BELIEFS IN SOCIETY Ashleigh Dark

WHAT IS RELIGION?
Substantive Definition- Belief in God or the supernatural.
Functional Definition- Functionalists define religion in terms of the
functions it performs e.g. social integration.
Social Constructionist Definition- Social constructionists argue that
it’s not possible to produce a universal definition of religion and
instead focus on how individuals define religion.

FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE OF
RELIGION
Functionalists argue that religion is important for society because it
promotes social solidarity and consensus.
The Sacred and The Profane (Durkheim)- The sacred is forbidden and
inspire feelings of awe and the profane have no special significance.
The sacred represent something of high significance and by
worshipping them it unites members of society.
Psychological Functions (Malinowski)- Religion provides psychological
functions by helping the individual cope with emotional stress e.g. an
afterlife in Christianity provides comfort when somebody has died.
Civil Religion (Bellah)- Civil religion unifies society as it is a belief
system attached to society.

MARXIST PERSPECTIVE OF
RELIGION
Marxists argue that religion is an ideological tool that promotes class
inequality.
Religion as an Ideology (Marx)- Religion is a belief system that
distorts people’s perception of reality to benefit the middle class.
Religion and Alienation (Marx)- Religion is the product of alienation.
Religion acts as a consolation for suffering but doesn’t do anything to
end suffering.

FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE OF
RELIGION
Feminists see religion as a patriarchal tool that legitimates gender
inequality. Evidence of patriarchy in religion include;
Religious Organisation- Religions organisations are male dominated.
For example Catholicism forbid women to become priests.
Places of Worship- Many places of worship segregate men and
women. For example in Judaism females have to worship in a smaller
less decorative room.
Woodhouse critiques these explanations of oppression. She argues
that religion can be used to grant females greater freedom. Western
feminists see the hijab as oppressing whilst Muslims see it as
liberating. They wear it to enter the public sphere without losing their
culture.

RELIGION AS A CONSERVATIVE
FORCE
Religion can be seen as a conservative force as it defends traditional
values and preserves society to keep it functioning the same.
Religion’s Conservative Beliefs- Most religions have traditional beliefs
and oppose change that allows individuals more personal and sexual
freedom. For example the Catholic Church forbids divorce, abortion
and contraception.
Religion’s Conservative Functions- Functionalists believe that religion
functions to preserve social solidarity. Marxists believe that religion
functions to preserve class inequality by preventing social change.
Feminists believe that religions functions to preserve gender
inequality by promoting patriarchal ideology.

RELIGI0N AS A FORCE FOR
CHANGE (WEBER)
Calvinism- Weber argues that Calvinism helped emerged modern
Capitalism. Calvinist beliefs such as predestination, divine
transcendence and asceticism all contributed towards the emergence
of modern Capitalism.
Hinduism and Confucianism- Ancient China and India were more
advanced than England but Capitalism failed to take off. Hinduism in
India was ascetic but other worldly and directed members towards
the spiritual world. Confucianism in China was this worldly but not
ascetic. Calvinism was a mixture of the two and this is why Calvinism
led to the emergence of Capitalism.

RELIGION AND SOCIAL PROTEST
(BRUCE)
Bruce identifies two social protests that have been inspired by
religion.
The American Civil Rights Movement- Religion was an ideological
resource to the black protesters fighting for civil rights. Religion
aided the civil rights movement by taking the moral high ground,
acting as a honest broker.
The New Christian Right- The New Christian Right Movement aim to
take America ‘back to God’. They believe in traditional family and
gender roles. They used media and broadcasting to protest about
issues such as abortion and the banning of sex education in school.

MARXISM AND CHANGE
Although Marxists argue that religion is a conservative ideology,
some Marxists recognise that religion can have a duel character and
act as a force for change.
Liberation Theology- A movement that emerged within the Catholic
Church in Latin America. Priests helped the poor establish support
groups and helped workers fight oppression.
Millenarian Movements- Religion creates the desire to change things.
Millenarian movements appeal to the poor as they promise immediate
improvement.

SECULARISATION IN BRITAIN
Secularisation theorists put forward many ideas as to why religion is
declining and losing it’s importance in Britain.
Disenchantment (Weber)- People have started thinking rationally
rather than spiritually.
A Technological World View (Bruce)- A technological world view has
replaced religious explanations of why things happen. For example a
plane crash is now explained by a technological fault rather than
God’s will.
Structural Differentiation (Parsons)- Prior to secularisation, all
functions were performed by the church. As industrialisation
increased, separate institutions perform different functions which has
led to the disengagement of religion.

