International Educational Corporation Active-Handout Topic 1

International Educational Corporation Active-Handout • Topic № 1 Religious Studies • Sociology • 2 credits • assoc. professor 2014 -2015 years 4 Semester Yerkin Massanov

Three World and National Religions: 1. Buddhism; 2. Christianity; 3. Islam. • 1. Hinduism; • 2. Judaism; • 3. Shintoism.

The brief content: • 1. Definition of the Religion; • 2. Three broad categories; • 3. Functionalist Perspective and Religion.

IWS: Emile Durkheim Sociology of religion Durkheim's earlier concern with social regulation was in the main focused on the more external forces of control, more particularly legal regulations that can be studied, so he argued, in the law books and without regard to individuals.

Definition of Religion (R. ): A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence.

Term Religion (R. ): Ø Substantive: Focus on the content or substance of religious belief, such as belief in God or the supernatural. Ø Functional: Define religion through the social or psychological functions it performs. Ø Social constructionist: Interpretivist approach that focuses on how individual members of society themselves define/construct religion and religious belief.

Three broad categories: 1. World religions, a term which refers to transcultural, international faiths; 2. Indigenous religions, which refers to smaller, culture-specific or nationspecific religious groups; and 3. New religious movements, which refers to recently developed faiths.

Types of Religious Organization: Ernest Troeltsch (1931) created a typology of three varieties of religious organizations: 1. Ecclesia; 2. Church (Denomination); 3. Sect; 4. Cult (now called New Religious Movements, NRMs).

Elements of Religion: Most religions have four elements: 1. Ritual (ex. Prayer, communion); 2. A sense of the Sacred; 3. A system of beliefs-in the supernatural and a set of ethics OR a set of abstract ideals; 4. Organization-each religion has a public component.

Four types of Religion: ØSimple supernaturalism - the belief that supernatural forces affect people's lives positively or negatively. ØAnimism - the belief that plants, animals, and elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits that impact events in society. ØTheism - belief in a God or Gods. ØTranscendent idealism - belief in sacred principles of thought and conduct, such as truth, justice, life and tolerance for others.

Differences “faith” and “religion” • Faith is ‘an orientation of the self’ - faith relates to the internal conviction, associated beliefs, attitudes; • ‘Religion’ relates to the formal expression of the internal conviction (normally socially expressed).

Main question of Religion: Religion seeks responses to ultimate questions (Why are we here? What does it all mean? ) Religion seeks to respond to aspects of life that threaten meaningful order and to rob life of its sense, not purely intellectually but also materially (How do we address suffering? Who am I? ).

Religion Provides Social Control: v. As Durkheim implied, religion sacralizes the norms and values of established society, maintaining the dominance of group goals over individual wishes: Religion is a means of social control.

Secular Society: Generally, religion concerns the “sacred, ” and secular society comprises the “profane. ” However, there are important and enduring relationships between these two separate spheres. The religion-society link is expressed differently in different religious organizations.

Religions as Organizations: Ø A church is a formal organization that shares features with all formal organizations: it is bureaucratic in nature and integrated into the larger society. Ø A sect is a form of religious organization that is non-bureaucratic and clearly distinct from the larger society. Ø A cult is distinct not only from the larger society but from other religions as well- it does not emerge from pre-existing religious forms; it is completely new.

Functionalist Perspective and Religion: ØReligion is a ‘social glue’ that binds people with sacred rituals ØReligion upholds basic social norms ØLegitimates governmental authority ØReligion is a balm for the oppressed and marginalized ØBut also dysfunctional…. ØPrevents social change ØEnhances political conflict.

Sociologically Religion: A social institution that develops in history and relates in some way to the supernatural, religion is a group phenomenon that is concerned with responses to existential questions.

Measuring Religiosity: ØReligiosity is the extent to which a person does one or more of the following: Ø(1) believes in and “feels” or experiences certain aspects of religion Ø(2) becomes involved in religious activities such as attending church or reading sacred texts Ø(3) believes in the teachings of the church, Ø(4) lives in accordance with those teachings and beliefs.

Religion and the Meaning of Life: • Religion seeks to answer important questions such as why we exist, why people suffer and die, and what happens when we die-the ‘sacred canopy’ • Things that people do not set apart as sacred are referred to as profane - the everyday, secular or “worldly” aspects of life.

Major World Religions Christianity Islam Hinduism Buddhism Judaism Confucianis m No. of Adherents 1. 7 billion 1 billion 719 million 309 million 18 million 5. 9 million Founder Jesus Muhammad No specific founder Siddhartha Gautama Abraham, Isaac, Jacob K’ung Fu-Tzu Dates Founded 1 st century C. E. ca. 600 C. E ca. 1500 B. C. E 500 to 600 B. C. E. ca. 2000 B. C. E. 500 B. C. E

Ecclesia: • Encompasses all members of a society; • People are primarily born into the ecclesia, do not convert; • Influential in government affairs.

Denomination: § Stable, institutional organization; § Well-educated clergy; § Elaborate rituals and beliefs; § Tolerant of religious pluralism and the secular world.

Sect: üLess organized than denomination üCharismatic, less educated ministers üGrowth by recruiting, rather than being born into church üHigher levels of devotion üReject worldliness and ‘impure’ denominations üTend to draw recruits from the lower classes.

New Religious Movements (NRMs): • Offer completely new beliefs, rituals, and means of transcendence • Live in stark opposition to the world • Informally organized, led by selfstyled, charismatic leadership • Recruit people who have economic and psychological deprivation.

Conflict Theory and Religion: • Religion is the ‘opiate of the masses’ according to Karl Marx-a way for the elites to reinforce the oppression of the lower classes • Later conflict theorists point to the use of religion to justify racism, sexism, and oppression of homosexuals • Focus on the ‘hereafter’ blinds people to current oppression.

Functionalism and Religion: • Society is a system of interrelated parts. Different institutions (the media, religion, education system) perform certain functions in society to help maintain value consensus and social solidarity needed within all societies. • For Functionalists, religion plays a big part in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: : • Religion serves as a reference group to help people define themselves. • People are socialized into certain roles (ex. Being reverent during communion) through group expectations • People attach sacred meaning to symbols.

Conclusion, Future of Religion: • Secularization theory, which believed that modernization, democratization, and globalization would decreased the need for faith, has been debunked; • Worldwide surge of fundamentalism(s) across religious traditions; • Religious devotion will increasingly be coupled with religious tolerance; • Polarization of beliefs within traditions.

The control questions: • 1. The Term of Religion? • 2. Types of Religious Organization? • 3. Three broad categories R. ?

• SIW: • 1. To analyze: Emile Durkheim Sociology of religion? • 2. Give examples Elements of Religion (essay 2 -3 pages). • SIWT: • 1. Basic meaning of Religion and the Meaning of Life? • 2. Differences between Denomination and Sect? (abstract 3 -5 pages).