"Television always presents religious people as out of touch with the modern world" Do you agree? Give, reasons for your opinion, showing you have considered another point of view - You should refer to specific TV programmes.
"Television always presents religious people as out of touch with the modern world." Do you agree? Give, reasons for your opinion, showing you have considered another point of view. You should refer to specific TV programmes. Television is a form of media, used in every day life. People watch television for many reasons, some to find out the latest news, and some for leisure and entertainment. The main reason that religious followers watch TV, however, is for religious purposes. Church and religion have an impact on people and they way they live their lives, even those, who are not Christians. The country, which we live in, has an established church of England religion; but overall we live in a pluralistic society, with a mixture of different religions and faiths. Additionally, many people's morals are based on religious values and teachings, such as the commandment that, "thou shall not kill," which as well as being lawfully wrong is widely viewed as an immoral act. Although religion is an important aspect of our lives it is not always addressed in the correct manner. Occasionally, in programmes such as "Father Ted," and "Eastenders," religious people are portrayed as out of touch with the modern world; as well as in "The Simpson's," where they are portrayed in a comedic way. Not all religious programmes, however, portray religion in a negative perspective. "The Eden
Modern Britain is now a secular society. To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence agree with this view?
Sarah Lee 13L Mrs. Evans 30th October Modern Britain is now a secular society. To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence agree with this view? Primarily it is important to classify what secularisation is. Bryan Wilson (1966) described it as 'the process where by religious thinking, practise and institutions lose social significance' but this is not universally accepted. Some sociologists believe Wilson's secularisation thesis however some disagree. It is difficult to quantify secularisation but Wilson has attempted to do so by measuring church attendance. The 1851 census noted that 40% of the adult population regularly attended church in comparison to 8.2% in 1997 and the number of people who attend religious ceremonies such as baptism and funerals has also dramatically decreased. Wilson argues that this is clear evidence of secularisation. Bellah, an interpretivist sociologist, questions the validity of such statistics because people who attend church are not necessarily practising religious belief. Religion is a private matter and can consequently not be scientifically measured. Grace Davie (1995) seconds this view suggesting that secularisation needs to separate believing and belonging. She argues that religion in the UK is characterised by believing without belonging and that belonging without believing could be the case for church attendance. Critics
'In a multi-faith society religious people should not try to convert followers of other religions'
'In a multi-faith society religious people should not try to convert followers of other religions' In order to understand this argument fully, we have to look at it from different perspectives. In a multi-faith society, everyone should have religious freedom, and there should be religious pluralism: all religions are accepted as having equal right to co-exist. However sometimes, these two things collide. For example, all Christians believe that people should have religious freedom, but they also believe that it is their duty to convert others because it was Jesus' command. Nonetheless by converting non-Christians, it implies that Christianity view other religions as inferior, which disrupts the idea of religious pluralism. On the other hand, by not performing their believes, i.e. listening to God and converting others, it would mean that they won't have complete religious freedom. Other religious, such as Sikhism does not think that conversion of other is compulsory, because most Sikhs believe "all religions are true and are only different paths to the same truth". Nevertheless some Sikhs believe that only Sikhism has the whole truth. Personally, I agree that religious people shouldn't convert followers of other religions, because for a multi-faith society to work, no-one should feel compelled to choose their religion - this would damage the concept of religious freedom.
Describe, analyse and explain the variety of specifically religious programmes on the four terrestrial TV channels.
Religion and the Media Question (a) (i) - Describe, analyse and explain the variety of specifically religious programmes on the four terrestrial TV channels. With the advent of television broadcasting, all the television-broadcasting companies were expected to show programmes with a religious theme. These were mostly aired on Sundays, and were aimed at regular Christian worshippers. Religious broadcasting now is aimed at a different audience, due to the decline in numbers of churchgoers. The target audience is the vaguely religious, although there are still programmes for the committed followers. Religious broadcasts are still shown today for a number of reasons: * 80% of the UK still believes in God. * Congregation numbers, although declining, are still sizable. * Religious and moral issues often generate interest in a broader audience than purely religious people. * Television should cater for all interests. * There is a duty to update people on important topics, of which religion is one. Each television company is required to devote a certain quantity of religious broadcasts per year. BBC 1 shows 80 hours, BBC 2 20 hours, ITV 100 hours, Channel 4 52 hours and Channel 5 approximately 50 hours. There is such a small amount because British Society has an increasingly diverse ethnicity; meaning less people are inclined to watch specifically Christian broadcasts. The
Use Sources F and G, and your own knowledge, to explain why some people came to see the 1960s as a period of bad influences on British society.
Use Sources F and G, and your own knowledge, to explain why some people came to see the 1960s as a period of bad influences on British society. In both sources F and G there are facts implying that some people believed that the 1960s was 'a period of bad influences on British society'. Source F is an extract from an article in the Daily Mail. It is a primary source as it was published on 25th May 1964. There are many issues raised in this article that suggest there were bad influences in the 1960's. The source is primarily based upon the actions of Mary Whitehouse and her thoughts on the 'Bad influences' of television. Firstly she believed that Christian writers found it very difficult to get their work screened on BBC TV. This suggests that the BBC were disregarding the more traditional and religious television programmes and therefore 'good and clean' television were not being shown on TV. Instead provocative behaviour was being promoted by the BBC as the traditional programmes which used to be screened before in the 1950s were taken off air and replaced with new shows which promoted the wrong behaviour. All of these issues were the views of Mary Whitehouse. Mary Whitehouse thought that things were getting so bad that she resorted to set up a campaign 'Women of Britain Clean Up TV Campaign'. This suggests that there must have been 'Bad influences' as she had to take
Keeping the faith while keeping your job: harmonize your religious beliefs and the rules of the workplace.
