Theorists for religion

Attachments:

• Functionalist theories of religion

1. Durkheim
   1. The sacred and profane
   2. Totemism
      1. WORSLEY: there is no sharp division between hte sacred and the profane
   3. collective conscience
      1. shared religious rituals
   4. Cognitive functions
      1. religion is the origin of the concepts and catetgories we need for reasoning
   5. better applied to small societies with one religion. theory explains intergration within a community but not the conflict between communities.
      1. Postmodernists argue durkheims ideas can not be applied to contemporary society as increasing diversity has fragmented the collective conscience
2. Malinowski
   1. Psychological functions
      1. agrees with durkheim on social solidarity but through psychological functions to help cope with emotionl stress
      2. 1) Where the outcome is important but is uncontrollable and thus uncertain
      3. 2) At times of life crisis
3. Parsons
   1. Values and meanings
      1. Agrees with Malinowski
      2. Religion creates and legitimates society's centeral values
      3. It is the primary source of meaning
4. Bellah
   1. Civil religion
      1. A belief system that attaches sacred qualities to the society itself

1. Marx
   1. religion is an ideology that disorts peoples perception of reality.
      1. Ideological weapon
         1. False consciousness
      2. Divine right of kings
         1. king=god representative on earth
            1. disobedience = sin against god
      3. Ignores positive functions of reliogon such as psychological adjustment to misfortune.
         1. NEO MARXISITS: certain forms of religion as assisting the development of class consciousness
   2. Religion and Alienation
      1. becoming seperate from or losing control over something that has been produced or created
      2. No control over the production process. No freedom to express true nature.
      3. Religion acts as an opiate to dull the pain of exploitation
      4. Althusser
         1. The concept of alienation is unscientific and based on a romantic idea of humans having a tru self. The concept is inadequate as a basis for a theory of religion.
   3. Synoptic link!!
      1. marx theory shows relationship between religion and social stratifaction.
         1. Religion legitimises the class structure. help maintain the existing distribution of power
2. Lenin
   1. Spiritual gin, keep people in their place.
   2. Mystical fog
3. Hindu Caste system

1. Woodhead
   1. Criticises feminist explanations that simple equate religion to patriarchy and the oppression of women
   2. Not all religion is patriarchal
   3. Religious Feminism
      1. e.g Hijab
         1. seen by western women as oppressive
         2. to the wearer it may symbolise resistance to oppression. to escape the confines of the home and to enter into education or employment with out being judged by their appearance.
         3. symbol of liberation that enables them to enter the public sphere without losing their culture and history.
2. Religious orginisations
   1. Armstrong
      1. Sees women's exclusion from the priesthood of most religions as evidence of their marginalisation
3. Places of worship
   1. Holm- women aren't allowed to touch the Qu'ran when menstrating. She sees this as a devaluation of women
4. Religious laws and customs
   1. Woodhead
      1. argues that the exclusion of women from the catholic preisthood is evidence of the church's deep unease about the emancipation of women generally.
5. Saadawi
   1. religion is not the direct cause of their subordination. rather it is the result of patriarchal forms of society. which shaped and reformed religion.