SCLY3

Theories of Religion
1. What is religion?
Substantive definitions:
Focus on the content or the substance of the religious belief.
Max Weber (1905) defines religion as a belief in a superior or supernatural power that is above nature and cannot be explained scientifically.
Exclusive and they draw a clear line between religious and non-religious beliefs; it must include belief in god or the supernatural. western bias as they exclude religions such as Buddhism

Functional definitions:
Social or psychological functions it performs for its individuals or society.
Functional definitions do allow a wide range of beliefs and is inclusive.
No Western bias
Just because an institution helps integrate individuals, does it make it a religion?

Social constructionist definitions:
Interpretivists approach; focuses on how members of society themselves define religion.
Not possible to produce a single universal definition of religion – doesn’t always involve a belief in god or the supernatural, or that it performs similar functions for everyone.
Meanings of religion
Impossible to generalise.

2. Functionist theories of religion
Functionalists see society as a system of interrelated parts or social institutions, such as religion, the family and parts of the economy. Society’s basic needs are met by different institutions.
Society’s most basic need is the need for social order and solidarity so that its members can cooperate. Religious institutions play a central part in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity.

Durkheim:
The key feature of religion was a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane.
Sacred = things set apart and forbidden that inspire feelings of are, fear and wonder that are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions.
Profane= things that have no special significance – things that are ordinary and mundane.
Worship of sacred things is worship of society itself.
Totemism - aboriginal tribe of who performed rituals towards a totem, this is worship for society, although they are unconscious of this. It inspires feelings of awe because it represents the power of the individual.
Collective conscience - sacred symbols represent collective consciousness– shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge .Shared religious rituals reinforce the shared values and maintain social integration, participating in shared rituals binds individuals together.
Religion also performs an important function for the individual, by making us feel part of something greater than ourselves
Cognitive functions of religion - religion also the source of our intellectual or cognitive capacity – our ability to reason and think conceptually. Thus for Durkheim religion is the origin of human thought, reason and science.
Worsely; there is no sharp division between the sacred and the profane.
Durkheim’s theory may apply better to small-scale societies with a single religion, but does not explain large-scale with conflicts.
Postmodernists (Mestrovic) argue that his ideas cannot be applied to modern society, as increasing diversity has led to a fragmented collective consciousness.

Psychological functions; Malinowski
Religion helps individuals cope with emotional stress that would undermine social solidarity
Where the outcome is important but is uncontrollable and uncertain. E.g. Trobriand Islanders; Lagoon fishing predictable and successful –no ritual; Ocean fishing dangerous and uncertain – ritual provides a sense of control.
At times of life crisis E.g. death, funeral reinforce solidarity and notion on immortality gives comfort.
Parsons
Religion creates and legitimates society’s central values; by sacraling them it promotes value consensus and social stability
Primary source of meaning; it answers ultimate questions and allows people to adjust to advents and maintain stability

Civil Religion, Bellah
Religion unifies society, especially a multi-faith society. Civil religion – a belief system that attaches sacred qualities of society itself.
Civil religion integrates society in a way that individual religions cannot. It involves loyalty to the nation states and belief in god. It is expressed in various rituals, symbols and beliefs.
It sacralises the way of life of the society and binds together people from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds.

Evaluation
Emphasises positive functions. Ignores the negative aspects e.g. religion is the source of oppression of women and the poor.
Ignores religion as a source of conflict and division – where there’s more than one religion.

3. Marxist theories of religion
Marxism sees religion as a feature only of a class-divided society.

Religion as ideology
Marx; Ideology is a belief system that distorts people’s perception of reality in ways that serve the interests of the ruling class. He argues that the upper class control institutions such as the church. In Marx’s view, religion operates as an ideological weapon to legitimate the suffering of the poor as something that is inevitable and god given. Religion misleads the poor into believing that their suffering is virtuous and that they will be rewarded in the afterlife. These ideas create a false consciousness which prevents the poor from acting to change their situation.
Lenin; religion is a ‘spiritual gin’ which is served out by the ruling class to confuse and manipulate the working class.
Religion also makes it seem like the power and privilege of the upper class is divinely ordained.

Religion and alienation
Marx see’s religion as the product of Alienation; becoming separated or losing control over something that one has produced or created. The working class have no control over the production.
Religion acts as an opiate to dull the pain of exploitation. Yet it masks the pain rather than treating its cause. So religion masks the underlying problem of exploitation. It promises an afterlife of happiness which distracts the attention away from the true source of suffering- capitalism.
Thus, Marx sees religion as the product of alienation. It arises out of suffering and acts as consolation for it. Yet fails to cure it.

Evaluation
He ignores the positive functions of religion, such as psychological adjustment to misfortune.
Religion does not necessarily function as an ideology to control the population. For example Turner argues that in pre-capitalist societies Christianity only had a limited impact on the peasantry.

4. Feminist theories of religion
Many feminists regard religion as a patriarchal institution that reflects this inequality. It legitimises women’s subordination.

