Sociology of Sociology of ReligionReligionFebruary 27th

University of Toronto, Introduction to Sociology

Christian Caron and Adam Isaiah Green

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What is ReligionWhat is ReligionHow do we know what we know?

Historically: Religiono Offered answers to most of life’s

questions (truth/false, right/wrong)o Imbued every aspect of human social

life with meaning (birth, death, rites of passage)

o Religious beliefs so common that most societies had no word for religion

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What is ReligionWhat is Religion

Religion is ______?

You can also tweet your thoughts with #uoftsocrel on Twitter

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What is ReligionWhat is ReligionMeans different things – No consensus on

definitions

Substantive definitions – Focus on what religion is

1) to be religious is to ‘believe’ in something

2) to be religious entails actions3) to be religious involves emotions4) religion is a social phenomenon

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What is ReligionWhat is ReligionFunctional definitions – Focus on what religion does

1) provides meaning and purpose to life2) promotes social cohesion and a sense of

belonging3) provides social control

Many definitions attempt to combine both, such as sociologist Emile Durkheim:

Religion as a system of beliefs, symbols, rituals, based on some sacred or supernatural realm, that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a community

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World’s 16 Largest World’s 16 Largest ReligionsReligions

1. Christianity: 2.1 billion2. Islam: 1.5 billion3. Hinduism: 900 million4. Chinese folk: 394 million5. Buddhism: 376 million6. Sikhism: 23 million7. Juche: 19 million8. Spiritism: 15 million9. Judaism: 14 million10.Falun Gong: 10 million11.Baha'i: 7 million12.Cao Dai: 5 million 13.Confucianism 5 million14.New Age 5 million15.Jainism: 4 million16.Shinto: 4 millionSecular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist:

1.1 billionSource: Bibby, Reginald W. (2011a). Beyond the Gods & Back: Religion’s Rise and Demise and Why it Matters. Lethbridge, AB: Project Canada Books, p.201. Drawn from www.adherents.com 2010 and www.religion-facts.com 2010

Religion in the Religion in the newsnews

Policemen and soldiers in Cameroon gather around the vehicle in which seven members of a French family were riding before being kidnapped near the Nigerian border on Feb. 19, 2013

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Religion in the Religion in the newsnews

PM establishes Office of Religious Freedom to promote freedom of religion around the world

Stephen Harper looks on as Dr. Andrew Bennett, right, shakes hands with Muslim cleric Lai Khan Malik in Vaughan (Feb 20th)

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Religion in the Religion in the newsnews

Catholic schools: Ontario parents fighting to have children exempt from religious studies (Feb 3rd)

Oliver Erazo, with sons Amilcar, left, and Jonathan (in grades 12 and 10, respectively), chose a Notre Dame Catholic school for his children because it’s close to home and garners favourable ratings on a school-ranking website

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Religion in Religion in CanadaCanada

National anthem includes the line “God keep our land glorious and free!”

Religious authority has declined in Canada - governs fewer aspects of life than it used to

Other institutions have grown in importance:

Medicine, Psychiatry, Criminal Justice, Education

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RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION, RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION, CANADA AND THE PROVINCES AND CANADA AND THE PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES, 2001 (IN %)TERRITORIES, 2001 (IN %)

A PROFILE OF A PROFILE OF RELIGION AND RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY IN SPIRITUALITY IN CANADA: CANADA: TEENAGERS AND TEENAGERS AND ADULTS, ADULTS, (IN (IN PERCENTAGE)PERCENTAGE)

Religion Religion Religious beliefs vary in content and intensity

Religious practices vary in form and frequency

Due to structure of society and our place in it Effect: religious impulse takes thousands of

forms

The task of the sociology of religion is to account for these variations

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Sociology of Sociology of ReligionReligionSociology: Systematic study of human

behavior in social contextBibby: Science and religion are compatibleReligion – about faithScience – limits itself to perceivable,

‘observable parts’ of religionFor example1. Written texts2. Patterns of behaviors3. Individuals’ opinions about religious matters

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Sociology of Sociology of ReligionReligionHow many and what kinds of people are involved

in religious groups?Why does one religion predominate here, another

there?Who believes in life after death and what do

individuals think will happen when they die?The extent to which people have spiritual needs,

and what they mean by spirituality?What is the impact the religious involvement has

on individuals and societies?Under what circumstances does religion act as a

source of social stability and act as a force for social change?

Are we becoming more or less religious? Implications of this? 15

Sociology of Sociology of ReligionReligionWide array of research such as:Religion and organizations (churches,

sects, cults, etc)Religion and education (role in schools)Religion and gender (religious leadership)Religion and politics (religious terrorism)Religion and law (Charter of Rights and

Freedom)Religion and mass media (internet)In the Sociology Department Prof. Bryant (religion and history) and Prof.

