Religion

1. Religion Katie Savard, Abbey Donigian, Haley Gray, Cody Nadeau, Katie Gorenflo

2. Social Institution Definition: Religion is a cultural system of commonly shared beliefs and rituals that provides a sense of ultimate meaning and purpose by creating an idea of reality that is sacred, all encompassing, and supernatural Giddens, A., Duneier, M., Appelbaum,R., and Carr, D. (2012) "Introduction to Sociology 8th Edition" New York and London: Norton Publishing

3. The Changing Nature of Religion A religious movement is an association of people who join together to start a new religion or promote a new interpretation of a religion that is already established. A lot of religious movements come from other, more mainstream, religions such as Christianity and Buddhism. World-affirming movement: Religious movement that aims towards furthering the followers’ ability to succeed in the world. The Church of Scientology is an example of a religious group that came about from a world-affirming movement. World-rejecting movement: Religious movement that is highly critical of the world, demanding of their members, and exclusive in nature. An example of a religious group that came about from a world-rejecting movement is the Japanese group, Aum Shinri Kyo, who staged an attack on the subway system in Tokyo. New Age movement: Encompasses a broad spectrum of beliefs, practices, and ways of life oriented on inner spirituality. Examples of New Age activities are Pagan teachings, Wiccan rituals, and Zen meditation.

4. Religion and Marxism -Karl Marx never studied religion in detail, he got his thoughts from Ludwig Feuerbach’s writings -Marx thought people had to get rid of their religious beliefs to be able to better understand social forces that are holding a person back from happiness; religion says true happiness comes in the afterlife. -Alienation- such as the ten commandments is a mythical way of explaining the moral precepts that govern the jewish and christian believers. -Marx agrees with Ludwig’s belief that religion represents human self-alienation

5. Religion and Functionalism Durkheim connected religion with the overall nature of a society’s institutions Totemism: the worship of objects such as animals or plants believed to embody mystical spirits Sacred objects such as totems are regarded with veneration, and surrounded by ritual activities that bind the members of the group together Religion promotes a coherent society by ensuring that people meet regularly to affirm common beliefs and values It has allowed the continuity of maintaining core social values by having elders or mentors set examples for younger generations.

6. Religion According to Max Weber’s Theory -Concentrated on the connection between religion and social change -Puritanism was the source of the capitalist outlook found in the modern West -Calvinists had a drive to succeed, which originally prompted by a desire to serve God. -were likely to reinvest wealth in their enterprise, valued material success -Christianity can simulate revolt against existing order, from the constant struggle against sin -Eastern religions had different values, like wanting to escape from the material world -Believed one should focus on spiritual development, rather than the material world

7. How Religion has Impacted us as a Social Institution Through my religion, I was able to learn similar morals and values that I was already learning at home. As a result, these lessons were reinforced outside of my family. (KS) I do not have a strong religious background, and so my morals and values came mostly from my family. (AD) I also do not have a strong religious back ground. My family and I used to try to go to church but it was not for us. Therefore, I grew up learning my morals from my family only rather than religion. (HG) I used to go to church every weekend, therefore I had learned morals and values from church and from my family. My family taught me similar morals and values as church did. (CN)