Evidence of patriarchy
Religious organisations – are mainly male-dominated, despite the fact that women participate more than men in these organisations. E.g. Catholicism forbids women to become priests.
Armstrong – women’s exclusion is evidence of marginalision.
Places of worship – often segregate the sexes and marginalise women, for example seating them behind screens while men occupy the foreground. Women’s participation may be restricted e.g. women who are menstruating are not allowed to touch the Qur’an. Holm describes this as devaluation of women.
Sacred texts – largely feature the doings of male gods, prophets etc. and are usually written and interpreted by men. Stories often reflect anti-female stereotypes. E.g. Eve who caused humanity's fall from grace.
Religious laws and customs – May give women fewer rights than men, for example access to divorce, dress codes etc. They also control their reproductive role. E.g. Catholics ban abortion and contraception. Cultural norms may also lead to unequal treatment

Women have not always been subordinate to men within religion. Armstrong argues that early religions often placed women at the centre. E.g. Earth mother goddesses and fertility cults. However about 4,000 years ago religion gave rise to a monotheist all-powerful male god. Saadawi (1980) argues that this is because patriarchal society began to shape it thousands of years ago

Woodhead: religious feminism
Criticises feminist explanations that simply equate religion with oppression of women. She emphasises that this is not true of all religions. She argues that there are forms of ‘religions feminism’ – ways in which women use religion to gain greater freedom and respect.
E.g. the hijab or veil worn my many Muslim women. Some Muslim wore in order to escape the confines of the household and break into education etc. – it is as symbol of liberation
Women also use religion to gain status and respect for their roles within the private sphere of the home and family. Some women are part of bible groups in which they can share their opinions which they can find empowering.
The position of women is changing within some religions. About 1/5 of all the Church of England’s priests now are women.

Religion and Social Change
1. Religion as a conservative force
Two different senses;
It is ‘traditional’, as it defends traditional customs, institutions, moral views, roles etc. It upholds traditional beliefs about how society should be organised.
It functions to conserve or preserve things as they are. It stabilises society and maintains the status quo.
Conservative beliefs –
Most religions oppose changes that would allow individuals more freedom in personal and sexual matters. E.g. Catholic Church forbids divorce, abortion and contraception.
Most religions uphold ‘family values’ and often favour a patriarchal division of labour. The bride vows to ‘love, honour and obey’ but the groom is only required to ‘love and honour’.
Conservative functions-
Religion and consensus – Functionalists see religion as a conservative force because it functions to maintain social stability and prevent society from disintegrating. It promotes social solidarity by creating value consensus. It also helps individuals to deal with stresses that would disrupt the life of society.
Religion and capitalism – Marx sees religion as a conservative ideology that prevents social change. By legitimising or disguising inequality. It creates false consciousness in the working class and prevents revolution. Stabilising capitalist society.
Religion and patriarchy – feminists see religion as a conservative force because it acts as an ideology that legitimates patriarchal power and maintains women’s subordination in the family and wider society.

2. Weber: Religion as a force for change
The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism; Weber argues that the religious beliefs of Calvinism helped to bring about major social change – emergence of modern capitalism in northern Europe, in the 16th century. Modern capitalism is based on the systematic, efficient and rational pursuit of profit for its own sake – rather than greed for wealth = spirit of capitalism, similar to Calvinism beliefs.
Calvinist beliefs
Predestination – God had had predetermined which souls would be saved, and which would not even before birth. So individuals could not to anything to change this.
Divine transcendence – God was so far above and beyond this world that nobody can claim to know his will. This leads Calvinists to feel an inner loneliness.
Asceticism – Refers to self-discipline and refraining from luxury and avoiding excess to devote themselves to god.
The idea of a vocation or calling – We were put on earth to glorify god’s name by our work. However this was not to earn salvation it was simply a religious calling.

Calvinists therefore led an ascetic lifestyle, shunning all luxury, working long hours, and practising self-discipline. This lead to:
Psychological functions; allowed them to cope with their salvation panic, as they grew wealthier they took this as a sign of God’s favour and their salvation.
Accumulation of wealth; by reinvesting in their business – which grew and prospered, producing further profit.
Weber therefore argued that this was one of the causes of modern capitalism, a number of material and economic factors were also important.
He argues that the failure of capitalism in ancient china was due to the lack of a religious belief system that would have spurred development.

Criticisms:
Karl Kautsky (1927) argues that Weber overestimates the role of ideas and underestimates the economic factors in bringing capitalism into being. He argues that capitalism preceded rather than followed Calvinism.
Tawney (1926) argues that technological change was the birth of capitalism.
Capitalism did not develop in every country where there were Calvinists, for example Scotland was slow to develop capitalism. Marshall (1982) refutes this arguing that this was because of a lack of investment capital and skilled labour.

