...arguments and evidence support functionalist views of the role and functions of religion in contemporary society. Functionalists see society as based upon consensus, where each institution functions to help society work together as a whole with shared ways of thinking and behaving. One example of this is the Ten Commandments which include a number of the principles highlighted in the U.K law system. As a result of this, functionalists such as Durkheim and Parsons see religion as a means of integration and social control within society. They believe that the shared rituals and collective worship of religion help reinforce the consensual values and norms of society, and that without these shared values society could not function. Sociologist Bellah believes that there is a much stronger sense of consensus values in the USA, where strong religious roots are very apparent through American’s worshipping of the flag, thus worshipping their country. Parsons however still believes that this can also be seen in Britain. Functionalists also see religion as a form of social control, providing religious backing and answers for society's rules, so people will abide by them. Functionalists such as Malinowski also believe that it is a way of coming to terms with life changing events like death, marriage and baptisms, helping individuals within society to work through the crises of life. The question of whether or not religion is still relevant in a postmodern society is dependent upon a number...
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...Socialists define religion in four ways, first by identifying whether there is a belief in some kind of super natural power, second if there is an expression of belief through collective worship. Sociologists also define religion by identifying if there is a presence of a force which unifies society, and if there are a set of morals which guide behavior. There are also substantive definitions of religion, these define religion by suggesting there has to be a belief in the supernatural, a being with powers beyond humans and substantive definitions also suggest that in religions there is a belief in the sacred, where members in society worship selected people or things, and this may cause feelings of awe. The social constructionist definition of religion takes a more interpretivist approach to defining religion, they focus on how members of society define religion, for example scientologists see themselves as a religion; however many see it as a cult. In this essay I will focus on functionalist definitions of religion, and look at how religion contributes to society and how a religion can unite a society with moral codes. During the 19th century and in to the early 20th century Durkheim studied primitive societies, he noted that in Australian aboriginal tribes they all identified with spiritual totem. Totemism is a religious belief that is normally featured in shamanistic religious, the Totem is normally of an animal, or another naturalist figure that is representative of a person...
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...experiencing resacralisation, that there are other religions such as NRMS and New Age Spirituality which are equally valid. Woodhead and Heelas suggest that there are two versions of secularisation. Firstly the disappearance thesis states that modernity is bringing about the death of religion. This thesis tends to use Church statistics as evidence. Crockett found that in 1851 40% Church attendance and in 2007 2% attended. In 2002 2/3 attended a religious service such as weddings no more than once a year. However there are problems concerning the use of Church statistics, regarding their reliability and validity. Statistics tell us very little about the social meaning of religion as Davie suggests many people can believe without belonging. Bellah also notes that religion is now private and individualised, such qualitative beliefs may be invisible to the sociological eye and consequently difficult to measure using quantitative methods. Opinion polls are also problematic as it tells us very little about these social meanings. What people say in opinion polls may be very different to what they actually do. Also priests may not tell the truth about the numbers at...
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...Asses the usefulness of functionalist theories in understanding religion today Functionalists see society as a system that works together as a whole. Functionalism is based on a consensus; this is where each institution functions to help society by working together. Functionalists argue that religion is one of the institutions that promote social integration and social solidarity through value consensus. It is need to maintain social control Durkheim argues that religion brings people together creating social solidarity. This is done through ceremonies and ritual which unite people whether they are religious or not. He argues that most religions have ceremonies such as christenings, marriages, and funerals. Durkheim disguises between the sacred and the profane which are found in every religion. The sacred are things that are set apart or forbidden such as churches, temples. These things produce a sense of awe and respect where are profane does not. Profane are objects, activities which feature in individual’s daily life, such as shopping. Durkheim argues that ceremonies take people away from their profane part of life and bring into the sacred part of their lives. This creates a collective conscience as it unites society. Society today is more secular due to the reduction of religious beliefs rituals and ceremonies still bring people together. Functionalist would argue that even today religion still maintains social integration Durkheim argues that there is nothing special...
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...Name: Course: Date: Instructor: Societal Norms vs. Change People tend to stick to what they know, what has been normal and passed down to them from generations and apply these things to their own lives. Communities are simply afraid of change and afraid of the way it may affect their ways of living for the worst. Change will always affect different people and communities differently, whether it is positively or negatively. Following old traditions within small communities has both costs and benefits. The question is whether or not change could overcome both the benefits and costs of following old traditions within the community. According to Nancy Scheper-Hughes, an anthropologist and the author of The Anthropological Looking Glass, communities, such as small villages from Ireland like Ballybran, need to accept change to be able to learn the more modern ways of looking at situations. Scheper-Hughes critiques the Irish villager’s ways of living and, whether or not she actually noticed, compares this village to American way of living. Villages such as Ballybran may have a different way of living, but this does not necessarily mean it should be looked at as uncivilized or the wrong way, though change may have been a wise choice for the villagers, which Scheper-Hughes was trying to imply. Furthermore, Maxine Hong Kingston, the author of No Name Woman, emphasizes on the risks and effects of change when born into such a strict community such as a woman born into Chinese customs...
