Notes

Religion

The study of religion is a challenging enterprise which places special demands on our sociological imagination. It is important that we recognize the diversity of religious beliefs and modes of conduct but also probe into the nature of religion as a general social phenomenon.

Section 1:
a) Defining religion

There is no single definition that defines religion. Religions are commonly defined by a belief in God and gods and perhaps in religious buildings such as chapels, synagogues or mosques and doing 'religious things' such as praying and eating or not eating certain food stuffs.

However, sociologists found it very difficult to set limits to their field of study, to reach general agreement on such a basic matter. According to Aldridge 'Religion is a contested concept. There is not, and never will be a universally agreed definition of religion'.

In general terms, competing sociological definitions of religion can be divided into three types:
i) Inclusive definitions
ii) Exclusive definitions
iii) Definitions in use

i) Inclusive definitions tend to be functionalist in orientation. They view religion as central to human life and functionally necessary for society. Religion provides people with answers to enduring questions, offers hope and helps to bind people together in solidarity. For example acc. to:
- Yinger - 'religion is a system of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggles with the ultimate problems of human life'.
- Lenski - religion refers to all those beliefs about the forces that shape human destiny.

One problem associated with inclusive definition is that they tend to include too much.

ii) On the other hand Exclusive definitions reject the functionalism of inclusive ones. Instead they aim at defining religion by referring to the substance of their varied beliefs. Adopting such definition means that many groups and institutions such as football supporters or secular political ideologies are effectively excluded on the grounds that they make no reference to a transcendent reality. This has the benefit of limiting what counts as religion, allowing sociologists to address the extent of secularization through empirical research.

iii) The third type of definition is one described as a 'definition in use' and is similar to what today we call social constructionism. Constructionism sees religion as more productive to investigate all of those situations in which people themselves make reference to 'religion' or 'religious meaning' and engage in self-defined 'religious' practices.

Over time, both inclusive and exclusive definitions have lost ground to more social constructionist approaches to the study of religion.

b) Sociologists and Religion

When sociologists study religion, they do so as professional sociologists, not as believers or unbelievers.
Sociologists have been especially concerned with religious organizations which are some of the most important in society. Sociologists have often seen religions as important sources of social solidarity.

Religion in classical sociology

Sociological approaches to religion have been influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber.

i) Karl Marx: religion and inequality

Marx did not study religion in any detail. Ludwig Feuerbach inspired his work. According to Feuerbach religion consists of ideas and values produced by human beings in the course of their cultural development, which they project onto divine forces or gods. Humans tend to attribute long-established, socially created values and norms to the activities of supernatural beings or 'spirit'.
Feuerbach argues that if we fail to understand the origins of the religious symbols we have created, we are condemned to be prisoners of forces we do not control. He uses the term alienation to describe the creation of gods or divine forces distinct from human societies. The result is that human values and ideas become transferred onto gods and spirits. According to Feuerbach understanding religion as a form of alienation promises great hope for the future.
Karl Marx accepted Feuerbach's view that religion represents human self-alienation. For Marx 'religion is the heart of a heartless world' - a haven from the harshness of the daily realities of capitalism.

ii) Emile Durkheim: functionalism and religious ritual

As opposed to Marx, Durkheim spent a good part of his later career studying religion. Durkheim on his part pay attention on the relationship between religion and other social institutions. This was taken forward in the 20th century by the founder of structural functionalism Talcott Parsons. Parson was interested in the role and fate of religion in modern societies.

Unlike Marx, Durkheim does not connect religion primarily with social inequality or power, but instead relates it to the overall nature of the institutions of a society.

Durkheim defines religion in terms of a distinction between the sacred and the profane. Acc. to him sacred objects and symbols are treated as being apart from the routing aspects of existence, which constitute the realm of the profane.

According to Durkheim the totem is sacred because it is a symbol representing the social group itself which stands for the central values of the community.

Also Durkheim believed that religions are never just matters of belief. All religions involve regular ceremonial and ritual activities in which the group of believers meet together. In collective ceremonials, a sense of group solidarity is heightened and affirmed. This is what Durkheim refers to collective effervescence (sparkle) i.e. the heightened feeling of energy generated in collective gatherings and events.

In small, traditional cultures, Durkheim argued, almost all aspects of life are filled by religion. Religion is not just a series of sentiments and activities, but actually conditions the modes of thinking within traditional cultures.

iii) Max Weber

Weber as opposed to Durkheim who based his arguments on a very small number of cases, Weber focused on an enormous project, studying the major religions of the world. In fact he made detailed studies of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and ancient Judaism. In his major work 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism', Weber wrote at length about the impact of Christianity on the history of the West.