3. Religion and social protest
American civil rights movement
Bruce describes the struggle of the black civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s to end racial segregation as an example of religiously motivated change.
The civil rights movement began in 1955, and direct action through protest marches, boycotts and demonstrations followed until 1964 when the segregation was outlawed.
Bruce describes the black clergy as the backbone of the movement. Led my Martin Luther King, they played a role giving support and legitimacy to civil rights activists. They shamed whites into changing the law by appealing to their shared Christian values.
Bruce sees religion in this context as an ideological resource – beliefs that protesters could draw on for motivation and legitimisation. Religion organisations support and contribute to change by:
Taking the moral high ground; pointed out the hypocrisy of the white clergy preaching ‘love thy neighbour’ but supporting racial segregation.
Channelling dissent; e.g. the funeral of Martin Luther King was a rallying point for the civil rights cause
Acting as a honest broker; they are supported by both sides in a conflict and can provide a context for negotiating change.
Mobilising public opinion; by campaigning for support
Bruce sees the civil rights movement as an example of religion becoming involved in a struggle and helping to bring about change. It shared the same values as wider society and those in power. It also shamed those in power to put into practice the principle of equality.
The new Christian right
The new Christian right is a political and moral conservative, began in the 1960’s
Its aims are to take America ‘back to god’. They wish to make abortion, homosexuality and divorce illegal. They believe strongly in the traditional family and traditional gender roles; campaigning for the teaching of ‘creationism’ in schools and wants to ban sex education.
Its campaigns have raised profile since the 1970s, notably through effective use of media, e.g. televangelism – church owned TV stations raise funds and show programmes aimed at making converts.
However the New Christian Right has been largely unsuccessful because;
15% of the American population were involved at most.
Its campaigners find it very difficult to cooperate with people from other religious groups.
It lacks widespread support and has been met with strong opposition from groups who stand for freedom and choice.
Bruce describes the New Christian Right as a failed movement for change. Despite enormous publicity and a high profile in the media; most Americans are unwilling to accept other people’s definitions of how they should live their lives. The New Christian Right has failed to connect with mainstream beliefs about democracy, equality and religious freedom therefore preventing their success.

4. Marxism, religion and change
Marxists are often thought of as seeing religion as an entirely conservative ideology – a set of ruling class idea’s that legitimate class inequalities.
However, Marxists recognise that ideas, including religious ideas, can have relative autonomy. (Partly independent of the economic base of society)
As a result religion can have a dual character –sometimes be a force for change as well as stability.
Engels– Argues that although religion inhibits change by disguising inequality, it can also challenge the status quo and encourage social change. E.g. Religion sometimes preaches liberation from slavery and misery.
Ernst Bloch (the principle of hope) – sees religion as having a dual character. He accepts that religion can inhibit change, but argues it can inspire protest and rebellion. Religion is an expression of ‘the principle of hope’. Religious beliefs may therefore create a vision of a better world, which if combined with effective political organisation and leader ship can bring about social change.
Liberation theology:
A movement that emerged within the Catholic Church in Latin America at the end of the 1960’s with a strong commitment to the poor and opposition to the military dictatorships that then ruled most of the continent.
Factor that lead to its emergence deepening rural poverty and the growth of slums in Latin America,
Human rights abuses following military take overs
The growing commitment among catholic churches to support the poor.
It emphasises ‘Praxis’ – practical action guided by theory. E.g. some priests actively resisted state terror
However, in the 1980s the churches official attitude changed, the conservative pope condemning it as being similar to Marxism.
Casanova (1994) emphasises that liberation theology played an important part in bringing about democracy in Latin American countries. As a result both Maduro and Lowy see liberation theology as an example of religiously inspired social change.
Millenarian movements:
Millenarian movements are an important example of desire to change things here and now, for example, the kingdom of God on earth. Worsley argues that they expect the total and imminent transformation of this world by supernatural means, creating heaven on earth.
They appeal mainly to the poor because they promise immediate improvement.
Worsley studied the cargo cults – millenarian movement in Melanesia, where islanders felt deprived when cargo arrived for the colonists. They asserted that it had been meant for the natives but had been diverted by the whites for themselves, and that this was about to be overturned.
Gramsci: religion and hegemony:
Gramsci is interested in how the ruling class maintain their control over society through ideas rather than force.
Hegemony – ideological domination or leadership of society – is the way the ruling class is able to use ideas such as religion to control society.
However religion can challenge the ruling class – may lead to class conscience and some clergy may act as organic intellectuals – support working-class organisations.
Religion and class conflict:
Billings takes Gramsci ideas and applies them to a study comparing a class struggle in two communities – coalminers and textile workers.
The important things that either benefited or hindered the employers hegemony were; leadership, organisation and support.

Secularisation
1. Secularisation in Britain
Crockett (1998) estimated that in the year of 1851 40% or more of the adult population attended church on Sundays. This is a much higher figure than today. This has led many sociologists to claim the 19th century was a ‘golden age’ for religion.
Since then there has been
A decline in the percentage of the population going to church.
An increase in the average age of church goers
Fewer baptisms and church weddings
A decline in the numbers holding a traditional Christian belief
Greater religious diversity
Wilson (1966) argued that western societies had been undergoing a long term process of secularisation, where religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose social significance.
Church attendance today:
Church goers have halved since 1960s. Very few children go to Sunday schools.
English church census – attendance and membership of large religious organisations have declined more than small organisations, some of which have grown
Church weddings and baptisms have declined
Religious beliefs today:
More people claim they hold Christian beliefs than actually belong or go to church
Religious belief is declining, in line with the decline in church attendance and membership.
Gill et al. reviewed 100 national surveys. Found a significant decline in belief in a personal God and in traditional teachings about the afterlife.
Religious institutions today:
Influence of religion as a social institution has declined
The state has taken over many of the functions that church used to perform, e.g. education
Church has been restricted to the private sphere
Legal requirement for schools to provide daily act of collective worship – ½ schools fail to comply
Number of clergy fell when population rose
Bruce – predicts that the Methodist church will fold by 2030 and the Church of England will be merely a small voluntary organisation.

