religion

Peter Berger (The Sacred Canopy, 1990):– Studied what meanings people give to their religious beliefs

and what religion means to each individual– Religious Symbols

Symbolic Interactionism and Religion

Focus on Religious Behavior:

A. Belief (religious belief) – statements to which members of particular religions adhere.

- Fundamentalism

B. Ritual (religious rituals) – practices required or expected of members of a faith.

- Generally affirm beliefs

C. Experience (religious experience) – feeling or perception of being in direct contact with God.

Conflict Theory and Religion

Conflict Theorists are highly critical of religion

• The ruling class uses religion to justify its economic, political, and social advantage over the oppressed.

• Marx saw religion as “The opium of the people” and believed that religion diverted people’s attention from the oppression they were facing

•Legitimization of Social Inequalities– Social Arrangements Represent God’s Desires– Divine Rights of Kings– Pharaoh as God– Hindu Cast System

Capitalism and the Protestant Ethic

• Weber believed that religion sometimes encourages social change.

• Capitalism involved a radical redefinition of work, it became a moral obligation rather than a necessity.– Religion Held the Key to Modernization

Capitalism and the Protestant Ethic

• Weber referred to the cluster of values and attitudes stressing hard work, thrift, and discipline as the Protestant ethic.

• Weber found the roots of the Protestant ethic in the 17th century Puritan theology of Calvinism – a person’s fate was predetermined by God.

Focus on Theoretical Perspectives: Religion

World’s Major Religions• There are three major Western religions: Judaism,

Christianity, and Islam.

• The two major Eastern religions are Hinduism and Buddhism.

Western Religions: Judaism

• Originated 4,000 Years Ago

• Fundamental Change in Religion to Monotheism

• Contemporary - Orthodox, Reform, Conservative

• Certain practices, such as dietary restrictions, observance of Sabbath, and religious holidays are, however, binding in traditional Judaism.

• About 17 million followers of Judaism, 5 million of whom reside in Israel; remainder found mainly in Eastern Europe, 80 percent of the world’s Jews US and Israel.

Western Religions: Christianity

• Also Monotheistic

• Believe Jesus Christ is Messiah

– Born in Poverty to a Virgin

– At about 30 Jesus Began Teaching

• Belief in Christ’s resurrection

• Christianity is the world’s largest and most diverse religion: with more than 2 billion followers.

Western Religions: Islam• World’s Third Monotheistic Religion

– shares its Abrahamic origin with Jews and Christians

• Founded by Muhammad (Born in Mecca)• About Age 40 had Visions from God

– Visions and Teachings Written in Koran

• World’s Fastest Growing Religion– About 1.6 billion followers

• All Muslims subscribe to the Five Pillars of Islam: – a declaration of faith,

• accepting the authenticity of Muhammad as God’s Prophet – a commitment to pray five times each day, – charity, – to keep the fast of Ramadan, – and a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia once in lifetime.

Eastern Religions: Hinduism

• No Specific Founder• Chief Religion in India for 2,000 - 4,000 Years• No Canonical Scripture

– an ancient oral tradition not committed to writing until the Middle Ages.

• Brahmanas, Bhagavad-Gita, and Upanishads Expound Moral Virtues

• People Make Sacrifices to gods• Polytheistic - Many gods• Central Belief is Karma - Spiritual Progress• No Final Judgment - Reincarnation• Spiritual Perfection Results in Nirvana

• About 780 million Hindus today. Nearly all Hindus live in South Asia, particularly India, whose population is 80 % Hindu.

Eastern Religions: Buddhism

• Siddhartha Gautama Founded in about 600 B.C. – Buddhism originated in sixth-century B.C.E. India as an

alternative interpretation of Hinduism

• Four Noble Truths– Existence is Suffering– Origin of Suffering is Desire– Suffering Ceases when Desire Ceases– Follow “Noble Eightfold Path” to End Desire

• Enlightenment - a state individually attained; achieved through intense meditation and good deeds.

• Buddhists, numbering approximately 360 million, are concentrated in the Far East and Southeast Asia.

Religion in the U.S.•Religious participation goes up as one ages•94 % of Americans believe that there is a God

•Importance of religion in one’s life

How US Adults Identify with Religion

Religion in the US

• Toleration

• Fundamentalist Revival

• The Electronic Church

• Secularization

The Future of Religion

•Religion Thrives •People will Always Ponder the Purpose of Life•Science Cannot Tell Us About

– The Existence of God– The Purpose of Life– An Afterlife– Morality