At this point it must be kept in mind that Weber's writings concentrate on the connection between religion and social change, something which Durkheim paid little attention to. Besides Weber also disagreed with Marx, arguing that religion is not principally or necessarily a conservative force. On the contrary religiously inspired movements have often produced dramatic social transformations. For example Protestantism was the original source of the capitalistic outlook and the Calvinists helped to initiate economic development by a desire to serve God. Material success was a sign of divine favor.

Analyzing the Eastern religions, Weber concluded that they provided impossible barriers to the development of industrial capitalism. This is not because Eastern civilizations are 'backward'; they have simply developed values that are different from those which came to dominate in Europe.

In traditional China and India Weber notes that in certain periods there existed significant development of commerce, manufacture and urbanism. However these did not generate the radical patterns of social change produced by the rise of industrial capitalism in the West. Religion in the East was therefore a major influence inhibiting such change, seen for instance in Hinduism. Hinduism emphasized on the escape from the (toils) drudgeries of the material world onto a higher plane of spiritual existence. Hinduism sees material reality as a mere veil (mask) hiding the true concerns to which humankind should be oriented.

On the other hand Weber regarded Christianity as a 'salvation religion'. It involves a belief that human beings can be 'saved' if they adopt the beliefs of the religion and follow its moral tenets. Christianity involves a constant struggle against sin which can stimulate revolt against the existing order of things.

Critical assessment of Marx, Durkheim and Weber

Marx, Durkheim and Weber looked for general characteristics of religion, something that most sociologists of religion today now see as a somewhat misguided enterprise. From the three founders one can learn always something. For instance:
- Marx's view that religion often has ideological implications, justifying the interests of ruling groups at the expense of others, can be seen in the influence of Christianity on European colonialism.
- Weber was right to emphasize the unsettling and often revolutionary impact of religious ideals on the established social order.
- Durkheim stressed on ritual and ceremony. All religions involve regular assemblies of believers during which rituals and rules are observed.

Section 2:
a) The Secularization thesis

Secularization in sociological debates is the process or processes through which religion gradually loses its influence over various spheres of social life.

b) The Sociological debate

Supporters of the secularization thesis argue that in the past, religion was far more important in people's daily lives than it is today and the church was at the heart of local life. But as socio-economic development generates increasingly better living standards, religious belief remains stronger in circumstances of deprivation and hardship.

Critics of the thesis contest this idea, arguing that, in medieval Europe, commitment to religious belief was actually weaker and less important in daily life than has previously been supposed.

Yet there is also much evidence that the hold of religious ideas today is less than was generally the case-particularly if we include under the term 'religious; the whole range of the supernatural and magical in which people believed. Most people do not experience the everyday environment as permeated by divine or spiritual entities which intervene directly in our lives.

c) Beyond secularization?

There exist two alternative perspectives. Both suggest that sociology has focused too much on the formal, institutional aspects of established religions and, in so doing, have tended to ignore or downplay religion as it is practiced in everyday life. Once we shift our focus onto the latter, a quite different picture of 'religion' emerges, and secularization arguments begin to lose some of their apparent force.

d) The rise of tribes?

The sociologist Michel Maffesoli suggests an alternative assessment of secularization.

Drawing on Emile Durkheim's ideas of religion as a form of worship of society and its moral rules, Maffesoli theorizes that although traditional, national religions may be in decline, people in large urban areas increasingly live in the 'time of the tribes'.

Maffesoli argues against sociological theories of a growing individualization, as in the work of Giddens and Beck. Individualization refers to the process through which people identify less with collective bodies and instead are 'cut loose' from such social structures as trade unions, social classes and even families. In this situation, personal choice becomes a key value and individuality is prized as seen in the practice of consumerism, as people buy 'identity kits' in the form of clothing, music, interior decor, and so on.

Maffesoli argues against older theories of a mass society. Instead he suggests that modern societies are characterized by the rapid growth of small groupings of people who voluntarily band together on the basis of shared musical tastes, ideas, consumer preferences, leisure pursuits and so on. He calls these groups 'neo-tribes' (new tribes). They are quite like traditional tribal groups because they have a shared identity, but unlike them because they do not last as long. Commitment is quite weak and short lived. This makes them fluid and fragile social entities.

e) Everyday 'lived religion'

Much of the research and theorizing in the sociology of religion has focused on organized religion and its functions in society.

Robert Bellahet.al argue that America has seen a long-term movement away from a unified, public form of religion, which helped to bind people together, towards extraordinarily diverse and private forms of religion. The latter reflect a wider social process of individualization.

