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| Pregunta | Respuesta |
| Problems with defining religion | - No universal definition agreed on by all sociologists - Makes measuring religion difficult - Makes it hard to measure if socialisation has occurred or not |
| Three definitions of religion | - Substantive definitions - Functional definitions - Social Constructionist definitions |
| Substantive definition | - Content or substance of religious belief i.e. belief in God or supernatural - Weber - religion is a belief in the superior or supernatural power that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically - Exclusive - draw a clear line between religious and non-religious belief in God - Do not allow room for religious beliefs and practices that do not involve belief in God e.g. Buddhism |
| Functional definition | - Define religion in terms of the social or psychological functions it performs for individuals or society - Durkheim - defines religion in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration - Yinger - identifies functions performed by religion for individuals i.e. answering ultimate questions about the meaning of life and what happens when we die - Inclusive - includes wide range of beliefs and practices that perform functions such as integration - Just because an institution helps integrate individuals into groups, this does not make it a religion e.g. football |
| Social Constructionist definitions | - Interpretivist approach focusing on how members of society themselves define religion - Not possible to produce a single universal definition that covers all cases; different individuals and groups have different experiences of religion - Aldridge - shows how Scientology is a religion for its followers; several governments have denied its legal status as a religion and sought to ban it - Do not assume religion always involves belief in God or the supernatural, or that it performs similar functions for everyone in all societies |
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