RELIGION AND SOCIETY

CARLA/ARIANNA VILLALUNA

THE NATURE OF RELIGION

It is a universal and widespread phenomenon, a part of the cultural system, because it is assumed to meet some basic need of human being. Religion has persisted and still exerts a great influence in lives of people.

What is Religion?

Comes from the Latin word “religare” which means, “to bind together”. It may be about the existence of supernatural being or a system of beliefs and worship. It may be about the existence of God or gods or the existence of ultimate beings. It can also be about the presence of rituals or the presence of moral codes.

RELIGION ACCORDING TO SOME PHILOSOPHERS:

Taylor (1871)belief in spiritual beings and the instiutions and practices associated with these beliefs

Gelliner set of doctorines providing answers to ultimate and exsistential questions for which there are no empirical answers

Evans-Pritschard Religion embodies beliefs or representations which express the nature of sacred things as well as rites prescribing how a person should behave in the presence of sacred objects.

Durkheim (1961)Unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church.

SUB CATEGORIES OF RELIGION

• Prophetic –They guide and warn society, predict what will happen in the future

• Revealed – described as Law-giving religion, they find their symbolic center in set of revelations by a god or gods. The revelations are in the religion’s holy scriptures

• Salvation – creation of Christianity, emphasis on sin and salvation

• Sacramental – comes from Latin “sacramentum” meaning “an oath, a sacred thing, a mystery”

• Mystical – mystical experiences play an important role in understanding nature, learning about the divine and becoming religiously devoted

• Tribal – it is not one which claims to have a religious message for all of humanity, it does not offer any means of universal salvation, does not expect anyone to care about what it has to say

ELEMENTS OR COMPONENTS

• 1) Sacred object – supernatural being or force of ghost or spirit with supernatural power. An object that symbolizes deep feelings

• 2) Sacred belief – sacred things get meaning from the beliefs that is associated with it

• 3) Rituals – visible and symbolic expressions of religion. Performing religious acts

• 4) Religious community – share common beliefs and practices about the sacred which binds them together. According to Durkheim: society is the soul of religion. Religion celebrates and creates community

TECHNIQUES OF RELIGION

• prayer – communicate through thoughts and speech• Sacrifice – desire and gift-giving• Reverence – respect with love and admiration • Divination – knowledge of supernatural powers• Taboo - abstain from certain acts opposed to the desires of the

Gods• Duty – opposite of taboo. Please by positive act• Ritual – performing religious acts• Ceremony – interconnected/related rituals• Magic – make certain forces which will produce desired results

THEORIES ON ORIGIN OF RELIGION

• 1) Faith Based - 19 major world religions subdivided into 270 large religious groups. Different religious creation storied describe how humans, species, universe existed. From revelation from one or more deities

• 2) Science based – anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, researchers have reached proto humans who originated in Africa

EVOLUTION

• David Barret et al, editor “World Christian Encyclopaedia” : first organized religions based on fertility . They focused on the worship of great Earth Goddess and evolved to include male gods who was given importance by the priests

• Todaya. monotheistc – religion is one, one single male god is worshipedb. henotheistic – single man deity but theres other gods, goddesses, heroes or saints

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION

1. Ecclesia- It has an elaborate formal bureaucratic structure with its hierarchy of church officials and well-developed dogmas and rituals.- Emphasis on the sacraments and the creed.- determines and stabilizes the social order.

2. Sect- a group that has broken away from a parent church.- Beliefs and rituals are less developed. - intolerant of secular world and other

religious groups.- characterised by ascetism, strict,

disciplined life style

3. Denomination- come into existence when church or ecclesia lose its religious monopoly in society

- Sects which survived over a considerable period of time settle down to become denominations.

Characterstics: good terms with state and secular powers- rely on birth for membership increase- accept changing doctrine and practice - follow ritual and worship that discourages emotional expression

4. Cult – embrace something new or that has been completely forgotten or lost (lost scriptures or new prophecy)

a. Audience cults – no formal organization, “members” follow cult doctorines from tv, books, magazines etc.

b. Client cults – religious leaders who offer services to those who follow. Eg scientology

c. Cult movements: client cults which become larger and tightly organized eg. Children of god, children of scientology

FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION

1. Promotes social solidarity and social control- Relationships develop, establish norms for “proper” behaviour, sanctions and ways for coping with mistakes through prayers, fasting, penance

- The religious rites and ceremonies usually involving mass singing or mass prayers unite members of the society and enhance solidarity. In Catholicism, the were united to celebrate some special or traditional occasions such as “Misa de Gallo” and “Misa de Aguinaldo”.

