Name and discuss at least three defining characteristics of indigenous religions. Then describe at least one aspect of indigenous religions that exists in a similar form in a traditional mainstream religion.
Define religion, and discuss why it is useful in society. Explain why it is important for you personally to understand the beliefs of other religious groups.
One major characteristic of an indigenous religion is the overall belief or viewpoint that practically EVERYTHING is spiritually connected, related or somehow dependent on one another. One major characteristic of an indigenous religion is the overall belief or viewpoint that practically EVERYTHING is spiritually connected, related or somehow dependent on one another. …show more content…
One major characteristic of an indigenous religion is the overall belief or viewpoint that practically EVERYTHING is spiritually connected, related or somehow dependent on one another.
One major characteristic of an indigenous religion is the overall belief or viewpoint that practically EVERYTHING is spiritually connected, related or somehow dependent on one another. You could begin by talking briefly about the research on suicide and how Durkheim analyzed how suicide rates varied for different types of social groups (11-12).
You should also stress that Durkheim was trying to look beyond individual characteristics to locating social factors that underlie suicide; this was critically important to him as he tried to establish sociology as a separate academic discipline. In explaining this pattern, he identified social integration, or the degree to which individuals are tied to their social group, as a key social factor in explaining suicide (11-12). At that time, the connections between individuals and many traditional social groups were weakening, because of the growing individualism and impersonality of the emerging industrial society. Durkheim called for the creation of new social groups to stand between the state and the individual (12).
You then need to make the case as to why these concepts of social integration and anomie are still relevant. You should point out that the social conditions that Durkheim described still exist. If anything, the trends that he first identified have intensified. As examples, you could talk about how Durkheim’s concepts could be applied to patterns
of suicide among teenagers or the outbreaks of school violence in large, impersonal high schools. Referring to the work of such early sociologists as Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim, you could begin by noting that sociology has had twin goals — the scientific study of society and the application of scientific knowledge to social reform — from its inception (9, 11).
When sociology was transplanted to the United States at the end of the nineteenth century, this society was undergoing significant changes, with industrialization, urbanization, and immigration among them. The earliest North American sociologists, like their European predecessors, defined the sociologist’s role as both social scientist and social reformer (17-
18). At the same time, the record suggests that the primary emphasis has generally been on the sociologist’s work as social scientist. For example, women who had been trained as sociologists but then excluded from the universities, turned to social reform and were denied the title of sociologist; instead, they were called social workers by male sociologists working from within academic departments of universities (18).
At this point you could draw on material in the text about the development of North
American sociology, as well as the discussion of the different phases it has passed through.
From the 1920s through the early post–World War II era, the emphasis was on sociological research rather than social reform, as departments of sociology become more widely established (31-32). Sociologists like Talcott Parsons, whose work was primarily theoretical in nature, came to dominate the field. While the early part of this period was one of significant turmoil (with the Great Depression and World War II), at the end of this phase, social problems.