1. Religion
The Power of Society
Can a person’s religious affiliation (or lack of it) give us any
clues about that person’s attitudes on family life?
In a recent survey of U.S adults (a survey that was limited to
white people, to control for race), 90 percent of those who
described themselves as evangelical Protestants also said they
had “old-fashioned” values about family and marriage. The
share of self-described Catholics or mainline Protestants who
said the same was lower.And less than half of those who
claimed to have no religious affiliation shared these traditional
values.Clearly, people’s values—whether “old-fashioned” or
progressive—are not just a matter of personal choice; they also
reflect people’s social background, including their religious
affiliation.
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Religion: Concepts and Theories
LO 19.1 Apply sociology’s major theories to religion.

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Religion: Concepts and Theories: What Is…?
LO 19.1 Apply sociology’s major theories to religion.
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Religion and SociologyFaithBelief-based conviction rather than
scientific evidence
Although rituals take countless forms, all religion deals with
what surpasses ordinary or everyday understanding. In
Venezuela, “devil dancers” take part in the annual Corpus
Christi Day celebration.
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Religion and Sociology
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3. Functions of Religion: Structural-Functional TheoryReligion
has 3 major functions (Durkheim)Establishing social
cohesionPromoting social controlProviding meaning and
purpose
Religion is founded on the concept of the sacred—aspects of our
existence that are set apart as extraordinary and demand our
submission.
Totem–An object in the natural world collectively defined as
sacredAccording to Durkheim (1965, orig. 1915), society has a
life and power of its own beyond the life of any individual.In
other words, society itself is godlike, shaping the lives of its
members and living on beyond them.Bowing, kneeling, or
prostrating oneself are all ways of symbolically surrendering to
a higher powerThese Filipino Christians seek atonement for
their sins in an annual Lenten ritual.
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Functions of Religion: Structural-Functional Theory
Constructing the Sacred: Symbolic-Interaction Theory
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Constructing the Sacred: Symbolic-Interaction Analysis

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Inequality and Religion: Social-Conflict Theory
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Gender and Religion: Feminist TheoryPatriarchal structure of
major religions linked gender and social inequality to religion.
Patriarchy is a characteristic of all the world’s major religions,
including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Male dominance can be seen in restrictions that limit religious
leadership to men and women from worshiping alongside men.
Social-Conflict and Feminist Theories
Applying Theory
Religion and Social Change
LO 19.2 Analyze how religion encourages social change.

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Types of Religious Organizations
LO 19.3 Distinguish among church, sect, and cult.
Church—Sect Continuum
Churches and sects are two opposing ideal types of religious
organization. Any real-life religious organization will fall
somewhere on the continuum between these two concepts.
Religious Organizations
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Religious Organizations: What Is…?
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Religious Organizations: Leadership and Membership
Charisma–Extraordinary personal qualities that can turn people
into followers
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6. In global perspective, the range of religious activity is truly
astonishing. This woman in Ghana, celebrating the Kokuzahn
voodoo festival, throws sand into her open eyes and is not
harmed. What religious practices common in the United States
might seem astonishing to people living in other countries?
Religion in HistoryPre-industrial societiesAnimism: Elements
of the natural world are conscious life forms that affect
humanity
Pastoral and horticultural societiesBelief in a single divine
power: Responsible for creating the world
LO 19.4 Contrast religious patterns in preindustrial and
industrial societies.
Animists see a divine presence not just in themselves but also in
everything around them. Their example has inspired New Age”
spirituality.
Animism is widespread in traditional societies, whose members
live respectfully within the natural world on which they depend
for their survival.Religion becomes more important in agrarian
societies, which develop a specialized priesthood in charge of
religious rituals and organizations. The huge cathedrals that
dominated the towns of medieval Europe—many of which
remain standing today—are evidence of the central role of
religion in the social life of medieval agrarian society.
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Religion in History