2. Legitimation helps validate the establishment and dominant groups within a society. There is a close relationship between the religious practices and the social arrangements in their society. It justifies existing social values and arrangement

3. Social adapatationhelped immigrants adapt to new land and life. Provides ethnic unity and discipline that helps the immigrants

• 4. Consecrating life’s events birth, maturity, marriage and death

• – the human life cycle is explained and celebrated by all religions

• 5. Emotional security provides explanation of the unknown and promotes social security . They derive comfort from religion because it gives the whys and wherefores of the problems and how to cope with them

6. Social Functions Religious Organizations carry out welfare activities and social programs, operate charitable institutions, hospitals, orphanages, medical clinics, and etc. They also provide schools for the poor.

7. Latent or unintended functions of religiona. Provide setting for sociability and worshipb. Promotes obedience and subservience to existing system for the unquestioning

attitude developedc. Disintegrating factor in society d. May create guilt feelings lead to disorganization for non conformists who are

condemned by the church e. Serve as convenient tool rationalizing social inequalityf. Challenging unjust social systems by recapturing the democratic and revolutionary

spirit of their fatih, solidarity with the expelled and overthrowing social systems which support inequality, poverty and misery

WORLD’S MAJOR RELIGIONSWorld’s Major Religions

Country of origin No. of followers

Doctorines, tenets or teachings

Baha’I Baghdad 5 mill Oneness of GOD and humanity, equality, universal education, world peace, world government

Buddhism (4th largest)

Southern Nepal 307 mill Meditation and righteous actions (karma) to Nirvana (state of enlightenment)

Confucianism China uncertain Relationship between individuals, society on li (proper behavior) and jen (sympathetic attitude)

Catholicism (largest) Rome 980 mill Gospel of Jesus, bible teachings, 7 sacraments, jesus as the method of salvation

Hinduism (3rd largest) India 648 mill Veda and upanishads (sacred scriptures), yoga, Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva destroyer

Islam (2nd largest) Saudi Arabia 840 mill Worship Allah, Koran (scripture), 5 pillars of Islam, fast of Ramadam

Judaism Judea 18 mill One God word revealed in Torah hewbew buble, reform movement, conservative Jew

Orthodox Eastern Church

Spit from roman Catholic Church

158 mill Biblical scriptures and tradition, guided by holy spirit as christian truth

Protentatisma. Baptisits

b. church of Christ

c. Church of England

d. Presbyterian

e. Lutheran Church

f. Seventh Day Adventist

g. Pentecostal Churches

England,

Kentucky,U.S

England

Scotland

Delware, US

North America

Scotland

31 mill

1.6 mill

6,000 in US

3.2 mill

8 mill US

734,527

3.5mill US

Do not use alcohol and tobacco, baptism is total immersion

new testament, simple rites, baptism in adultssupremacy of bible, doctorines, creeds on book of common prayer

Faith in bible, baptism, members called presbyters,

Bible teaching, salvation through faith conservatism in social/religios ehics, church organized in synods2nd coming of Jesus, dedicate infants to God, no tobacco or alcoholchurch is perfectionist, communion, baptism infant/adults

PERSISTENCE OF RELIGION

• Integral component of how people view themselves. Ones faith is tied to one’s nationality, culture, race and even sexual orientation.• Links them directly to God and other deities.• Provide rituals for life's major transitions: birth, marriage,

pregnancy, death, etc.teaches rewards beyond one’s ability to imagine: associated with salvation, eternal punishments for the unsaved and by which people become saved.

• Provides an understanding of the universe. Teaches what is expected after death, origin of the world’s life forms and the universe.• Source of one’s moral codes- god’s expectations for the

behaviour of each believer.• Religious community gives unquestioning belief in their

own faith group’s teachings.

SOCIAL CONCEPTS OF RELIGION

1. Folk-Catholicism: Eg. encantados, use of anting-anting and talismans.

2. Split-level Christianity: Eg. Catholics who commit graft and corruption and attend mass every Sunday.

3. Faith healing4. Occult5. Invisible or private religion6. Fundamentalist Revival