Keeping the faith while keeping your job: harmonize your religious beliefs and the rules of the workplace. (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office receives complaints) When his religious beliefs conflicted with NBA policies, Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, a devout Muslim, was suspended. Rauf had refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem, saying it went against his understanding of Islam. Eventually, after the controversy surfaced in the media, he reached a compromise with the NBA: He would stand for the flag but pray silently during the Pledge of Allegiance. While Rauf's situation played out in grand proportions, many workers in America face less publicized standoffs between their religious beliefs and the edicts of the workplace. Almost 3,000 charges of religious discrimination were filed last year with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; this number represents less than 2% of all charges of discrimination filed with the EEOC. Still, religious discrimination is thought to be even more prevalent. Most instances are not reported, and many people simply quit their jobs, not knowing their legal rights. Georgette Evans, a Jehovah's Witness from Roseville, Michigan, says she was labeled a "woman with the attitude problem" after her religious beliefs took precedence over attending an employee's birthday party. Jehovah's Witnesses do not
Using materials from the items and elsewhere assess the view that practical issues are the most important factor in deciding what research method(s) to use.
Using materials from the items and elsewhere assess the view that practical issues are the most important factor in deciding what research method(s) to use. (20 Marks) In sociology, sociologists will often have to do research into certain topics to gain a deeper understanding of them. There are many methods of research that a researcher could use if they were researching into society, such as observation, questionnaires, surveys, or interviews. When choosing between these methods a researcher must consider many factors, practical, ethical and theoretical. Sociologists are often uncertain about which issues, practical, ethical or theoretical are the most important. Practical issues will determine the type of research method adapted. The researcher has to take into account if access to a particular group can be obtained. Almost all sociological experiments have practical issues that must be looked at and sorted out. They are therefore very important to be considered when embarking upon an investigation. Some practical issues that must be considered are the: Cost - how much money will the experiment cost to the researcher? Time - how much time would be required for the research? Funding - where will the money needed come from? For example, Marxists or interpretivists who produce qualitative data are less likely to get funding than Functionalists or positivists with
Evaluate the usefulness of the distinction between church and sect in explanation of the changing nature of religious beliefs and participation in modern society.
Evaluate the usefulness of the distinction between church and sect in explanation of the changing nature of religious beliefs and participation in modern society. The proven decline of religion in modern society shows us that there has been a change in the nature of religious beliefs and religious participation. Religious pluralism is far more common nowadays yet simultaneously secularisation and the number of atheists are largely increasing. The concept of religious pluralism however does not support the idea of religious decline, but merely the changes and divisions that have come about within religious forms since people are far more liberal with their beliefs. Many researchers see the activity of a religious institution as the key element of religious behaviour. More specifically the significance of religion in modern society can be measured by church attendance. The statistics shown below indicate the way religion is declining. August Comte, a French functionalist, said that the decline in participation correlates with the transition from stage two to three of 'human history.' This stage is characterised by its new set of intellectual beliefs by which science alone dominates human thinking and direct human behaviour. He feels that society has moved through from the theological stage, to the metaphysical stage and that now we are moving more and more from that which is
Is There A Decline In Religion...In Today's Society?
Is There A Decline In Religion... In Today's Society? Contents Page 3- Rationale Page 4-7 Contexts Page 8-10 Methodology Page 11-13 Pilot Survey Page 14-16 Questionnaires Page 17-22 Evidence Page 23-24 Evaluation/Conclusion Page 25 Bibliography Rationale The word 'secular' means 'non-religious' and the secularisation thesis is simply the suggestion that religion and religious beliefs are of declining importance both in society and for the individual. This subject has intrigued me because I am curious to find out: * To what extent does it claim that if people do not attend church regularly, it indicates a reduction in religiosity * Why these claims have been put forward by certain sociologists * Why no one has found an answer to whether or not religion is in decline * Why the evidence found by sociologists contradict each others findings The relevant areas of secularisation can be examined in terms of three aspects: * Religious thinking-the influence of religion on people's beliefs and values * Religious practice-such as the levels of church membership and church attendance * Religious institutions-the extent to which churches and other religious institutions have maintained their social influence and wealth The main difficulty with deciding whether secularisation has taken place is how religion and religious belief are defined and measured.
A Philosophical Analysis of Religious Experience.
A Philosophical Analysis of Religious Experience. ' A religious experience is a non-empirical occurrence, and may even be perceived as supernatural. A religious experience can be described as a 'mental event' which is undergone by an individual, and of which that person is aware. Such an experience can be spontaneous, or it ay be brought about as a result of intensive training and self discipline.' This is one definition of the term religious experience, however there are many varied definitions, which can conjure up slight confusion and different philosophers, have different definitions making the overall definition very vague. 'Religious experiences are perceived by many people as experiences of the supernatural, for example like heaven, angels or even God.' The religious experience argument is a classic a posteriori argument, which seeks to establish of the Divine, or the other that God or some transcendent reality does, indeed exist. The argument from religious experience starts from the premises that all our knowledge of the world relies upon existence. As a result of this assumption, religious experiences should be given the same basic validity as other sorts of experiences. Therefore, because of this, people claiming to have experiences of God s, angels and miracles, should be believed. The Alister Hardy Research Centre in Manchester was set up to, 'make a