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World ReligionsChristianityBuilt on the personal charisma of a
leader, Jesus of NazarethBegan as a cult, drawing elements from
JudaismMost practiced by Christians in Europe or the Americas
Monotheistic
LO19.5 Contrast six major world religions.
Although it began as a cult, Christianity’s 2.3 billion followers
make it now the most widespread of the world’s religions.
Christianity is the most widespread religion with 2.3 billion
followers, one-third of the world’s people.Monotheism–Belief
in single divine powerPolytheism belief in many godsToward
the end of the Middle Ages, the Protestant Reformation in
Europe gave rise to hundreds of new denominations. In the
United States, dozens of these denominations—the Baptists and
Methodists are the two largest—command sizable followings
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Christianity is the dominant religion of Western Europe and
became the dominant religion of the Americas and much of
southern Africa and Oceania.
Can you explain this pattern?
Source: Association of Religion Data Archives (2012).
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8. World ReligionsIslamIslam is the word of God as revealed to
Muhammad (prophet).Followers of Islam are called Muslims
who accept the Five Pillars of Faith.Muslim population is large
and diverse.
As part of their upbringing, most Muslim parents teach their
children lessons from the Qur’an; later, the children will do the
same for a new generation of believers.
Many religions promote literacy because they demand that
followers study sacred texts.To Muslims, Muhammad is a
prophet, not a divine being as Jesus is to Christians. The text of
the Qur’an.In Arabic, the word “islam” means both
“submission” and “peace.Although divisions arose among
Muslims, all accept the Five Pillars of Islam: (1) recognizing
Allah as the one, true God and Muhammad as God’s messenger;
(2) ritual prayer; (3) giving alms to the poor; (4) fasting during
the month of Ramadan; and (5) making a pilgrimage at least
once in one’s life to the Sacred House of Allah in Mecca.A
majority of people in the Middle East are Muslims. Most of the
world’s Muslims live elsewhere.Muslim population is large and
diverse.
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Islam is the dominant religion of the Middle East, but most of
the world’s Muslims live in North Africa and Southeast Asia.
Source: Pew Research Center (2011) and Association of
Religion Data Archives (2012).
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World Religions

9. Jews make up a majority of the population in only one
country—Israel.But Judaism has special importance to the
United States because the largest concentration of Jews (5.2
million) is found in this country.Importance to the US because
the largest concentration is found in North America.Judaism has
deep historical roots that extends to Mesopotamia.Jews
comprise a majority of the population only in Israel.
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World Religions
Today, there are about 950 million Hindus, which is almost 14
percent of world’s people.Another Hindu principle, karma,
involves a belief in the spiritual progress of thehuman soul. To
a Hindu, each action has spiritual consequences, and proper
living results in moral development. Karma works through
reincarnation.
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Hinduism is closely linked to the culture of India.
Source: Association of Religion Data Archives (2012).
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World Religions
Today, some 463 million people, or 7 percent of humanity, are
Buddhists, and almost all live in Asia.Almost all Buddhists live

10. in Asia.
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Buddhists represent a large part of the populations of most
Asian nations.
Source: Association of Religion Data Archives (2012)
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World Religions
Confucius, whose Chinese name was K’ung Fu-tzu, lived
between 551 and 479 b.c.e.Like the Buddha, Confucius was
deeply moved by people’s suffering.From about 200 B.C.E.
until the beginning of the 20th century Confucianism was
China’s official religion.Until the beginning of the 20th century
Confucianism was China’s official religion.After 1949, the
communist government repressed all religious expression.
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Religious Affiliation
LO 19.6 Analyze patterns of religiosity in the United States.
Religiosity–The importance of religion in a person’s
life.Religious affiliation is related to social class, ethnicity, and
race.More than 70% of U.S. adults claim that religion is
important in their life.
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11. Religious Membership across the United States
In general, people in the United States are more religious than
people in other high-income nations. Yet membership in a
religious organization is more common in some parts of the
country than in others.
What pattern do you see in the map? Can you explain the
pattern?
Source: Association of Statisticians of American Religious
Bodies (2012).
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Religiosity
Although most people in the United States say they are at least
somewhat religious, probably no more than about one-third
actually are.
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Religiosity in Global PerspectiveReligion is stronger in the
United States than in many other nations.
In general, people in higher-income countries are less religious
than those inlower-income nations.
The U.S. population is an important exception to this
pattern.Source: World Values Survey (2010).
Religious Diversity: Class, Ethnicity, and Race

12. High achievers: 10% = Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and United
Church of Christ members represent 33 percent of all listings in
Who’s Who. Jews = 12%.Moderate social standing:
Congregationalists, Methodists, and CatholicsLower social
standing: Southern Baptists, Lutherans, and especially
Jehovah’s Witnesses and other members of sects
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Changing Affiliation
In the last fifty years, traditional “mainstream” religious
organizations have lost about half their membership.
But during this same period, fundamentalist and new spiritual
movements have increased their membership.
From another angle, almost half of our people change their
religious affiliation over their lifetimes.
Religion in a Changing Society
LO 19.7 Discuss recent trends in religious life.
Two major aspects of change: changing affiliations over time
and the process of secularization.
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Science and ReligionScience and religion are two different ways
of understanding, and they answer different questions.

13. Do you know what these different questions are?
Both Galileo and Darwin devoted their lives to investigating
how the natural world works.Yet only religion can address why
we and the natural world exist in the first place.
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Religion in a Changing Society
Core values of New Age movementNew AgeSeekers believe in
higher power.Seekers believe everything is connected.Seekers
believe in a spirit world.Seekers want to experience the spirit
world.Seekers pursue transcendence.Some seekers pursue
political change.FundamentalismTake words of sacred texts
literally.Reject religious pluralism.Pursue the personal
experience of God’s presence.Oppose secular humanism.
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