2. Explanations of Secularisation
Modernisation –decline in traditional religion replaced with rational scientific ways
Social change – industrialisation leads to break up of small communities held together by religious beliefs
Growth of social and religious diversity – undermined authority of religious institutions and credibility of religious beliefs
Weber – Rationalisation:
The process by which rational ways of thinking and acting come to replace religious ones. Western society has undergone this process in the last few centuries.
Protestant reformation (by Martin Luther King in the 16th century) started a process of rationalisation, which undermined the religious world view (– which saw the world as and ‘enchanted world’ in which God and other spiritual things changed the course of events) of the middle Ages and replaced it with the rational scientific outlook found in modern society.
Disenchantment – the new worldview saw God as existing outside of the world, not as intervening in it. The world had become disenchanted, left to run according to the laws of nature
Events were no longer explained as the work of unpredictable supernatural beings, but as the predictable workings of natural forces
Through reason and science, humans could discover the laws of nature, and understand and predict how the world works – religious explanations where no longer needed.
A Technological View – Bruce; A technological worldview has largely replaced religious explanations of why things happen. Religious worldviews only survive in areas where technology is less effective.
Structural Differentiation:
Parsons defines structural differentiation as a process that occurs with industrialisation as many specialised institutions develop to carry out the different functions previously performed by a single institution e.g. the church
Church has now become a smaller more specialised institution. Bruce – religion has become separated from wider society and privatised in the home and family.
Structural differentiation leads to the disengagement of religion
Social and Cultural Diversity:
Wilson – in pre-industrial society, local communities shared religious rituals that expressed their shared values, integrated individuals and regulated their behaviour, but industrialisation destroys these stable local communities and so destroys religious base.
Bruce – industrialisation creates large, impersonal, loose-knit urban centres with diverse beliefs, values and lifestyles. This diversity undermines the believability of religion
The rise of individuation leads to a decline in community-based religious belief and practice.
Criticisms, Aldridge
Religion can be a source of identity on a worldwide scale
Some religious communities are imagined communities that interact through the global media
Pentecostal and other religious groups often flourish in ‘impersonal urban areas.
Religious Diversity:
Berger (1969) another cause is the trend towards religious diversity –many religious organisations and interpretations
In the middle ages, the Catholic Church was the main and only religion with no competition.
Since the 16th protestant Reformation, the number and variety of religious organisations has growth, each with a different version of the truth
Berger argues that this religious diversity undermines religions plausibility structure – its believability. Alternative versions of religion enable people to question all of them and this erodes the absolute certainties of traditional religion.
What is true or false becomes simply a personal point of view and this creates the possibility of opting out of religion all together.
Cultural Defence and Cultural Transition:
Bruce identifies two counter trends that seem to contradict the secularisation theory
Cultural defence – religion provides a focal point for the defence of national or ethnic group identity in a struggle against an external force such as hostile foreign power.
Cultural transition – religion provides a sense of community for ethnic groups living in a different country and culture.
Criticisms
Berger has changed his views and now argues that diversity and choice actually stimulate interest and participation in religion.
Beckford agrees with the idea that religious diversity will lead some to question or even abandon their own beliefs. Yet this is not inevitable, opposing views can have the effect of strengthening a religion rather than undermining them.
The Spiritual Revolution:
Some sociologists argue that a ‘spiritual revolution’ is taking place, with traditional Christianity giving way to a New Age spirituality that emphasises personal development and experience
The spiritual market is growing
Heelas and Woodhead studied Kendal to investigate whether traditional religion has declined and how far the growth of spirituality is compensating for this. They distinguish between:
The congregational domain of traditional and evangelical Christian churches
The holistic milieu of spirituality and the new age
They found that:
In a typical week in 2000, 7.9% of the population attended church and 1.6% took part in spiritual activities
Within the congregational domain, the traditional churches where losing support, while evangelical churches where holding their own. Although fewer people where involved in the holistic milieu, it was growing.
Heelas and Woodhead explain these trends
New age spirituality is growing because a turn in today’s culture, a shift towards exploring your inner self
As a result traditional religions, which demand duty and obedience, are declining
Evangelical churches are more successful than the traditional churches because they emphasise the subjective aspects; spiritual healing and growth through personal experience.
The winners in the spiritual marketplace are those who appeal to personal experience as the only genuine source of meaning and fulfilment.