Bellahet.al note that on the basis of individualized expressions of faith, there could be '220 million American religions'. However this does not contribute to social solidarity, nor can it support a unified public realm. The danger is that it will produce very abstract and shallow forms of religious life.

f) Evaluating the secularization thesis

There is little dispute (clash) among sociologists that, considered as a long-term trend, religion in the traditional churches has declined in most Western countries-a notable exception is the USA. The influence of religion in these countries has diminished along each of the three dimensions of secularization, much as 19th century sociologists predicted it would. Yet, individuals and groups still practice 'religion' but in ways that have remained largely invisible to the predominantly quantitative research methods in sociological survey.

In view of all this it can be concluded that the position of religion in the developed countries is much more complex than the secularization thesis originally suggested. Religious and spiritual belief remain powerful and motivating forces in many people's lives, even if they do not choose to worship formally through the framework of the traditional church organizations.

Many people did have religious beliefs but prefer to practice and develop their faith outside institutionalized forms of religion. Besides even if secularization could be measured according to membership figures alone, this should also include the growing role of non-Western faiths and new religious movements.

Above all, religion in the contemporary world should be evaluated against a backdrop of globalization, instability and increasing diversity. It is not surprising that during times of rapid change, many people look for and find answers in religion. Fundamentalism is perhaps the clearest example.

Section 3: Religious Organizatons

The three most influential monotheistic religions in world history are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All originated in the Middle East and each has influenced the others.

a) World Religions and religious organizations

Sociologists of religion have been interested in non-European religions. There has frequently been a tendency to view all religions of the world through concepts and theories that grew out of the analysis of the European religious experience. For example, concepts such as denomination or sect.

Early theorists such as Max Weber, Ernest Troeltsh and Niebuhr described religious organizations as falling along a continuum based on the degree to which they are well established and conventional.

Today contemporary sociologists try to avoid using the concepts sects and cults. Instead they use the phrase 'new religious movements' to characterize novel religious organizations which lack the respectability that comes with being well established over a long period of time.

i) Churches and Sects

All religions involve communities of believers, but there are many different ways in which these are organized. One way of classifying religious organizations was first suggested by Max Weber et al. together with the religious historian Ernst Troeltsh.

Weber and Troeltsh distinguished between churches and sects.

- A church is a large, well-established religious body such as the Catholic Church or the Church of England.

- A sect is a smaller less well-organized group of committed believers, usually created in protest against what a church has become, as was the case with Calvinists and Methodists in the past.

- Churches normally have a formal, bureaucratic structure with a hierarchy of religious officials and tend to represent the conservative face of religion, since they are integrated into the existing institutional order of society. Most of their adherents become members of the church.

- Sects are comparatively small. They usually aim at discovering and following 'the true way', and tend to withdraw from the surrounding society into their own form of community life. Sect members regard the established churches as corrupt. Most have few or no officials since all members are regarded as equal participants. A small proportion of people are born into sects but most actively join them in order to further their beliefs.

ii) Denominations and cults

Howard Becker added two further types of religious organizations. These are the denomination and the cult.

- A denomination is a sect which has 'cooled down' to become an institutionalized body rather than an active protest group.

- Sects which survive over a period of time though not always, become denominations.

- Calvinism and Methodism were sects during their early formation but by time they generated great fervour among members, but over the years they became gradually more 'respectable'.

b) Religious movements

A religious movement is an association of people who join together to spread a new religion or to promote a new interpretation of and existing religion. Examples of religious movements include: groups that founded and spread Christianity in the first century, the Lutheran movement that split Christianity in Europe about 1,500 years later, and the groups involved in the more recent Islamic Revolution.

Religious movements tend to pass through certain phases of development. In the first phase, the movement derives its life and cohesion from a powerful leader. According to Max Weber such leaders are referred to as Charismatic leaders i.e. having inspirational qualities capable of capturing the imagination and devotion of a mass of followers.

Following the death of the leader it very rear that a new charismatic leader arised from the masses. The movement is now faced with what Weber termed the 'routinization of charisma'. To survive it had to create formalized rules and procedures, since it can no longer depend on the individual qualities of the leader in organizing followers.

c) New religious movements

Sociologists use the term new religious movements to refer collectively to the broad range of religious and spiritual groups, cults and sects that have emerged in Western countries alongside the larger mainstream religions. New religious movements encompass (include) an enormous diversity of groups, from spiritual and self-help groups within the New Age movement to exclusive sects.

