Also recently in the USA, the Catholic Church has been actively criticising the bourgeoisie and acting against they’re interests.
Criticisms of the Marxist perspective of religion
- Hamilton-the point that religion is often used for manipulation by the ruling classes doesn’t actually explain its existence.
- There is also conflicting evidence to suggest whether or not religion legitimates power, sometimes, as stated it can also act as an instigator of social change.
- Turner- accepts that during the feudal period religion did serve a purpose of reinforcing the system of primogeniture (eldest son= heir) by preaching the importance of legitimacy of children and marriage. He however argues that this view is outdated. Religion according to him, has lost this vital function within modern capitalism, as the individual and property is less important to the maintenance of ruling class power, it has become depersonalised. Religion is now an optional extra in modern society.
- It also ignores the possibility of secularisation.
Functionalist
Emile Durkheim- believed that religion is central to the reproduction and maintenance of social order in societies. He believes that the major function of religion is to socialise societies members into value consensus by doing the following:
- Religion sets aside certain values and infuses them with special significance. These values become moral codes/beliefs which society agrees with and brings their children up with. Such codes informally and formally control our behaviour. E.g., Ten Commandments are embodied in law, thou shalt not kill, and some have been embodied in informal morals, such as thou shalt honour thy mother and father.
- Religion encourages collective worship. Through collective worship the individual is encouraged to feel part of a wider community e.g. a Church of England member may feel part of a larger Christian community.
- Durkheim strongly believed that the worship of god symbolised the worship of society-god and society are the same thing
Malinowski –saw religion, in particular rites of passage, as functioning to appease the stress caused by life crises such as death marriage, birth etc (things that could cause social upheaval). The rite of passage involves a ceremony or ritual in which the community or society celebrates or mourns the individual in the greater community/society e.g. christenings, funerals, church wedding ceremonies. These ceremonies help to bind society together and create social order, and social contentment.
Functionalists argue that the role of religion is to preserve the status quo rather than to promote social change. They agree that religion is a beneficial conservative force because it maintains consensus, binds people together and promotes social order. They however see it as having a positive influence, whereas the Marxist view is somewhat more negative in its outlook. (Especially when looking at social change)
Criticisms of the functionalist perspective
- It is impossible to see how religion can be functioning to socialise the majority of societies members into morality, and integration, when only a minority of people attend church.
- Functionalists tend to neglect the areas in which religion has been dysfunctional for society. E.g. in Northern Ireland and Bosnia, religious divisions have caused disruption and conflict rather than promoted social order.
- It also ignores the possibility of secularisation.
Feminist
Feminists agree with Marxists to the extent of religion acting as an instrument of domination and oppression but not for the ruling class but for men. They believe we live in a patriarchal society.
Karen Armstrong-‘religion hasn’t been good to women’; they have been neglected to a marginal position.
She says however that women haven’t always been subordinate within religion e.g. in Europe archaeologists found a picture of a pregnant naked women who was also a great mother goddess.
Jean Holm-many religions stress equality in practice, she says we are far from equal e.g. in Japan folk religion, only men can take part in festivals. These inequalities occur in most religions.
Simone de Beauvoir-Religion acts for females as it does to the oppressed classes. Religion creates a false gender consciousness among females. It makes women think they are equal to men when really they aren’t. Women like the oppressed classes, are told they will be rewarded in heaven for they’re sufferings.
Nawal el Saawadi- Egyptian feminist writer who was imprisoned for her political activities writes about her oppression. She says there is an immense patriarchal dominance in religion by men over women.
Women and they’re resistance to religious oppression
Sociologist are realising now that women can no longer be seen as a whole passive group.
They’re are a number of feminists that see that religion isn’t that oppressive to women:
Leila Badawi-aspects of Islam are positive-women can keep they’re name when they get married.
Alexandra Wright-reform Judaism, has allowed women to become rabbis since 1972
Quakerism- has never been oppressive to women.
Helen Watson- veiling- veiling is seen as an oppressive symbol in the Islam religion. All Islamic women do not hold this view however. She gives three examples, one of which chose it and found it liberating the other found it appropriate and as a positive display of he religious beliefs.
Postmodernism
Postmodernists argue that the old sociological searches for the grand explanations of social behaviour are pointless. They believe there are no absolute truths, and values in society are only relative ones. Because society is more fragmented due to modernisation, they’re also more ideologies to choose from. Along with this added choice non-traditional beliefs and behaviours are being adopted. People now select their beliefs like they select lifestyles and leisure activities – consumerism.
This shift away from the traditional has a huge impact on religion according to postmodernists.
Religion no longer holds the role of promoting social solidarity and social order that the functionalists argue to be the case.
Instead religion has become a personalised entity, it has become pick and mix in a sense.
People are becoming more aware and open to new ideas; this could explain the growth in new religious movements. Religion is having to shift according to the needs of the people in different social contexts.
Criticisms of the post-modern perspective
Critics argue that surely postmodernism is trying to offer or find reasons, or absolute truths, yet they say they cant exist.
Also they argue that the view of post-modern society may be exaggerated, and may underestimate the ongoing importance of traditional ways of thinking, and of the impact of social forces such as gender, and social class on today’s society.
New religious movements, sects and cults
Roy Wallis devised the elementary forms of the new religious life.
Accommodation to the world
Rejection of the world Affirmation of the world
World rejecting religious movements
- Many characteristics of a sect
- Clearly religious organisations, with a definite conception of god e.g. Moonies pray to a heavenly father.
- They’re ideologies are usually highly unconventional, and extremely critical of the outside world. As a result the group usually expects or seeks social change.
- Some groups are millenarian, they expect god to intervene and change the world. E.g. the nation of Islam in the USA, prophesised that in the year 2000 Allah would destroy the whites and there religion.
- To achieve salvation, members may have to remove themselves from conventional life-total institutions. The organisation would control every aspect of the member’s life. Outsiders often see this as brainwashing as the member may experience a complete personality change.
- Limited contact with the outside world only for fundraising purposes.
- Leaders may take an active role in the outside life, whilst waiting for divine intervention. E.g. Louis Farrakhan-nation of Islam- became heavily involved in us politics promoting the rights of the disadvantaged minorities.
- Usually radical in beliefs held, however many are morally puritanical. E.g. Moonies restrict sex to monogamous marriage.
- They vary in size.
- They are based around communal living, therefore are a conservative force as they don’t learn or change with the world around them.
World accommodating new religious movements
- Usually offshoots of an existing world religion or denomination e.g. neo-pentacostalists are offshoots of protestant or Roman Catholic religions.
- They neither accept nor reject the world they simply live within it.
- They are concerned with religious not worldly questions; beliefs of the followers are aimed at helping them cope with their social role in society.
- They seek to restore the spiritual purity to religion which it feels has bee lost among many more conventional churches
- Members lead conventional, conforming lives outside of their religious activities. E.g. Ken Pryce studied West Indian neo-pentacostalists living in Bristol. He found that they lived ‘normal’ lives, and have or wish to have normal respectable jobs.
Religion: A conservative force or an instigator of social change
Sociologists have long been divided over the extent as to which religion acts as an instigator of social change, or as a conservative force, maintaining the status quo.
The functionalist perspective is diametrically opposing the Marxist view in this instance, because both offer religion to act as a conservative force in society, yet for different reasons.
The functionalist perspective defines religion as being a conservative force in that it establishes and promotes social solidarity between its members, and establishes value consensus that coincide with societies existing norms and values. It views it as having a positive influence.
Marxists however put amore negative definition into play. They say that religion acts as a conservative force because it legitimates, maintains and reproduces class inequalities. ( see notes on role and function of religion for reasons)