3. Secularisation in America
In 1962, Wilson found that 45% of Americans attended church on Sundays, but he argued that this was more an expression of the ‘American way of life’ than of religious beliefs.
For Wilson, America is a secular society, because religion there had become superficial.
Declining Church Attendances:
Opinion polls asking people about church attendance suggest it has been stable at about 40% of the population since 1940. However, this figure may be an exaggeration
For example, Hadaway et al. found that in one county in Ohio, the attendance level claimed in opinion polls was 83% higher than researchers actually counted going into church
This tendency to exaggerate churchgoing is a recent development – its seen as socially desirable
Secularisation from within:
Bruce argues that in American, the emphasis on traditional Christian beliefs and glorifying God has declined. Instead religion has become ‘psychologised’ – a form of therapy
American religion has remained popular by becoming less religious – it has become secularised from within. Its purpose has changed from seeking salvation in heaven to seeking personal improvement in this world.
Religious Diversity and Relativism:
Bruce identifies practical relativism among American Christians, i.e. accepting others are entitled to hold different beliefs
Lynd and Lynd – found that in 1924 that 94% of churchgoing young people agreed with the statement ‘Christianity is the one true religion’ by 1977 only 41% agreed.
Absolution has been eroded – we now live in a society where many people hold views that are different to our own – undermining the assumption that our views are absolutely true.

4. Criticisms of Secularisation theory
Religion is not declining but simply changing its form
It is one sided it focuses on decline and ignores revivals and growth of new religions
Falling church attendance does not account for those that believe but don’t go to church
Religion may have declined in Europe but not in America so this is not global
The past was not a golden age of faith from which we have declined and the future will not be an age of atheism.
Religious diversity increases participation because it offers choice. There is no overall downward trend. But they are now pointing in different directions and make people use religion in all sorts of ways.

Religion, Renewal and Choice
1. Postmodernity and Religion
Religion is changing rather than declining – changes in religion are largely the result of changes in wider society.

Believing without belonging:
Grace Davie (2007) - argues against secularisation theory.
Religion is not declining but becoming more private.
We now have a believing without belonging society – where people hold religious beliefs but don’t go to church. The decline of the traditional religion is met by the growth of a new form of religion.
Vicarious religion
Where a small number of clergy practice religion on behalf of a much larger number of people who experience it second hand.
Although most people do not attend church they are attached to it for providing ritual and support e.g. marriage and funerals.
Bibby’s study of Canadians found that although only 25% attended church, 80% believed in a religion.
Criticisms
Voas and Crockett (2005) do not accept Davie’s claim. Evidence from surveys show that both the church attendance and attitudes are declining.
Bruce says that if people are not willing to invest time in going to church, this just reflects the declining strength of their beliefs.

Spiritual Shopping:
Leger (2000) continues the theme of personal choice and believing without belonging. She agrees that there has been a decline in institutional religion in Europe.
Cultural amnesia (Loss of collective memory) – leads to lower attendance - the family and schools are not church based like they use to be. As a result young people no longer inherit a fixed religious identity and they are ignorant of traditional religion.
Individual consumerism has replaced collective tradition – people today now believe they have a choice as consumers of religion – they have become spiritual shoppers.
Religion has become a personal spiritual journey in which we choose the elements we wish to explore. As a result 2 new religions are emerging;
Pilgrims: follow an individual path in the search for self-discovery e.g. New Age spirituality
Converts – people join groups that create a sense of belonging and community. As a result religion no longer acts a source of collective identity. Although religion does still have some influence on society’s values. I.e. equality and human rights.
Late modernity this is the notion that in modern society tradition has declined and individualism has increased. This explains the growing importance of individual choice and the decrease of the church.
Lyon: ‘Jesus in Disneyland’:
Traditional religion is giving way to a variety of new religions which show peoples strength of their beliefs.
Postmodern society has a number of features that are changing the nature of religion; globalisation, the increased importance of the media and communications and the growth of consumerism.
The relocation of Religion
Globalisation refers to the growing interconnectedness of societies – this has led to instant access to ideas/beliefs from around the world
These ideas have become ‘disembedded’ – the media lifts them out of their original contexts and moves them to a different place and time
As a result religion becomes de-institutionalised - removed from original location and adapted to suit personal needs
Religious consumerism
Identity is constructed through consumerism, we choose religious beliefs and practices to meet our individual needs, and we pick and mix elements of different faiths.
While people may have ceased to belong to religious organisations, they have not abandoned religion.
Great variety of religious products to choose from leads to a loss of faith in meta-narratives – theories or worldviews that claim to have the absolute truth – these include traditional religions.
People have access to a wide range of contradictory claims and beliefs, weakening the claims of traditional religions. Previously dominating religious organisations and traditions lose their authority and decline.
Re-enchantment of the world
Last 3/4 decades are a period of re-enchantment - the growth of unconventional beliefs and spirituality
Traditional religion in decline, but personal, non-traditional religion is growing
Criticisms
Research shows that people choose to view programmes that confirm their existing beliefs. It is unlikely therefore that the religious media attract new converts.
Bruce argues that consumerist religion is weak religion – it has little effect on the life of its participants. As such he sees the rise of evidence of secularisation not vitality of religion.

