religion

Examples of religion in the following topics:

• World Religions and Religious History

  • If one were to ask any sociologist of religion which are the world religions, they would likely give the standard answer that there are five world religions:
  • A detailed description of these religions is beyond the scope of this chapter.
  • The classification of these groups as world religions is, like all classifications, artificial.
  • Additionally, the religions of the book have numerous branches, some so dissimilar that there is more contention within the world religions than between them (e.g., Mormons vs. fundamentalist Christians, Catholics vs.
  • In short, classification as a world religion seems a little arbitrary.

• Freedom of Religion

  • The following religious civil liberties are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. " Thus, freedom of religion in the U.S. has two parts: the prohibition on the establishment of a state religion, and the right of all citizens to practice their religion.
  • The Federal Government may not establish a national church or religion or excessively involve itself in religion, particularly to the benefit of one religion over another.
  • Therefore, states must guarantee freedom of religion in the same way the Federal Government must.
  • By extension, democracies interpret "freedom of religion" as the right of each individual to freely choose to convert from one religion to another, mix religions, or abandon religion altogether.
  • Summarize the meaning of "freedom of religion" in the U.S. constitution

• Religion

  • Understanding the religions in your audience will help you relate to the members and avoid excluding members of differing religions.
  • According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.
  • The members of your audience could be followers of any of those religions.
  • Religions may involve the worship of a god or gods or a spiritual force.
  • People with different beliefs are free to practice their religion in the U.S. or to practice no religion.

• Introduction

  • Sociologists study religion the same way they study other social institutions, like education or government.
  • The aim is primarily to understand religions, but included in trying to understand religions is the aim of trying to predict what religions will eventually do (or what will become of religions).
  • It is important to note at the beginning of this chapter that sociologists study religion not to prove, disprove or normatively evaluate religion.
  • Sociologists aren't interested in whether a religion is right or wrong.
  • That said, the social scientific study of religion can be challenging from a faith standpoint as it provides alternative, naturalistic explanations for many elements of religion (e.g., the sources of conversion experiences).

• Religion and Social Control

  • Marx viewed religion as a tool of social control used by the bourgeoisie to keep the proletariat content with an unequal status quo.
  • Marx argued that the bourgeoise used religion as a tool to keep the less powerful proletariat pacified.
  • Marx argued that religion was able to do this by promising rewards in the after-life, instead of in this life.
  • In this passage, Marx is calling for the proletariat to discard religion and its deceit about other-worldly events.
  • Thus, the social-conflict approach to religion highlights how religion, as a phenomenon of human behavior, functions to maintain social inequality by providing a worldview that justifies oppression.

• Functions of Religion

  • The functionalist perspective, which originates from Emile Durkheim's work on religion, highlights the social role of religion.
  • The structural-functional approach to religion has its roots in Emile Durkheim's work on religion.
  • Religion, he argued, was an expression of social cohesion.
  • Religion is very real; it is an expression of society itself, and indeed, there is no society that does not have religion.
  • The primary criticism of the structural-functional approach to religion is that it overlooks religion's dysfunctions.

• The Nature of Religion

  • Many languages have words that can be translated as "religion," but they may use them in a very different way, and some have no word for religion at all.
  • For example, the Sanskrit word "dharma," sometimes translated as "religion," also means law.
  • The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures.
  • Some religions place an emphasis on belief while others emphasize practice.
  • One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism, says that religion is a modern concept that has been defined relative to the Abrahamic religions and that thus, religion as a concept has been applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures that are not based upon such systems.

• Marx and the "Opiate of the Masses"

  • Here, in Marx's eyes, religion enters.
  • One of the most frequently paraphrased statements of Karl Marx is, religion is the opium of the people.
  • It was translated from the German original, "Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes," and is often referred to as "religion is the opiate of the masses. " Taken in context, Marx is arguing that religion was constructed by people to calm uncertainty over our role in the universe and in society .
  • Early social theorists offered explanations and analysis of religion in terms of the function of religion in society, the role of religion in the life of the individual, and the nature (and origin) of religion.
  • In this, "Marx never suggested that religion ought to be prohibited" (Christiano 2008, 126).

• Religion Under the Tang Dynasty

• Religious Symbols

  • Religious symbolism is the use of acts, artwork, and events to create a mythos expressing the teachings of the religion.
  • Religions view religious texts, rituals and works of art as symbols of compelling ideas or ideals.
  • The study of religious symbolism is either universalist, a component of comparative religion and mythology, or seen in a localized scope within the confines of a religion's limits and boundaries.
  • Comparative religion concerns the systematic comparison of the world's religions.
  • Discuss the use of religious symbols as means of representing the ideals and values of a particular religion