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...must be met in order to survive. Religion plays a key function for society as it creates social solidarity and a value consensus. Durkheim says that the key feature of religion is not a belief in gods or the supernatural, but a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane, as long as you see what you worship as sacred then Durkheim says that it is fine to be a religion. Durkheim believes in the collective conscience - a set of shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge. Like in Durkheim's study of Totemism, it was proven that shared rituals bind individuals together, reminding them they are part of a group and reinforcing the idea of 'togetherness' in society. Moreover, other functionalists such as Malinowski, Parsons and Bellah, all share the same set of ideas that Durkheim has. Malinowski agrees that religion promotes solidarity...
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...example, the Catholic Church forbids divorce and abortion etc. This supports the idea that religion inhibits change because it upholds the functionalist ideology of ‘family values’ and often favour the more traditional and out-dated ideas of family such as the patriarchal domestic division of labour. However, it is hard to see how religion can socialise the majority of society and stop social change from happening when in today’s society, only a minority of people regularly attend church or believe in a traditional religion. Furthermore, Functionalist sociologist Bellah introduced the concept of a ‘civil religion’ in America in 1970. A civil religion refers to a situation where sacred qualities are attributed to aspects of the society itself meaning religion is an essential feature of society. Bellah found this evident in America where the concept on civil religion was first developed also known as ‘Americanism’. Bellah found...
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...ideals of mostly the Republican Tradition, a significant part of Expressive Individualism, and a smaller part of Utilitarian Individualism. The reason I believe that most of the Republican Tradition’s ideals are essential to an ideal society are its emphasis on a balance of the self and civic interest, education, and social justice. The balance of the self and civic interest is imperative to this ideal society. One should be able to pursue one’s own self-interest, unless one can contribute to a greater good of society. The idea of education and social justice go hand in hand. According to Thomas Jefferson, the model of the Republican Tradition, “the best defense of freedom was an educated people actively participating in government.” (Bellah 31). In order to establish the rules and governing bodies of this society, a wholly educated population that took an active interest in government affairs is critical to maintain equal freedom for all. This is where the leadership of the society emerges and falls in line with what James McGregor Burns termed as “transforming leadership.” The foundation of this is that “whatever separate interests persons might hold, they are…united in pursuit of ‘higher’ goals…tested by the achievement of significant change that represents the collective or pooled interests of leaders and followers.” (Burns 425-27). The government and its regulations are adaptive, as they reflect the changing needs of its...
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...Examine the view that religion has positive functions for society (18 marks) Functionalists demonstrate a positive view of religion, they see religion as a fundamental factor in the maintaining of consensual values. Without religion, Functionalists believe that society would break down. Durkheim suggests that religion is not a belief in Gods, spirits or supernatural but rather a factor that separates the sacred and the profane. Sacred things are believed to hold value and are treated with awe whereas profane objects, activities or people hold no significance and are considered ordinary and mundane. Durkheim concluded that sacred objects, for example the cross in Christianity, are only sacred because they represent or are symbolic of particular groups. Because such objects are given meaning based on the collective values of society, Durkheim ultimately believed that religion is society worshipping itself. Durkheim argued that religion serves two cognitive functions, firstly, religion helps maintain social solidarity where societies members can unite over common beliefs and values. The second function religion fulfills is the creation of ‘collective consciousness’ this is the idea that religion acts as a ‘glue’ that maintains social integration. These functions are seen to be positive as they suggest religion preserves society rather than disrupts it. Parsons offers another positive view of religion, he outlined three positive functions that religion successfully fulfills...
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...Parsons: Values and Meaning• Parsons sees religion helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes. He identifies two other essential functions that religion performs in modern society. • It creates and legitimates society’s central values. This is done my sacralising them. In the USA, Protestantism has sacralised the core American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline. This serves to promote consensus and social stability. • It is the primary source of meaning. It answers ultimate questions about the human condition e.g., why the good suffer and why some die young. Such events defy our sense of justice and make life appear meaningless, and this may undermine our commitment to society’s values. Religion provides answers to such questions, e.g. by explaining suffering as a test of faith that will be rewarded in heaven. By doing so, religion enables people to adjust to adverse events or circumstances and helps maintain stability Parsons: Values and Meaning• Parsons sees religion helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes. He identifies two other essential functions that religion performs in modern society. • It creates and legitimates society’s central values. This is done my sacralising them. In the USA, Protestantism has sacralised the core American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline. This serves to promote consensus and social stability. • It is the primary source...