2. Religious Market Theory – Stark and Bainbridge
Also called rational choice theory:
Argue that the secularisation theory is Eurocentric – it focuses on decline of religion in Europe and fails to explain its continuing vitality in America. Providing a distorted view of the past and future, there was no ‘golden age; of religion nor can we predict an end point for religion.
Their theory is based on two assumptions:
People are naturally religions and religion meets human needs, demands remain constant.
It is human nature to seek rewards and avoid costs.
Religion is attractive because it provides us with compensators, when real rewards are scarce and not reachable. E.g. immortality is unobtainable yet religion promises life after death.
Stark and Bainbridge put forward the concept of a cycle of religious decline, revival and renewal. E.g. when established churches decline, it leaves room in the market for more sects.
According to Stark and Bainbridge, churches operate like companies selling goods in a market. They argue that competition leads to the improvements in the quality of the religious ‘goods’ on offer. The churches that make their goods more attractive will succeed.
America vs. Europe
The demand for religion increases when there are different sorts to choose from, consumers can find one that meets their needs
Religion thrives in the USA because there has never been a religious monopoly. Whereas many European counties have been dominated by an official state church which has religious monopoly.
Stark and Bainbridge state that the main factor influencing the level of religious participation is the supply. Therefore secularisation is not a universal trend.

Supply led religion
Hadden and Shupe – the growth of ‘televangelism’ in America shows that the level of religious participation is supply-led
Finke – lifting of restrictions on Asian immigration into America in the 19860s allowed Asian religions to set up permanently in the USA, Asian faiths became another option that proved popular with consumers.
Stark – Japan is another society where a free market in religion has stimulated participation. After WWII religion was de-graded, creating a market in which new religions thrived.
Criticisms
Bruce rejects the view that diversity and competition increase the demand for religion. Statistics show that diversity has been accompanied by religious decline in both America and Europe.
Bruce argues that Stark and Bainbridge state that Stark and Bainbridge misrepresent secularisation theory.
Norris and Inglehart (2004) show that high levels of religious participation exist in catholic countries where the church has a nearby monopoly, such as Ireland.
Beckford criticises it as sociological, because it assumes people are naturally religious and fails to explain why they make the choices that they do.

3. Existential Security Theory
Norris and Inglehart (2004) reject religious market theory on the grounds it only applies to America.
The reason for variations of religiosity between societies is because of the different degrees of existential security. This is ‘the feeling that survival is secure enough that it can be taken for granted.’
Religion meets a need for security and therefore societies where people feel secure have a low level demand for religion;
Poor societies- Where people face life-threatening risks such as famine and other natural disasters have high levels of insecurity and have high levels ore religiosity.
Rich societies- Where people have a high standard of living and are at less risk have a greater sense of security and thus lower levels of religiosity.
The demand for religion is not constant but varies within and between societies. Demand is greatest in low-income groups which is why poor third world counties remain religious as they are insecure. Whereas prosperous western countries have become more secular.
Norris and Inglehart note that global population growth undermines the trend towards secularisation. As a result while the rich countries are becoming more secular the rest of the world is becoming more religious.
Europe vs. America
Europe has increasing secularisation, because these societies are among the most equal and secure in the world, with well-developed welfare states – reducing poverty and protecting from insecurity.
America is more religious, because they are the most unequal, with an inadequate welfare- safety net and individualistic values – creating high levels of insecurity. Yet is still less religious than poorer societies.
State welfare and religiosity
Gill and Lundergaarde – the more a country spends on welfare, the lower the level of religious participation. Although they do not expect religion to decline completely as it does not fulfil all the same roles as religion such as; answering the ultimate questions about the meaning of life.
Evaluation
Vasquez (2007) accepts that Norris and Inglehart offer a valuable explanation of different levels of religious participation however he makes two criticisms;
They use only quantitative date about income levels, they don’t examine peoples own definitions of ‘existential security’. Qualitative research is needed.
They only see religion as a negative response to deprivation; they ignore the positive reasons people have for religious participation and the appeal of some times for the wealthy.

Religion in a Global Context
1. Religion and development
The importance of science and technology in economic development, and the rational worldview are seen as destroying belief in the supernatural. On the other hand religion may contribute to development.

God and globalisation in India:
Globalisation has brought rapid economic growth, political power and brought rising prosperity to India.
Nanda – examines the role of Hinduism in legitimising both the rise of the new Hindu ‘ultra-nationalism’ and the prosperity of some of the Indian middle class
Hinduism and Consumerism
Secularisation theory predicts that scientifically educated, urban middle class in India (created by globalisation) will be the first to abandon religion.
Yet as Nanda observes that a vast majority of these continue to believe in the supernatural. 30% of people in a survey said that they had become more religious. Increased interest in religion has also been reflected in a dramatic growth of religious tourism, such as visits to shrines, temples. Nanda notes that being religious is becoming fashionable.
Nanda argues their increasing religiosity is the result of their ambivalence about their newfound wealth – stemming from a tension between the traditional Hindu belief in renunciation of materialism and worldly desires, and the new prosperity of the middle classes.
They take the edge off guilt by teaching that middle-class consumerism can be ‘spiritually balanced’ by paying for the performance of rituals.
Modern versions of Hinduism therefore legitimate the position of the middle class and allow them to adjust to capitalism.
Hindu Ultra-Nationalism
Nanda also examines the role of Hinduism in legitimating an Indian nationalism. Nanda notes that India’s success is strongly attributed to the superiority of ‘Hindu values’, a view constantly promoted by the media and politicians, along with the idea that Hinduism is the essence of India culture and identity.
Worshipping Hindu gods has become the same as worshipping the nation of India – civil religion
Hinduism has also penetrated public life such as schools like ‘Hindu sciences’ are being taught.

