Beliefs in Society - FUNCTIONLISM

Beschreibung

Revision on the introduction on the topic of beliefs in society and functionalism
Abigail Courtness
Karteikarten von Abigail Courtness, aktualisiert more than 1 year ago
Abigail Courtness
Erstellt von Abigail Courtness vor etwa 8 Jahre
22
1

Zusammenfassung der Ressource

Frage Antworten
Functional definition Focus is on the social and psychological functions that religion performs rather than a belief in God/supernatural
Polythetic - define religion as creating a list of possible characteristics that make up a religion Functionalists = positive view of religion Marxists = negative view of religion Feminists = negative view of religion
Substance definition Focus is on the context/substance of a religion and religious belief - belief in supernatural that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically
Durkheim (1858-1917) - defines religion in terms of the contributions it makes to social integration rather than to any God or supernatural Durkheim made three contributions to the theory of religion: - The sacred and the profane - Totemism - The collective conscience
Durkheim claimed that all societies divide the world into two broad categories - the sacred (awe and respect) and the profane (the non-sacred/banal) Totemism - a natural object or animal that is believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and that is adopted by it as an emblem
Durkheim used secondary data gathered by anthropologists who studied Aboriginal Australians to develop his theory of Totemism Collective conscience - a collection of shared values, beliefs and knowledge that makes social life and cooperation between individuals possible - without this society would cease to exist
Malinowski (1954) - states that religion promotes social solidarity by dealing with emotional stress that may threaten the stability of society Studied a small illiterate society in Papua New Guinea to develop his theory that religion aids in situations that disrupt social life e.g. birth, death and marriage
Papua New Guinea study- fishing on home territory = no ritual - fishing on open sea = ritual used for protection Rituals provide protection and comfort Parsons (1965) - defines religion as part of the cultural system meaning it gives guidelines for human actions e.g. the 10 commandments
Zusammenfassung anzeigen Zusammenfassung ausblenden

ähnlicher Inhalt

Functionalist Theory of Crime
A M
Sociology: Crime and Deviance Flash cards
Beth Morley
Sociology - Crime and Deviance - Feminists
josaul1996
The Functionalist perspective on education
Phoebe Fletcher
Sociology for the MCAT
Sarah Egan
Realist Theories
A M
Research Methods
cheyenne warwick
KEY CONCEPTS & CHOICE OF METHOD SCLY2
ashiana121
Control, Punishment & Victims
A M
Ethnicity, Crime & Justice
A M
Sociology Key Words
kazoakley