For example, The Ten Commandments are ‘moral codes’ which influenced both formal and informal control. Another function is social integration and solidarity. Functionalists say encouraging collective worship is particularly important for the integration of society, since it enables members to express their shared values and strengthens group unity. By worshipping together, people develop a sense of commitment and belonging: individuals unite into a group with shared values, reinforcing social solidarity, deviant behaviour is restrained and social change restricted. Another function they believe is civil religion.
Situation ethics does have rules and principles to abide by. However, situationists are allowed to set these general rules aside if it seems more loving to do so. Situational ethics is a teleological theory as it is mainly concerned with the outcome and if this outcome is the most loving thing. Fletcher argued that “loves decisions are made situationally not prescriptively” this statement can be accounted for by the actions of Jesus Christ himself. Christianity teaches that people should not work on the day of Sabbath as God himself didn’t and that it should be the day of rest.
Functionalists believe religion is a conservative force as it promotes social harmony, social integration and social solidarity through value consensus. It is a functional prerequisite that meets the needs of society and its individual members to ensure survival of society itself. This maintains the status quo, which then reaches social stability. The Functionalist Durkheim says that religion provides beliefs and practices that unite people and bind society together creating social solidarity. Durkheim also argued that ritual and ceremony are essential to bind society together.
The True Religion Since the beginning of time, humans have relied on the teachings of different religions in order to explain their existence and to give them a purpose for living. People today, however, have an understanding of religion that is superficial because they rarely find complete satisfaction or definite purpose in the teachings of their faiths. Followers of these faiths think that religion can fix the problems in their lives without them having to try to fix the issues themselves. Humans seem to be lost without a solid spiritual understanding, and they resort to accumulating material items in order to find importance in their lives. Nonetheless, instead of focusing on material items, humans should interact in and with the “Natural World”.
This is why gifts in Hopi culture are meant to be meaningful in the spiritual realm rather than in the material. The fact that the Tesuque delegation gave President Fillmore such a traditional gift, and the fact that it was an offering often given to their Sun god made me believe the Hopi were a very humble tribe. They were comparing Fillmore to the Sun, and were expecting him to reciprocate as such. The Hopi culture’s often manifested mutual expectations come to view in this event, and the common phenomenon of ethnocentrism also shows up in the way the President almost ignores the whole offering. This proves to show that exchanges between two different cultures often prove to be misunderstood even though instructions are provided.
One important principle that exemplifies these beliefs is Gelassenheit, and although it is rarely spoken its meaning is woven into the social fabric of the Amish’s everyday life. The main idea behind Gelassenheit is that a believer should surrender to God by living a life that is pleasing to him. It also takes on various other meanings: self-surrender, self-denial, resignation to Gods will, yielding to others, and a calm and contented spirit are just a few. Being humble is another important belief of the Amish, which they teach the importance of in their actions in everyday life. The Amish abhor pride and all actions that scream for attention and recognition.
Two examples of the widespread influence of the Second Great Awakening are the creation of utopian societies and the temperance movement. During the Awakening utopian societies appeared throughout the country. These reformers sought a idealistic world, free from all social evils. Some of these societies wanted an alternative to a world they considered immoral or wanted to reject the middle-class ideals of family. Conversions to faiths like the Shakers peaked during the Second Great Awakening.
Throughout the story, Eastman challenges racism by comparing the values of white middle- and upper-middle-class men, as well as stereotypes of Native men. From my perspective, despite the mistreatment of the Native people (Wounded Knee), the Christian faith is still looked to as a solution rather than the problem. to show the errors of colonization. “These children of nature once had faith in man as well as God. To-day they would have suspect even their best friend” (p. 183) Work Cited: Eastman, Charles Alexander.
Buddhists see disability as a consequence of a past life but what they mean by that is the joys and hardships are a consequence of karma and does not undermine equality. However, the image we have of Jesus is that of pure perfection and people with disabilities wouldn’t be seen as being as close to perfection as those without disabilities and it can be argued that they therefore shouldn’t be treated equally. Secondly, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. This is a quote from Jesus that teaches that we should love our neighbours, which is everyone, the same way we love ourselves. This involves looking at it from their perspective and if we were in their shoes, we would value equality.
The developing society placed great importance on the establishment of the community. The believed they must work together, including aiding those in need, fearing God would not help them if they did not help each other. In John Winthrop’s 1630 work, A Modell of Christian Charity, he writes “…Wee must delight in eache other; make other’s conditions our own; rejoice together, mourne together, labour and suffer together, always hauveing before our eyes our commission and community in the worke, as members of the same body… “ (Doc. A). He writes that by not embracing the community, God would abandon them and they would be a failure and the rest of the world would talk about it.