Capitalism in East Asia:
South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan have recently become successfully industrialised and become significant players in the global Economy. China has also become a major global industrial power.
The success in East Asia has led to some sociologists arguing religion has played a role similar to Calvinism
Reading (1990) describes the spirit of capitalism amongst Chinese entrepreneurs. He sees their ‘post-Confucian values encouraging hard work, self-discipline, frugality, and a commitment to self-education and self-improvement. This system has led to economic productivity and the accumulation of capital.

Pentecostalism in Latin America:
Berger (2003) argues that Pentecostalism in Latin America acts as a ‘functional equivalent’ to Weber’s protestant ethic, they embrace a work ethic and lifestyle similar to the Calvinists, leading an ascetic (self-denying) way of life that emphasises discipline, hard work, and abstinence from alcohol. It encourages its members to become upwardly mobile. Berger agrees with Weber that something like this is necessary to promote economic development and raise a society out of poverty. However Berger acknowledges that ideas are not enough alone, the country must also have resources.
Pentecostalism: global and local
Christianity has globalised its self by expanding out of Europe. Lehmann distinguishes between two phases of this expansion
1st; Christianity accompanied colonisation and was imposed on the indigenous populations
2nd; it spread because it gained a popular following
Pentecostalism is successful as a global religion because of its ability to incorporate local beliefs. In this was it creates new local religions rather than simply replacing existing local beliefs with and imported one

2. Religious Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism and cosmopolitanism:
Giddens (1990) - fundamentalists are traditionalists who seek to return to the basics or fundamentals of their faith. They believe unquestioningly in the literal and infallible truth of scripture in that it provides answers to questions from politics to family life, believing theirs is the only true truth of the world.
Giddens see this as a relatively new term of which is a product and reaction to globalisation. It undermines traditional social norms such as the nuclear family. It is a retreat into faith-based answers away from the globalising world that demands rational answers.
It provides certainty in an uncertain world.
Cosmopolitanism is a tolerant view of others and open to new ideas it constantly reflects and modifies its beliefs in the light of new information (reflexive thinking) it requires people to justify their beliefs through rational view rather than relying on scriptures. One’s lifestyle is seen as a personal choice. It encourages the pursuit of personal meaning and self-improvement rather than submission to authority.
Responses to post modernity
Bauman sees fundamentalism as a response to living in postmodernity. Postmodern society brings freedom of choice, uncertainty and a heightened awareness of risk. Others are attracted to fundamentalism with its absolute claims of truth and certainty.
Castells (1998) distinguishes between two responses to post modernity:
- Resistant identity – a defensive reaction of those who feel threatened and retreat into fundamentalism communities.
- Project identity – the response of those who are forward looking and engage with social movements such as feminism and environmentalism.
Criticisms – Beckford
They ignore hybrid movements, sharp line between fundamentalism and cosmopolitanism
They are fixated on fundamentalism ignoring other important developments.
Lumps all types of fundamentalism together
Ignores the fact that reinventing tradition is also a modern ‘reflexive’ activity.

Monotheism and Fundamentalism:
Bruce – sees the main cause of fundamentalism as globalisation - it threatens religious traditionalists’ lifestyle and beliefs.
Fundamentalism is confined to monotheistic religion – because they are based on a notion of God’s will as revealed through a single sacred text, believed to contain the actual words of God, and specie rules for believers to follow
Two Fundamentalisms
While fundamentalisms share the same characteristics, they may have different origins;
In the west – a reaction to change taking place within a society, especially the trend towards diversity
In the third world – a reaction to changes being thrust upon a society from outside.

3. Cultural Defence
Steve Bruce sees one function of religion in today's world, as that of cultural defence. This is where religion serves to unite a community against an external threat. It symbolises the group or society’s collective identity defending the community against a threat.

Poland-
1945 – 1989; Poland was under communist rule, during this time the catholic church was suppressed, but for many poles it continued to embody polish national identity. Although the church to not always challenge the communist regime, it served as a popular rallying point for opposition. Thereafter the church regained a public role and has had a significant influence on the polish politics since the 1980s.
Iran-
Western capitalist powers and oil companies had long had influence in Iran, including involvement in the illegal over throw of a democratic government in 1950s. Change was imposed rapidly causing great suffering. Revolution was led by religious leaders – mullahs.
Both Iran and Poland are examples of religion as a cultural defence against a perceived external enemy and its local allies.

4. Religion and the ‘Clash of Civilisations’
Religion has been a centre of a number of global conflicts, e.g. the ‘9/11’ Islamic attacks. Such conflicts have intensified since the collapse of communism in 1989.
Huntington they are symptoms of what he sees as a wider clash of civilisations.
He identifies seven civilisations: western, Latin American, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu and Slavic-Orthodox. Each has a common culture background and history and is closely identified with one of the world’s great religions.
Shared religion creates social cohesion within civilisations, but can cause conflict between them. This is particularly true in today's globalised world, because religious differences have now become a major source of identity;
With the fall old communism, political differences between nations have become less important and a source of identity.
Globalisation has made nation-states less significant as a source of identity creating a gap that religion has filled.
Globalisation makes contact between civilisations easier and more frequent, increasing the likelihood of old conflicts re-emerging.
In Huntington’s view, religious differences are creating a new set of hostile ‘us and them’ relationships, with increased competition between civilisations for economic and military power, for example in the Middle East. He sees religious differences as harder than political ones to resolve because they are deeply rooted in culture and history. He predicts growing conflict between the ‘west and the rest’.
Criticisms
Jackson –Huntington’s work is an example of orientalism- a western ideology that stereotypes Easter nations and people as untrustworthy.
Casanova – Huntington ignores important religions divisions within the civilisations he identifies.
Horrie and Chippindale – grossly misleading neo-conservative ideology that portrays the whole of Islam as the enemy
Armstrong – hostility towards the west does not stem from fundamentalist Islam but is the reaction to western foreign policy in the Middle East.
The real clash of civilisations
Inglehart and Norris – the issue that divides the west from the Muslim world is not democracy but sexuality.

