RELIGION: CHAPTER 15

CONSIDERED A CULTURAL UNIVERSAL

DEFINITION:
A UNIFIED SYSTEM OF BELIEFS AND  PRACTICES RELATED TO "SACRED AND
PROFANE" THINGS--DURKHEIM

Sacred: Elements beyond everyday life that inspire awe, respect, and
fear

Profane: The ordinary, common-place elements of life

ELEMENTS:

   1) Belief System (or world view)
   2) Community (The belief system is shared)
   3) Central Myths ("Stories that express the religious beliefs of a 
      group are retold and often re enacted")
   4) Ritual ("Beliefs are enacted and made real through ceremonies")
   5) Ethics ("Rules about human behavior are established, often having 
      been revealed from a supernatural realm, but they can also be viewed as 
      SOCIALLY generated guidelines")
   6)Characteristics emotional experiences - ("Typically dread, rebirth, 
     conversion, liberation, bliss, etc.")
   7) Material expression - ("Religions make use of an astonishing variety 
      of physical elements - statues, paintings, musical compositions, etc.")
   8)Sacredness (see above) 

SECULARIZATION:  PROCESS THORUGH WHICH  RELIGION BECOMES LESS
IMPORTANT IN SOCIETY AS A WHOLE, AND HAS ITS OWN SPECIAL SPHERE
IN THE WORLD

What are the most common religions?

IN ORDER:

   1. CHRISTIANITY
     (ABOUT 2 BILL (1/3 of world's pop)---580 MIL = ROM. CATHOLIC)
   2. ISLAM
      (ABOUT 1.9 BILL--about 20 pct)
   3. Hindus: 811 Mill - about 13 pct
   4. Buddhism - 360 Mill, 6 pct
   5. Judaism 14 Mill (0.2 pct)


SOME TERMS:

   COSMOLOGY= GENERAL THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE

   BELIEFS--STATEMENTS/PRINCIPLES TO WHICH A
   PARTICULAR RELIGION ADHERES

   RELIGIOUS RITUALS--PRACTICES REQUIRED OR EXPECTD
   BY MEMBERS OF A PARTICULAR FAITH
   DENOMINATION--LARGE, ORGANIZED RELIGION NOT LINKED WITH
   THE STAT OR GOV'T

   ECCLESIAE--A RELIGIOUS ORG THAT CLAIMS TO INCLUDE
   MOST OF ITS SOCIAL MEMBER AND "OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED"

   LIBERATION THEOLOGY--The use of church/religion, especially catholocism
   in Latin America, to eliminate poverty and other forms of injustice

   RITUALS: Practices required or expected of members of a faith; they
   tend to honor divine powers and remind devotees of their duties.

   RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE: A feeling that one has been in direct contact
   with the ultimate divine power


FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION

   1. INTEGRATION
   2. SOCIAL SUPPORT
   3. CODES FOR LIVING
   4. SOCIAL CONTROL
      KNOW DIFF BETWEEN MARX/WEBER/DURKHEIM

RELIGION TENDS TO BE REGIONAL IN THE US--

   1. CATHOLICS-WEST AND NORTH-EAST
   2. BAPTISTS--SOUTH
   3. LUTERANS--NORTH CENTRAL (MINN, DAKOTA, ETC)
   4. METHODISTS -- MIDWEST (PLAINS TO EAST COAST)

Types of Religious organization 

   1) Ecclesiae: A religious organization that claims to include most
      or all of the members of a society and is recognized as the
      national or official religion

   2) Denominations: A large, organized religion, not officially linked
      with the state or government. It tends to have explicit sets of
      beliefs, a defined system of authority, and a generally respected
      position in society.

   3) Sects: A relatively small religious group that has broken away from 
      some other religious organization to renew what it considers the
      original vision of the faith

   4) Cults: New religous movements that tend to be small, often
     secretive, and often viewed as less respectable (eg, Falun Gong in
     China (borrows from Buddhist & Taoist styles)

(KNOW TABLE 15-2, page 395)

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