Notes

Lecture 12/1/15
- Social theorists have been predicting the decline of world religions for hundreds of years
- Secularization hypothesis: There is a historical trend away from religious observance
-Religious Fundamentalism: Conservative doctrine opposing intellectualism and in favor of traditional religious practice
-Fundamentalist and conservative religions are growing. Liberal and progressive religions are stable or declining
-Scientific Evidence does NOT support the secularization hypothesis
-Emile Durkheim's functions of religion
a. Provide meaning and purpose
b. Social control
c. Promote group solidarity
-Religion as Social Control:
-people who attend religious services regularly are less likely to be convicted of a crime
-Religion promotes group solidarity:
-religion promotes tolerance, help and protection for people within a religious group
-religion is powerful because it coordinates the work of many people toward a common goal
-by promoting group solidarity, religion also promotes conflict with out-groups.
-Sociologists measure the success of religions in terms of their growth in membership
-most new religious movements die out in a few years, some end dramatically
-Jim Jones and the peoples temple movement. In 1978, 900 members commit mass suicide.
-David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. Six members die in 1993 when the FBI tried to enter.
-Charisma
-Successful charismatic leaders inspire miraculous visions in others.
-To succeed even temporarily, a new religious movement usually has highly charismatic leader capable of attracting many converts and the resources necessary to expand the religion.
-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a successful religious movement less than 200 years old
-Charismatic leadership suffers from the problem of succession. Most new religious movements do not survive the death of charismatic founder.
-Christianity is the most widespread of the world's religions with 1.9 billion followers. About 1/3 of the world's population is Christian.