Principles Chapter 17

• 1) Simple Supernaturalism is the belief that supernatural forces affect people�s lives either positively or negatively. ( in very simple preindustrial societies)
• 2) Animism is the belief that plants, animals, or other elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits or life forces having an effect on events of society. (early hunting and gathering societies and Native American societies)
• 3) Theism is a belief in a god or gods.(horticultural societies among first)
• A) Monotheism is the belief in a single, supreme being or god who is responsible for significant events such as the creation of the world. ( Christianity, Judaism, and Islam)
• B) Polytheism is a belief in more than one god. (Hinduism, Shinto)
• 4) Nontheism is a religion based on a belief in divine spiritual forces such as sacred principles of thought and conduct, rather than a god or gods.

• Rise through son of Abraham = Ishmael.
• Dominant belief - Muhammad - scriptures from God
• Where and When - Saudi Arabia, 577 CE
• Founder = Muhammad
• Rituals and Practices �-Ramadan, 5 pillars of Islam (believing that there is no god but Allah, participating in five periods of prayer each day, paying taxes to help support the needy, fasting during the daylight hours in the month of Ramadan, and making at least one pilgrimage to the Sacred house of Allah in Mecca)
• Major Beliefs - Jihad meaning struggle
• Ultimate Goal - Eternal Garden Eden
• Branches or Types - Muslim
• Sacred Book - Qu'ran (Kuran)

• Siddhartha Guatama
• Branches - Theravadin, Mahayana, and Vajrayana
• Four noble truths: Life is dukkha (physical and mental suffering/pain), the cause of life's suffering is rooted in tanha (grasping, craving, and coveting), One can overcome tanha and be released in to Ultimate Freedom in Perfect Existence (Nirvana), and Overcoming desire can be accomplished through the Eightfold Path to Nirvana.
• Born suffering
• Buddha "the enlightened one" or "awakened one"

• Monotheism, one god called Yahweh
• 2000 BC
• God made a covet with Abraham and Sarah to protect and provide for them if they swore Him love and obedience. Descendents go to Egypt tricked into being slaves, moses save. Wandering in desert people make covenant with code
• Today jews worship in synagogues in congregations led by a rabbi
• Throughout history, jews have been the object of prejudice and discrimination. Holocaust
• Anti-Seitism
• Today has three main branches - Orthodox, Reform, an dConservative
• God, Torah, Israel (holly nation)

• Believed to be one of world�s oldest current religions. Founded in 1500 BC along the Indus River in Pakistan.
• Hindu beliefs and practices have been preserved through an oral tradition and expressed in texts and hymns known as the Vedas
• Has no sacred text so not based on the teachings of one person, religion scholars refer it as to an ethical religion - a system of beliefs that calls upon adherents to follow an ideal way of life. For most Hindus this is partly achieved by adhering to the expectations of the caste system
• Belief that individual souls (jivas) enter the world and roam the universe until they break free into limitless atmosphere of illumination (moska) by discovering dharma - duties and responsibilities.
• Reincarnation (samsara)
• Devoid of some of the social conflict experienced by other religions because based on the assumption that there are many paths to the "Truth" (caste system and alternative religion)
• Almost as diverse as the wide array of people who adhere to its teachings.
• Creator (Brahma), preserver (Vishnu), destroyer (shiva) are divine
• Union = ultimate reality and escape form eternal reincarnation
• They are achieved through yoga, scripture, and devotion

• Jesus is the son of god
• Founded in the first century
• Baptism, communion, prayer
• Jesus died, burned
• Bible

• Means �family of scholars�
• Started as a school of thought or a tradition of learning before its eventual leader, Confucius, was bron
• Confucius sayings are collected in the Analects - taught that people must learn the importance of order in human relationships and must follow a strict code of moral conduct, including respect for others, benevolence, reciprocity.
• Humans are by nature good and learn best by having an example or role model.
• Based on belief that heaven and earth are not separate places but rather a continuum in which both realms are constantly in touch with each other.
• Due authority is not automatic; it must be earned. The subject does not owe loyalty to the ruler or authority figure if that individual does not fulfill his or her end of the bargain.

• Religion is a system of beliefs and practices (rituals) - based on some sacred or supernatural realm � that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a single moral community.
• Unlike the sociological aspects of religion, theologians study specific relitious doctrines or belief systems, including answers to questions such as what is the nature of God or the gods and what is the relationship among supernatural power, human beings, and the universe. Many theologians primarily study the religious beliefs of a specific religion, denomination, or religious leader so that they can interpret this information for laypersons who leek answers for seemingly unanswerable questions about the meaning of life and death.

Religion seeks to answer important questions such as why we exist, why people suffer an die, and what happens when we die.

