sociology presentation

1. Key idea – C&D / T&M Who am I?
Used swans as an example to prove his point of ‘fallacy of induction’
Argued one explanation of crime is biological differences
Coined the key term of value relevance
Used the panopticon prison to illustrate how surveillance could
control behaviour
Argues social order is possible through socialisation and social
control
Discussed the key concept of ‘McMafia’ within globalisation of crime
Introduced and discussed the concept of hegemony and linked it to
a capitalist society
Studied the way coroners labelled death
Talked about the ‘looking glass self’ and how our self concept and
identity is shaped by others
Discussed how women’s liberation has increased female crime,
Popper
Wilson & Herrnstein
Weber
Foucault
Parsons
Glenny
Gramsci
Atkinson
Cooley
Adler

2. Crime and Theory & Methods
Folder divided by topics ?
All essays in folder – should be kept at the end of each topic?
RAG completed ? – these can be found on google classroom

3. Functionalism
Theories of Religion

4. Aim :
Explore the role of religion according to the Functionalist
perspective.
Objectives :
 Understand the different sociological definitions of
religion.
 Identify how different sociological perspectives explain
the role and function of religion.
 Evaluate the different sociological theories of religion.

5. What is religion?
There are three ways to define religion:
Substantive (content, the beliefs involved)
Functional (what does it do for people)
Constructionist (how the individual defines it)

6. Substantive (content, the beliefs involved)
 This definition focuses on the content or substance of
religious belief e.g. belief in God or the supernatural.
 Weber 1905 – defines religion as a belief in a superior or
supernatural power that cannot be explained scientifically.
 Substantive religions are EXCLUSIVE: make a distinction
between religious and non-religious beliefs – for them to be a
religion, a set of beliefs must involve believing in God or the
supernatural.

7. Functional (what does it do for people)
 Defines religion by the social and psychological functions it
performs for the individual.
 Durkheim 1915 – it isn’t about a belief in god, but that religion brings
people together (social cohesion and integration).
 Yinger 1970 – religions are able to answer unanswerable questions
for people e.g. about the meaning of life or what happens when we
die.
 Functional religions are INCLUSIVE: allow a wide range of beliefs &
practices to be classed as a religion. Also, because it isn’t about a
belief in God, there is no bias towards religions that do not include
a God e.g. Buddhism.

8. Constructionist (how the individual defines it)
 Members should define religion themselves.
 Different people give different meanings to religion,
no one definition.
 Aldridge 2013 – Church of Scientology members say it’s
a religion, but many governments say its not.
 Religion doesn’t always involve a God or
supernatural or bring people together.

9. TASK - On the sheet, fill in the speech bubbles from what someone might say
about their religion if they were speaking from each of the perspective
definitions.
Extension- which way do you think is best to describe religion? Justify your
opinion
Functional: Substansive: Constructionist:

10. • Functionalists say society is made up of parts in
order for it to work, all parts must work, they see
religion as one of these parts.
• Society needs order and solidarity, this is reached
when we have value consensus, without this we
would only be interested in our own views.
Functionalists and religion

11. Religion Education Media
Task - Complete the table, with examples, of how each
create social cohesion.
Social Cohesion: people in society are
bound together, integrated and share
common values

12. 1. Durkheim on Religion
2. Psychological Functions
3. Parsons: values and meaning
4. Civil Religion

13. 1. DURKHEIM
AND
RELIGION

14. • Durkheim distinguishes religions from everything else
by acknowledging the difference between things that
these groups find sacred and those they don't
(profane).
• Sacred things are objects that are deemed as special
or forbidden (the Holy Bible in Christianity or not eat
pork in Islam). They inspire people and give feelings of
awe, wonder and fear.
Durkheim: Sacred and profane

15. • On the opposite hand are things that are profane, these are objects
that have no significance, they are ordinary.
• Religions for Durkheim are not just beliefs, they involve rituals or
practices that involve sacred things.
• When worshipping these sacred objects, Durkheim suggest that
individuals are really worshipping society as the worship is
collective and brings all the individuals together.
• While sacred symbols can vary for each religion, it performs the
same function of uniting believers into a moral community.
Durkheim: Sacred and profane