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...Assess the Functionalist view that religion benefits both society as a whole and its individual members? (18) Functionalists see religion in a positive light and as it is a key institution of society. This differs from the Marxist and Feminist view that religion is there to simply reinforce the oppression. For functionalists, society’s key need is for social solidarity and order enabling members to cooperate. Religion ensures that this is maintained, and individuals do not pursue their own selfish desires alone as this would cause society to disintegrate. Durkheim acknowledged that the key feature of religion was not a belief in the Gods but the apparent distinction between the sacred and the profane which is found in all religions. Sacred being things that are set apart which give feelings of awe and wonder and profound being things which have no significance and are ordinary and mundane. In Durkheim’s study of an Australian Aboriginal tribe signified these differences. When the group practised their rituals, through prayer to the sacred, this was done collectively as a social group which binds individuals together reminding them that they are part of a community in which they owe their loyalty to. Durkheim’s view on sacred symbols represents societies collective consciousness, the shared norms and values, shared value beliefs and our knowledge that make a harmonious society and social solidarity possible. In contrast, responding to Durkheim’s claims Worsley maintains that...
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...meaningfulness and job satisfaction and the related impact it has on employee withdrawal decision process. Name: Angela Cheng Studentnumber: 6514392 Supervisor: Dr. ‘Alim Beveridge Nottingham University Ningbo 2014 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 RESEARCH TOPIC ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 PROJECT RATIONALE .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................................. 4 1.5 RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................................................ 4 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................... 5 3.0 RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................................ 6 3.1 DATA COLLECTION ..............................................................................
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...How Do Communities Function: A community is established when more than two people share the same values. Through time this personal connection evolves into a fellowship governed by rituals, traditions, and a particular form of communication that when taken together makes a group of individuals whether living in a specific geographical area or connected by ideals so distinct that their distinguishing marks allow them to stand out from among the crowd. Community, can be defined as a group of people within a small area (generally smaller than a city or town), who share common social ties or have common social goals, and who have interaction among each other; people who can live in a relationship of mutual interdependence. When studying community development, we have to analyze what currently exists and then try to create ways for improvement or enhancement. Thus, I believe that the best way to do that is to simplify community into one of its smallest aspects without being so narrow that you’re only studying individuals or people without any common ties on which to compare. In addition to this, development within a community is often a rigorous process and thus cannot focus on too large of an area or group at once. If it does so then one end or segment of the city or town is often not considered as important of an area. Moreover, what may be the goal of one portion of the town may be totally dissatisfying to other segments, which could cause many problems if each community...
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...Durkheim on Religion “If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion." (Bellah, 1973, p. 191 [excerpt from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life]) "For we know today that a religion does not necessarily imply symbols and rites, properly speaking, or temples and priests. This whole exterior apparatus is only the superficial part. Essentially, it is nothing other than a body of collective beliefs and practices endowed with a certain authority." (1973, p. 51 [excerpt from "Individualism and the Intellectuals"]) The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, the last major work published by Durkheim, five years before his death in 1917, is generally regarded as his best and most mature. Where Suicide focused on a large amount of statistics from varying sources, The Elementary Forms used one case study in depth, the Australian aborigines. Durkheim chose this group because he felt they represented the most basic, elementary forms of religion within a culture. Durkheim set out to do two things, establish the fact that religion was not divinely or supernaturally inspired and was in fact a product of society, and he sought to identify the common things that religion placed an emphasis upon, as well as what effects those religious beliefs (the product of social life) had on the lives of all within a society. Durkheim's finding that religion was social can best be described by this excerpt...
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...Functionalist theories of religion Understand functionalist theories and explain the role and function of religion, and how religion contributes to social stability. Durkheim on religion: He believes that it is a central institution for creating and maintaining value consensus and social solidarity. The key feature was not the belief in God, but a fundamental distinction between the sacred and profane found in all religions. The sacred and the profane For Durkheim, the key feature was not a belief in gods, spirits or the supernatural, but a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane found in all religions. The sacred are things set apart and forbidden, that inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions. By contrast, the profane are things that have no special significance-things that are ordinary and mundane. Furthermore, a religion is never simply a set of beliefs. It involves definite rituals or practices in relation to the sacred, and these rituals are collective-performed by social groups. The fact that sacred things evoke such powerful feelings in believers indicated to Durkheim that this is because they are symbols representing something of great power. In his view, this thing can only be society itself, since society is the only thing powerful enough to command such feelings. When they worship the sacred symbols, therefore, people are worshipping society itself. Although sacred symbols vary...
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