Schieman (religion and mental health)

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Analyzes how individuals, social institutions, and cultures construe God or the sacred

How these ideas penetrate public culture and individual lives

Implications of those interpretations for individual, institutional, and societal processes

 The sociological study of religion is as old

as the discipline of sociology itself17

Durkheim and Durkheim and CollectivityCollectivityReligion’s origin is social People living in a community come to

share common sentiments that form a collective conscience - ‘God’ is the group experiencing itself

Leads people to designate some objects as sacred – or totems - (deserving of profound respect) and others as profane – (objects of the everyday world)

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CHRISTIANITY - CHRISTIANITY - SACREDSACRED

Cross held by Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Catholic Church

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ISLAM - SACREDISLAM - SACREDMasjid al-Haram “The Sacred Mosque” built around the Kaaba in Mecca

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JUDAISM - JUDAISM - SACREDSACRED

Menorah: a symbol of Judaism since ancient times and the emblem of the modern state of Israel

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Durkheim and Durkheim and CollectivityCollectivityReligious beliefs articulate the nature

of the sacred and its symbolsReligious rituals provide guidelines as

to how people should act in the presence of the sacred

Religion creates and reinforces social solidarity (contributes to social stability - through establishment of moral standards, and sense of belonging)

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Criticisms of Functionalist Criticisms of Functionalist AccountAccountOveremphasizes religion’s role in maintaining social cohesionDownplays religion’s dysfunctions - strongly held beliefs can generate social conflict (i.e. Fundamentalism)

When religion does increase social cohesion, it often reinforces social inequality 23

Marx and ConflictMarx and ConflictReligion is a human creationReligion is “the opium of the people”: it

soothes the disadvantaged by minimizing the importance of “this world”

Religion encourages people to accept existing social inequalities instead of changing their oppressive conditions

Religion unites people under ‘false consciousness’ according to which they believe that have common interests with members of the dominant class

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Marx and ConflictMarx and ConflictHistorically some religions teach that the

existing social arrangements of a society represent what God desires

Many rulers have historically declared their rule was legitimated by God

Conflict between religious groups (religious wars)

Conflict within religious groups (splinter group leaving an existing one)

Conflict between a religious group and the larger society (conflict over religion in the classroom)

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Critique of MarxCritique of MarxReligion can promote change towards

equality (abolish slavery, civil rights movements)

Sense of community that some people find in religion is a positive force

Some contemporary religious movements challenge the rich and powerful by advocating for income redistribution in society (i.e. liberation theology originated in Latin America)

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Weber and IdeasWeber and IdeasReligion is oriented toward this world –

religious ideas and behaviour evident in everyday conduct

Weber examined the possibility that Protestant Reformation strongly influenced moral tone of capitalism in Western world through adoption of Protestant ethic

Weber argued that ideas – whether true or false - represent a person’s definition of reality and therefore have potential to influence behaviour

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Weber and IdeasWeber and IdeasNeed to interpret action by

understanding actor’s motives (Verstehen)

Researchers should place themselves in roles of those being studied

Comparative and historical studies of religion and found that god-conceptions are strongly related to economic, social, and political conditions in which people live

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Criticism of WeberCriticism of WeberCorrelation between Protestant ethic and the strength of capitalist development is weaker than Weber thought

Weber’s followers have not always applied the Protestant ethic thesis as carefully as Weber did

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ConclusionConclusionDurkheim – Religion and Social Solidarity

Marx – Religion and Social Conflict

Weber – Religion and Social Change

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William James (1902)William James (1902) Religion is a common human response to the fact that we all stand at the edge of an abyss. It helps us cope with the terrifying fact that we must die. It offers us immortality, the promise of better times to come, and the security of benevolent spirits who look over us. It provides meaning and purpose in a world that might otherwise seem cruel and senseless.

Karl Marx (1843)Karl Marx (1843)Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions. - Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right

GOD?GOD?

GOD?GOD?

DIVINE CONTROLDIVINE CONTROL

“…divine control involves the extent that one believes that God exercises a commanding authority over the course and direction of his or her own life”

- Schieman, Pudrovska, and Milkie 2005

“The belief that there exists a superhuman, supernatural intelligence who deliberately designed and created the universe and everything in it”

- Richard Dawkins 2007

SESSES

SES = Socioeconomic Status, usually includes one’s yearly income and the years of formal education one attained.

DEPRIVATION-DEPRIVATION-COMPENSATION THESISCOMPENSATION THESISIndividuals in disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions are more likely to be religious in order to compensate for their plight and acquire otherwise unattainable rewards

- Glock and Stark (1965)

AFRICAN AMERICAN AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCHCHURCH

DEMYTHOLGIZATION DEMYTHOLGIZATION THESISTHESISHigher socioeconomic (SES) status diminishes the belief in the supernatural-mythological orthodoxy of religion

3 TEST GROUPS3 TEST GROUPSGroup 1 received prayers and

didn’t know it.

Group 2 received no prayers and didn’t know it.

Group 3 received prayers and did know it.

STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF PRAYER FOR HEALTHPRAYER FOR HEALTH

RESULTS: Prayer has no effect on recovery.

“Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: A multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer. Clinical Investigation “

-- American Heart Journal. 151(4):934-942, April 2006.

RELIGIOUS EXTREMISMRELIGIOUS EXTREMISMa term used to describe the actions or ideologies of religious individuals or groups outside the perceived center of a given religion; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards of a given religion.

50,000 WOMEN BURNED 50,000 WOMEN BURNED ALIVEALIVE

LINKSLINKSThe Phelps Ihttp

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The Phelps: Canadahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMvehlR8wio

Shirley Phelps and Fox Newshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc5FIMpHbgU&feature=related