16. • To study religion and understand it we should research religion in its
simplest form, he used an Aboriginal clan called the Arunta.
• These tribes would come together to perform rituals of
worshipping the totem, which was often an animal or plant. This
totem symbolises the clans origins and identity.
• These rituals reinforced solidarity and Durkheim argues that in
worshipping the Totem they are actually worshipping their society,
as the Totem represents the power of the group (community).
Durkheim: Totemism & Social Solidarity
Totem: a natural object or animal
that is believed to have spiritual
significance

18. Durkheim: Collective Conscience
• Collective conscience: norms, values, beliefs, knowledge
etc. that make social life and cooperation between
individuals possible.
• Durkheim – shared religious rituals reinforce collective
conscience.
• Religion also performs an important function for the
individual, by making them feel part of something that is
greater than them, to which they owe everything.

19. Identify a shared ritual in the following religions…
 A shared ritual in Christianity is…
 A shared ritual in Islam is…
 A shared ritual in Sikhism is…
Durkheim: Collective Conscience
Attending church on a Sunday /
only eating fish on Good Friday
Jummah Prayer on a Friday / Hajj
Taking Amrit (initiation into the
Sikh religion)
Use these as examples in your essay to support your point!

20. Durkheim: Cognitive Functions
• Durkheim argues that religion also helps our intellectual
capabilities.
• To be able to think, we need to understand concepts such as
time and space for example.
• We also need a shared understanding of these concepts for us
to share thoughts. For example, we need to know how long an
hour is so when we discuss hours, others know what we mean.

21. Durkheim: Cognitive Functions
• Durkheim argues that religion is the origin of concepts which allow
us to communicate.
• For him religion provided time, space and causation, for example
the world began with the creator 2018 years ago. This gives us a
shared idea on the formation of the world and the beginning of time.
• For Durkheim religion is the origin of human thought, reason and
science.

22. • This theory explains social integration in society.
• Worsley 1956 – there is no sharp division between sacred and profane, and that
different clans share the same totems.
• Even if Durkheim is correct about totems, division between the sacred and
profane may not be true for all religions.
• It is not possible to apply Durkheim’s idea of collective conscious caused by
religion in societies where two or more religions coincide.
• Theory does not explain conflicts in societies, for example its great that religion
brings Christians together, but what about the divide between Catholics and
Church of England.
• Postmodernist Mestorvic 2011 – in our current society there is so much
diversity that a collective conscious does not and cannot exist, so you cant
apply Durkheim to contemporary society.

24. 2. PSYCHOLOGICAL
FUNCTIONS

25. • Malinowski 1954 – religion does promote social solidarity,
but does this by psychologically helping individuals.
• He identifies two types of situation in which religion
performs this role:
1. When the outcome or result is important, but is out of
your control.
2. At times of life crisis, when events mark major or
disruptive changes.
Milanowski: Psychological function

26. Example – Lagoon vs Ocean fishing with the Trobriand tribe.
• Lagoon fishing is safe and uses a predictable and suitable
method of poisoning the fish. There is no ritual.
• Ocean fishing is dangerous and uncertain and is always
accompanied by ‘canoe magic’ – rituals to ensure a safe and
successful expedition.
This would ease tension and reinforce solidarity.
1. When the outcome or result is important, but is out of
your control.

27. Religion gives comfort during birth, puberty, marriage or
especially death.
• For example, the funeral ritual reinforces a feeling of solidarity
among the survivors.
• Milanowski argues that death is the main reason for the
existence of religious belief.
2. At times of life crisis, when events mark major or
disruptive changes.

28. TASK – explain how a belief in God or following a religion might
help/appeal to an individual:
- who is getting married
- who has just lost their wife to an illness
- who has fallen pregnant
- who has been diagnosed with an illness
- who has just been effected by a natural disaster
- who is living through the pandemic (COVID-19)

29. CONTEMPORARY
EXAMPLE!!
CORONAVIRUS
USE IN ESSAY!

30. • Shows the significance of religion in society, and
how it ensures individuals remain integrated,
rather than turning to behaviour that could
threaten social order.
• Ignores how during terms of crisis, individuals
may turn to rational and scientific thought and
means, rather than religion. For example, paying
for a better treatment / specialist / more expensive
doctor for an illness, as oppose to turning to God
for help.