Is a sheltering fabric hanging over people that gives them security and provides answers for the questions of life.

• Macrolevel
• Sacred beliefs and rituals bind people together and help maintain social control.
• Functions: (1) providing meaning and purpose to life, (2) promoting social cohesion and a sense of belonging, and (3) providing social control and support for the government.

• Microlevel (individual)
• Religion may serve as a reference group for many people, but because of race, class, and gender people may experience it different.
• In virtually all religions, women have much less influence in establishing social definitions of appropriate gender roles both within the religious community and in the large community. Therefore, women and men may belong to the same religious group, but their individual religion will not necessarily be a carbon copy of the group�s entire system of beliefs.

• As more middle- and upper-income individuals and families moved to the suburbs during the twentieth century, some churches followed the members of their congregations to the suburbs. This pattern is known as �upgrading� and results in the church having newer facilities and more members who are in the upper-middle and upper classes. Meanwhile, the church�s former building site is often taken over by a minority congregation or by a denomination that appeals primarily to members of the working class, older members living on a fixed income, or recent immigrant groups.
• On the other hand, racial and cultural minorities who feel overpowered by their lack of economic resources may be drawn to churches that help them establish a sense of dignity and personal integrity that is otherwise missing in their daily social interactions.

All religions share three elements: (1) beliefs held by adherents, (2) practices (rituals) engaged in collectivity by believers, and (3) a moral community based on the group�s shared beliefs and practices pertaining to be sacred.

• Religion may be used to justify the status quo (Marx) or to promote social change (Weber).
• From a conflict perspective, religion can have negative consequences in that the capitalist class uses religion as a tool of domination to mislead workers about their true interests. However, Max Weber believed that religion could be a catalyst for social change.

• For Marx, ideologies - systematic views of the way the world ought to be - are embodied in religious doctrines and political values.
• "Opiate of the masses" (domination) people become complacent because they have been taught to belive in an afterlife in which they will be rewarded for their suffering and misery in this life. Religion unites people in a "false consciousness".
• Whereas Marx believed that religion retards social change, Weber argued just the opposite. For Weber, religion could be a catalyst to produce social change.

• 1) Ecclesia is a religious organization that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it claims as its membership all member so a society. Membership result of being born into the society, not a conscious decision made by individual.
• 2) Church is a large, bureaucratically organized religious organization that tends to seek accommodation with the larger society in order to maintain some degree of control over it.
• 3) Denomination is a large organized religion characterized by accommodation to society but frequently lacking in ability or intention to dominate society.
• 4) Sect is a relatively small religious group that has broken away from another religious organization to renew what it views as the original version of the faith.
• 5) Cult is a religious group with practices and teachings outside the dominant cultural and religious traditions of a society.

Secularization is the decline in the significance of the sacred in daily life, has occurred.

• Civil Religion is the set of beliefs, rituals, and symbols that makes sacred the values of the society and places the nation in the context of the ultimate system of meaning.
• Informal relationship between religion and state.

One reason for the rise of fundamentalism has been a reaction against modernization.

A system of beliefs and practices (rituals) � based on some sacred or supernatural realm � that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a single moral community.

An unquestioning belief that does not require proof or scientific evidence.

Those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural.

The everyday, secular, or �worldly� aspects of life.

Regularly repeated and carefully prescribed forms of behaviors that symbolize a cherished value or belief.

The belief that supernatural forces affect people�s lives either positively or negatively.

The belief that plants, animals, or other elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits or life forces having an effect on events of society.

A belief in a god or gods.

Belief in a single, supreme being or god who is responsible for significant events such as the creation of the world.

A belief in more than one god.

A religion based on a belief in divine spiritual forces such as sacred principles of thought and conduct, rather than a god or gods.

The process by which religious beliefs, practices, and institutions lose their significance in sectors of society and culture.

The set of beliefs, rituals, and symbols that makes sacred the values of the society and places the nation in the context of the ultimate system of meaning.

A religious organization that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it claims as its membership all member so a society.

A large, bureaucratically organized religious organization that tends to seek accommodation with the larger society in order to maintain some degree of control over it.

A large organized religion characterized by accommodation to society but frequently lacking in ability or intention to dominate society.

A relatively small religious group that has broken away from another religious organization to renew what it views as the original version of the faith.

A religious group with practices and teachings outside the dominant cultural and religious traditions of a society.

A traditional religious doctrine that is conservative, is typically opposed to modernity, and rejects "worldly pleasures" in favor of other-worldly spirituality.

The Christina movement that advocates freedom from political subjugation within a traditional perspective and the need for social transformation to benefit the poor and downtrodden.