POSTMODERNITY AND RELIGION
Postmodernists reject the idea that religion is losing it’s importance
and instead argue that religion is changing.
Believing Without Belonging (Davie)- Religion has become privatised.
People are choosing to worship in their own home rather than join a
religious organisation.
Vicarious Religion (Davie)- A small number of clergy practicing
religion on behalf of a larger amount of people.
Spiritual Shopping (Hervieu-Leger)- Cultural amnesia has led to a
change of religion. Children are no longer taught religion by their
parent. Children now make up their own minds about religion and
often combine aspects from different beliefs.

EXISTENTIAL SECURITY THEORY
(NORRIS AND INGLEHART)
Norris and Inglehart argue that variations in religiosity because of
different degrees existential security. This means that religion meets
a need for security do therefore people who feel secure are less likely
to need religion.
Poor Societies- People who face famine, disease and natural disaster
have high levels of religiosity.
Rich Societies- People who have a high standard of living have a high
sense of security and don’t need religion.

RELIGION AND DEVELOPMENT
It can be argued that religion has contributed to globalisation.
Hinduism and Consumerism (Nanda)- Globalisation has created a
educated, urban, middle class in India. These people are still
extremely religious. They believe that their wealth was given to them
by low status village gods. As they are ambivalent about their new
wealth, their religiosity levels increase.
Capitalism in East Asia (Redding)- East Asian tiger economies such as
South Korea and Singapore have been successfully industrialised.
Redding argues this is because their post-Confucianism values
encourage hard work, self discipline and a commitment to education.

FUNDAMENTALISM (GIDDENS)
Fundamentalism- Fundamentalists are traditionalists who seek to
take their religion back to it’s fundaments. They believe in the literal
scripture and are intolerant of other people’s views. Examples of
fundamentalist groups are Al Qaeda and Boko Haram.
Cosmopolitanism- Cosmopolitanism is a way of thinking that
embraces modernity and social change. It is tolerant of others’ views
and can modify their views in light of new information.

TYPES OF RELIGIOUS
ORGANISATION
Church- Large organisation, run by a bureaucratic hierarchy, claim a
monopoly of truth, tend to attract higher classes.
Sects- Small and exclusive groups, hostile to wider society, expect a
high level of commitment from members, attract the poor and
oppressed, led by a charismatic leader.
Denomination- Halfway between a church and a sect, less exclusive,
not linked to the state, impose minor restrictions on members.
Cults- Individualistic, small group with shared interests, led by
practitioners who claim special knowledge, don’t demand strong
commitment.

NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
World Rejecting- They are highly critical of the outside world and
seek radical change. Examples are the Moonies and the Manson
Family.
World Accommodating- They are often breakaways from existing
churches or denominations. They neither accept or reject the world.
World Affirming- They offer their followers access to spiritual or
supernatural powers. They accept the world as it is and are optimistic
and tolerant of other religions.

GENDER AND RELIGIOSITY
More women participate in religion than men. There are many
reasons and explanations for this.
Socialisation (Miller and Hoffman)- Women are more religious
because they're socialised to be more caring and obedient. These are
qualities valued by most religions.
Woman and the New Age- New Age Movements often celebrate the
natural. Women are associated with nature as they give birth so New
Age Movements give women a higher status.
Compensation for Deprivation (Stark and Bainbridge)- Women are
deprived more than men so they join religious organisations to
compensate from deprivation.

ETHNICITY AND RELIGIOSITY
There are higher than average religiosity rates for most ethnic
minority groups. There are many explanations for these rates.
Cultural Defence- Religion offers a sense of cultural identity in a new
environment.
Cultural Transition- Religion provides comfort for ethnic minorities
migrating to a new country.

AGE AND RELIGIOSITY
The older you are, the more likely you are to participate in religion.
However there are two exceptions to this pattern.
Under 15s- More likely to go to church than any other age because
they are made to by their parents.
Over 65s- More likely to be sick or disabled so not able to attend
church.
Reasons for the pattern are;
The Ageing Effect- People get more religious as they get older as they
are nearing death and need questions answering
The Generation Effect- Each generation is less religious than the
previous one due to secularisation.

SCIENCE AS A BELIEF SYSTEM
Open Belief System (Popper)- Popper argues that science is an open
belief system. This means that it is open to falsification in order for it
to improve and grow.
Closed Belief System- Religion is a closed belief system. It holds a
monopoly of truth and is not tolerant of other beliefs.