McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 1 SOCIOLOGY Religion 15

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Religion Durkheim and the Sociological Approach to ReligionDurkheim and the Sociological Approach to Religion World Religions The Role of Religion Religious Behavior Religious Organization Social Policy and Religion

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3 Durkheim and the Sociological Approach to Religion Religion –Unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things (Durkheim) Durkheim viewed religion as collective act –Religion includes many forms of behavior in which people interact with others –Acknowledged religion is not the only integrative force

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 4 Durkheim and the Sociological Approach to Religion Sacred: elements beyond everyday life that inspire awe, respect, and even fear Profane: includes the ordinary and commonplace

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 5 World Religions Diversity in World Religions Differences among religions are striking, but they are exceeded by variations within faiths –85% of world’s population adheres to some religion Christianity is the largest single faith, the second largest is Islam Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism developed in India. Buddhism primarily found in Asia

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 6 World Religions Figure Religions of the World Source: J. Allen 2005:30—31

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 7 World Religions Table Major World Religions

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 8 The Role of Religion Functions of Religion –Manifest functions: open and stated functions; religion defines the spiritual world and gives meaning to the divine –Latent functions: unintended, covert, or hidden functions; might include providing a meeting ground for unmarried members

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9 –Offers people meaning and purpose –Gives people ultimate values and ends to hold in common Religion and Social Support –Religion’s emphasis on divine and supernatural allows us to do something about calamities we face The Role of Religion The Integrative Function of Religion

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 10 The Role of Religion Religion and Social Change –The Weberian Thesis Followers of Protestant Reformation emphasized a disciplined work ethic, this- worldly concerns, and a rational orientation for life –Liberation Theology Church should be used in political efforts to eliminate poverty, discrimination, and other forms of injustice

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 11 The Role of Religion Religion and Social Control: A Conflict View –Marx argued religion impeded social change People focus on other-worldly concerns Religion drugged masses into submission by offering a consolation for their harsh live on earth

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 12 The Role of Religion Table Sociological Perspectives on Religions

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 13 Religious Behavior Belief –Religious beliefs: statements to which members of a particular religion adhere

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 14 Religious Behavior Ritual Experience –Religious Experience: feeling or perception of being in direct contact with ultimate reality or of being overcome with religious emotion –Religious Rituals: practices required or expected of members of a faith

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 15 Religious Behavior Figure Religious Participation in Selected Countries 1981 and 2001 Source: Norris and Inglehart 2004:74

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 16 Recognized as the national or official religion Denominations –Large, organized religion not officially linked with the state or government Religious Organization Ecclesiae –Religious organization claiming to include most or all of the members of a society

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 17 Religious Organization Sects Sects are fundamentally at odds with society and do not seek to become established national religions. –Relatively small religious group that broke away from some other religious organization to renew the original vision of the faith

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 18 Religious Organization New 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 faith Similar to sects Tend to be small Viewed as less respectable than more established faiths

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 19 Religious Organization Comparing Forms of Religious Organization –Ecclesiae, denominations, sects, and new religious movements have different relationships to society –Electronic communication led to the electronic church

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 20 Religious Organization Figure Largest Religious Groups in the United States by County, 2000 Source: D. Jones et al. 2002:592

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 21 Religious Organization Table Characteristics of Ecclesiae, Denominations, Sects, and New Religious Movements Adapted from Vernon 1962; see also Chalfant et al. 1994

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 22 Social Policy and Religion Religion in the Schools –The Issue Should public schools be allowed to sponsor organized prayers or other expressions of religion in the classroom? –Some want strict separation of church and state –Who has the right to decide these issues?

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 23 Social Policy and Religion Religion in the Schools –The 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

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 24 Social Policy and Religion Religion in the Schools –Sociological Insights Supporters 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

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 25 Social Policy and Religion Religion in the Schools –Policy Initiatives Activism of religious fundamentalists in the public school system raises a question: Whose ideas and values deserve a hearing in classrooms? In 2003, President Bush declared schools that prevent school prayer could lose government funding –Religious fundamentalists have pushed their agenda through the political process