Marxists and Functionalists agree with the purpose of religion being a conservative force. Marx and Durkheim share the assumption that religion was a product of society and that it is a conservative force. They both agree that religion is in the interest of the ruling class. The evidence that supports the marxist perspective is that the church of england has traditionally been seen as the 'conservative party at prayer' . Evidence that criticises the marxist perspective states that there are many instances where religious leaders or movements have challenged the established order and help promote change.
Loyola created the religion belief known as Society of Jesus. The people were required to stay educated, strong, and holy. Loyola tried to influence the people to the Catholic faith. People were probably influenced to Loyola’s belief because it doesn’t seem to be as strict as Calvin’s belief. The people probably felt more in control of the situations because they could control their own actions which in return decided if they were saved from sin.
Durkheim believed that the main function of religious belief is to promote social stability which is reinforced by the collective conscience. The collective conscience is the shared values and moral beliefs and without them there would be no social order, social control, social solidarity or cooperation. Durkheim says that the attitudes of respect towards the sacred is the same attitudes applied to social duties and obligations, therefore people are worshipping society and recognising the importance of the social group. Religion strengthens the unity of the group and promotes social stability by bringing them together at religious rituals. When being together in religious rituals, social groups are able to express their faith and their common beliefs and values.
The belief and believers are what make up any religion.l They are what keep the structure of religion in order to continue its existence. The beliefs of a religion are defined as the faith, trust and confidence in a tenet or creed. The believers are those who are empowered by faith, trust and confidence of the religion. For example, in Christianity, Christians are the believers of God and live by God’s will to spread His word. A living, dynamic religion integrated with the belief and believers is the ability to incorporate a religions beliefs into a more modern context to suit the current believers without sacrificing the principle values.
Danielle Rassi Mr. Battersby APUSH 11 September 2011 DBQ 1: The Influence of Puritan Values The Puritans were a diverse group of people who stood for religious purity. They believed that the English Reformation had not gone far enough in disposing similarities with the Church of Rome, such as hierarchy. Throughout the 1630s to the 1660s the Puritan’s valued religion and their beliefs were displayed in their life style, from the layout of their church centered town to their idea of salvation. Despite the religious rules, “brethren” community, and Puritan work ethic that influenced their social way of life and produced economic success in businesses, their utopian government fell apart at the rise of conflict between religious and profit motives as well as the clash of opposing ideas to their Puritan political system. The social structure of the New England Puritans was a brotherhood.
Assess the view that religious beliefs and practices are changing to reflect a new era of diversity and choice In recent years, there has been evidence to support the fact that religious beliefs and practices are declining. However, this evidence has been challenged and argued against with 3 different alternatives to this theory: postmodernity, religious market theory and the existential security theory. Some sociologists that support these theories, who oppose to the view of secularisation, believe that religion is simply changing to reflect changes taking place in society, not declining. The changes in religion are largely the result of changes in wider society, such as greater individualism and consumerism, or even a shift from modern to late modern or postmodern society. Davie takes on a more privatised form and argues against the secularisation theory.
A famous example of this was Martin Luther Kings ‘I have a dream’ speech, his use of religion in his passionate speech for equality helped to motivate people in society to push for social change, and ultimately changed America’s legislation and outlook on integration and equality between the black and white community in America. This shows that religion is a force for social change. Furthermore the church acts as a an ‘honest broker’ between two groups, in this case the church was the middle ground between the government and the African American community, this once again means that religion is a clear force in social change, this is because the church was capable of bringing the two communities together through religion. The church did this by spreading messages such as ‘love thy neighbour’ which promoted more equality in society, this means that the influence the church
Inter-religious conflicts dominate the headlines and casts doubts on the positive role of religion. With such problems prevalent in society, it is truly justified that some question if religion has a place in modern society. Religion, though flawed, has its roles. For instance, the preachings of certain religions actually teach followers to take on selfless roles in society to aid the less fortunate. It is also due to the strong backing of religion that organisations such as the YMCA Youth For Causes are formed to benefit society.
These differences in answers stem from each individual’s personal beliefs and morals. These beliefs and morals in turn stem from that individual’s history and culture. Thus, religion plays an important role in answering this question. At the most basic level, the religious person would answer that the purpose of being human is to “do onto others as you wish to have done onto you”. However, as society becomes less and less religious and consumerism increases in importance, this foundational rule, the golden rule, is being replaced with an
Throughout Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, he depicts the realities of religion in democracies, while illustrating the importance of Religion in the continued success of democracies. He also states that for a number of reasons, and not unlike all other forms of government, there are dangers. He points out the importance of religion by displaying how it aids the avoidance of these dangers and, the sustained prosperity of democracy. To first determine the importance of religion in democracies, you must first determine its dangers. The first of these dangers is susceptibility of Americans to extreme individualism, and isolation from the community.