Sociology Study Guide Unit 7 Religion

Religion What is the relationship between religion and society? ● David Émile Durkheim believed that religion occurs once there is a separation between ordinary life and the sacred. To him, sacred meant extraordinary and seemingly connected to the divine. Most importantly, Durkheim believed that religion was about community, that it connects people, promotes consistent behavior, and offers strength during changes and hard times. Religion is a source of social stability. ● Karl Marx noticed that extremely Protestant communities were the most highly developed capitalist societies. He also noticed that their most successful business leaders were Protestant. He wrote in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, that the Protestant work ethic affected the development of capitalism. ● Max Weber noticed that particular types of Protestantism supported the pursuit of material gain by encouraging its followers to work hard, be prosperous, and not spend their money on pointless things. ● Karl Marx also examined how religion impacted society. He saw religion as a reflection of the social hierarchy that maintained inequality and continued the status quo. Theological perspectives ● Followers of Functionalism believe that religion has many purposes, such as answering spiritual mysteries, providing emotional comfort during a crisis, and forming a space for social interaction and control. ● Conflict theorists believe religion maintains social inequality by convincing its believers that they should be satisfied with their existing conditions because it is what God wanted. Followers of this theory believe that religion has been used to justify the “divine right” of oppressive monarchs and unequal social structures such as India’s caste system. ○ For instance, when the Roman Pope had a lot of money but the same couldn’t be said for his religious followers. Types of Religions ● Polytheism - Praise multiple gods. ● Monotheism - Praise a single god. ● Atheism - Does not believe in a god. ● Animism - Praise non-humans such as animals, plants, or the natural world. ● Totemism - The belief that every human has a spiritual connection with another physical being such as a plant or animal. Different religions in the world ● Hinduism - The oldest religion in the world and the world’s third-largest religion. Hindus believe in a deity that can appear as different entities, with the three main ones being: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. ● Buddhism - Buddhists are encouraged to live a moral life by accepting the following: life is suffering, suffering is possible by following the “middle way”. The middle way encourages people to live in the present and to practice accepting others. ● Confucianism - Many people consider this to be more of a philosophy or social system than a religion because it focuses on sharing wisdom about moral practices but doesn’t have any specific worship or formal objects. ● Taoism - This religion considers inner peace and harmony to be the purpose of life. The beliefs of Taoism place a lot of importance on compassion and moderation. ● Judaism - The promise of a special relationship with Yahweh (God) is an important aspect of Judaism. Abraham is an important figure in the foundation of this faith and the sacred Jewish text is the Torah. Jewish is both a religion and ethnicity, with Israel having the largest population for this group. ● Islam - Meaning “peace” and “submission”. Followers of this religion believe in the teaching of the prophet Muhammad. Although not considered a divine being, Muhammad is seen as the messenger of Allah (God). The sacred text of Islam is the Qur’an (or Koran). ● Christianity - The largest religion in the world . This religion began with Jesus, who taught his followers about charity and treating others the way you want to be treated. Christians consider Jesus to be the son of God. Their religious text is the bible.