31. 3. PARSONS:
VALUES &
MEANINGS

32. • Parsons believes religion helps people cope with
unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes.
Parsons identifies two other essential functions the religion
performs in modern society:
1. It creates / legitimates society’s central values.
2. It is the primary source of meaning.
Parsons: values and meaning

33. 1. It creates / legitimates society’s central values.
• Creates and legitimates society's values (norms and values) by
making them sacred – sacralising them.
• For example, In USA, Christianity preaches meritocracy and self-
discipline which are values of an American society.
• This in turn promotes value consensus and thus social stability
in times of change.
The main function of religion for Parsons is that it maintains
social order by promoting a value consensus

34. 2. It is the primary source of meaning.
• Religion answers ultimate questions.
• For example, why do some die young? why am I on
earth? why do some people suffer?
• The teachings of religion provided members of
society with comfort and reassurance, such as ‘I
will be rewarded in the after life’ or its Gods plan’.

35. • Successfully highlights why religion exists in society, and
how it supports not only the individual but society as a
whole.
• Marxists argue that the ‘values and meanings’ passed on
are nothing more than capitalist ideologies that are used
to justify ‘uncontrollable events and outcomes’, such as
the suffering of the poor as god-given; when in reality it
is just to serve the interests of the ruling class.
• Ignores how religion fails to answer many questions for
individuals as well.

36. Outline and explain two functions of
religion. (10 marks)
Write one PEEL
paragraph for
Parsons: values
and meaning.
NB – NO AO3
NB – THIS IS A BROAD
QUESTION. COULD USE
DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES TO
ANSWER THIS QUESTION

37. One function of religion is that it can act as a primary source of meaning for members of
society.
Functionalist thinker Parson acknowledges that for many individuals, religion carries out
the important function of helping them to make sense of unclear or contradictory events.
What Parsons means by this is, for many people, religion answers ‘ultimate questions’,
those that (at least when Parsons was writing) are deemed to be beyond the scope of
science. For example, why do good people suffer or die young? This can be seen within
the religions of Christianity and Islam, whereby the belief is that if God causes suffering in
your life on earth, you are more likely to experience an easy life in the afterlife, in heaven.
In this instance, religion offers answers to questions that could test an individual’s faith
and could push them to turn away from religion, in turn affecting their level of integration
and solidarity to society (which for Functionalists, could be detrimental to the social order
within society). As well as this, in this context, religion also gives meaning to what might
otherwise seem a meaningless experience.
Therefore, the main function of religion according to Parsons is to offer an explanation
and meaning to uncertain events and questions that members of society may experience.

38. 4. CIVIL
RELIGION
 A belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself.

39. • Bellah 1991 is interested in how religion unifies a society,
particularly when there are multiple faiths e.g. America.
• In America there is an overarching civil religion which comes
first, ‘Americanism’ or an ‘American way of life’ is a belief
system that brings people together.
• Civil religion does what traditional religions cannot, brings all
members of a society together.
• This is because while there are religious institutions that appeal
to the individual, but the civil religion appeals to all Americans.
Bellah: Civil religion

40. Civil religion in the US…
• Loyalty to the state
• Belief in a God (an American God) not specific to Christianity,
Judaism etc
• Pledge of allegiance
• National anthem
• One nation under God
• In God we trust
• Flag worship
The American way of life is sacred and binds Americans together
regardless of religion, ethnicity or social class.

41. Critical thinking task…
• How is the American civil religion both similar and
different to Nazi Germany?
• Functionalism highlights the positives that religion
performs, can you think of negative functions of
religion? (women, Northern Ireland, Palestine)
• Is a civil religion a religion in your opinion? Explain.

42. • The increase in secularisation in society (the decline of religion and its
power) means that the functions outlined by Bellah and the other
functionalist thinkers are less relevant or no longer applicable.
• Bellah ignores the segregation that exists in the USA. For example, many of
Donald Trump’s political ideologies override the unity created by religion,
such as building a wall to keep Mexicans out, ‘pro-life’, Muslims should not
be admitted to the US, illegal migrants should be deported.
• Religion has also acted as a source of terrorism and violence and has led to
wars in many countries. For example, the ongoing war of Israel v Palestine.
• Feminists would argue that for women, religion does not perform many
positive functions, as it is a patriarchal mechanism in which men dominate.