According to Wallis New religious movements can be seen as falling into three broad categories mainly:
i) World-affirming
ii) World-rejecting
iii) World-accommodating

Sociological interest in new religious movements stems from the 1960s and 1970s, when they were seen as challenging mainstream social values.

i) World-affirming movements-these are more like to self-help or therapy groups than to conventional religious groups. They often lack rituals, churches and formal theologies, turning their focus on members' spiritual well-being.

ii) World-rejecting movements-In contrast to world-affirming groups, world rejecting movements are highly critical of the outside world and often demand significant lifestyle changes from their followers. Members may be expected to change their dress and hairstyle or to follow a certain diet.

iii) World-accommodating movements-These movements emphasize the importance of the inner religious life above worldly concerns. Members of such groups seek to reclaim the spiritual purity that they believe has been lost in traditional religious settings.

In conclusion to the above mentioned religious movements it must be noted that various theories have heen advanced to explain the popularity of new religious movements.

In view of all this it must be noted that although new religious movements are a recent development, however they are not the only one. As we will see religious beliefs and practices have undergone changes as a result of new challenges such as the development of religious fundamentalism, globalization and multiculturalism, internal movements for gender and sexuality and secularization.

Section 4: Trends in contemporary religion

a) Christianity, gender and sexuality

Churches and denominations are religious organizations with defined systems of authority. In these hierarchies, women are mostly excluded from positions of power.

In the Church of England between 1987 and 1992 women were allowed to be deacons but not permitted to be priests.

The Catholic Church has been far more conservative in its attitude to women and continues formally to support inequalities of gender.

In the Anglican Church in recent years has shifted away from gender to issue of homosexuality and the priesthood. Gay men have long served in the Christian Church but with their sexuality suppressed, ignored or unobserved.

From these controversies it can be concluded that religions cannot ignore social changes in the wider society of which they are a part. As the impetus towards equality, a key feature of modernity, brings about increasing tolerance and acceptance of homosexuality and gender equality, religious organizations and having to respond accordingly. And as the culture of modernity spreads globally, we can expect religions in the developing countries to face similar challenges.

b) Fundamentalism

The word fundamental can describe any religious impulse that adheres to its basic tenets. Fundamentalism, for the purpose of this article, is a movement within the church that holds to the essentials of the Christian faith. In modern times the word fundamentalist is often used in a derogatory sense.

Fundamentalism was formalized in the late 19th century and early 20th century by conservative Christians-John Nelson Darby, Dwight L. Moody, B.B. Warfield,
Billy Sunday, and others-who were concerned that moral values were being eroded by modernism.

The Fundamentalist movement has often embraced a certain militancy for truth, and this led to some infighting. Many new denominations and fellowships appeared, as people left their churches in the name of doctrinal purity. One of the defining characteristics of Fundamentalism has been to see itself as the guardian of the truth, usually to the exclusion of others' biblical interpretation.

Like all movements, Fundamentalism has enjoyed both successes and failures. The greatest failure may be in allowing Fundamentalism's detractors define what it means to be a Fundamentalist. As a result, many people today see Fundamentalists as radical, snake-handling extremists who want to establish a state religion and force their beliefs on everyone else. This is far from the truth.

Islamic fundamentalism

The sociologist Max Weber was one who suspected that a traditional religion like Islam could undergo a major revival and become the basis of important political developments in the late 20th century.

The Iranian revolution between 1978-79 brough about the end of monarchical rule and introduced an Islamic republic and Ayatollah Khomeini at its head.

For a better understanding we have to look both to aspects of Islam as a traditional religion and to secular changes that have affected modern states where its influence is pervasive. Islam like Christianity is a religion that has continually stimulated activism.

Shiism split from the main body of orthodox Islam early in its history and has remained influential. It has been the official religion of Iran since the 16th century and was the source of the ideas behind the Iranian Revolution. The Shiites believed that the rule of Muhammed's rightful heir would eventually be instituted, doing away with the tyrannies and injustices associated with existing regimes.

Today we find large Shiite populations in other Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Turkey and Saudi Arabia as well as in India and Pakistan.

Conclusion

In a globalizing age that is in desperate need of mutual understanding and dialogue, religious fundamentalism can be a destructive force. Fundamentalism is edged with the possibility of violence. There have been a number of violent clashes between Islamic and Christian groups in Lebanon, Indonesia and other countries and pro-life Christian groups in the USA have attacked doctors who carryout legal abortions.

One of the attractions of fundamentalism is its ability to provide certainty on how to live a moral life based on clear religious texts and teachings. This certainty is something that is lacking in liberal traditions and secular perspectives, which accept that knowledge is always changing in the light of new findings.