Organisations, Movements and Members
1. Types of Religious Organisation
Different religious organisations, how they develop and who joins them
Church, Sect, Denomination and Cult

Troeltsch: Church
Niebuhr: Denomination
Troeltsch: Sect
Niebuhr: Cult
Size
Large

small small Run by…
Bureaucratic hierarchy

Charismatic leader
People who claim special knowledge
Appeal to…
Universal – by more attractive to higher classes
Less exclusive than cults, but don’t appeal to wider society
Exclusive

Accept society’s values?

Broadly
No - Hostile

Commitment?
Few demands
Minor Restrictions
High
Low
Tolerant of other religions?
No
Yes
No
Yes
Wallis: Monopoly on truth?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Wallis: Seen by wider society as…
Respectable/legitimate
Respectable/Legitimate
Deviant
Deviant

Bruce: Some of the descriptions of religious organisations do not fit today’s reality. The idea that the church has a monopoly of truth only applies to the Catholic Church, before the 16th century protestant reformation, now sects and cults have flourished, religious diversity is the norm – and churches no longer have a religious monopoly
New Religious Movements
Wallis: categorises new religious movements
World rejecting – e.g. the Manson family.
They vary in size and are clearly religious organisations, highly critical of the outside world – seeking radical change, members must break with their former life, and live communally with restricted access to the outside and conservative moral codes
World accommodating – e.g. neo-Pentecostalists.
Are often breakaways from existing mainstream churches or denominations; they neither accept nor reject the world – focuses on religious matters. Members live conventional lives.
World affirming – e.g. Scientology
May lack some of the conventional features of religion, offering followers access to spiritual and supernatural powers. They are non-exclusive and tolerant of other religions, most are cults.
Evaluation
He ignores the diversity of beliefs that may exist within an NRM.
Wallis – accepts that not all NRMS fit into his categories, but argues it allows other sociologists to analyse and compare NRMS
Stark and Bainbridge (1985) reject the idea of constructing such ways of grouping religions, and that we should instead look on them for the degree of conflict or tension between the religious group and society.
Sects and Cults – Stark and Bainbridge
Identify two kinds of organisation that are in conflict with wider society;
Sects: result from schisms (splits in existing organisations due to disagreements about doctrine)
Promise other-worldly benefits to those suffering economic or ethical deprivation
Cults: are new religions or ones new to that particular society that have been imported
Offer this-worldly benefits to the more prosperous individuals who are suffering psychic or organismic deprivation
Subdivide cults according to how organised they are
Audience: least organised, do not require formal membership, can be through media, or much commitment
Client: based on the relationship between a consultant and a client, providing a service – emphasis therapy and promise personal fulfilment and self –discovery
Cultic: most organised, demand highest commitment, it aims to meet all of its members religious needs – rarely allowed to belong to other religious groups at the same time.
Degree of conflict with wider society, is similar to Troeltsch – accepts/rejects society. Some of their examples don’t fit in their categories.

2. Explaining the growth of religious movements
Marginality:
Weber – sects tend to arise in groups that are marginal to society – they may feel that they of disprivileged either by social status or economic rewards.
Sects offer a solution to this problem by offering their members a theodicy of disprivilege which offers a religious explanation for their misfortune. This may explain it as a test of faith which will be rewarded in future.
Relative deprivation:
Refers to the subjective sense of being deprived – someone who is in reality quite privileged, feels that they are deprived or disadvantaged in some way compared with others.
Wallis argues middle class may turn to sects for a sense of community.
Stark and Bainbridge argue that it is the relatively deprived who break away from churches to perform sects. World rejecting offer the deprived the compensators that they need for the rewards they are denied
Social change:
Wilson – periods of rapid change disrupt and undermine established norms and values, producing anomie or normlessness. In response to the uncertainty and insecurity that this creates, those who are most affected by this disruption may turn to sects as a solution.
Bruce – the growth of sects and cults today as a response to the social changes involved in modernisation and secularisation. Society is now secularised and people are less attracted to the traditional churches and strict sects, because these demand too much commitment, people now prefer cults because they are less demanding and require fewer sacrifices.

The growth of NRMs:
World Rejecting – Wallis – social change from the 1960s impacted on young people, giving them freedom from adult responsibilities and enabled a counter culture to develop – world rejecting offered young people a more idealistic way of life.
World Affirming – Bruce – growth is a response to modernity, and the rationalisation of work; it no longer provides meaning or a source of identity, yet we are expected to succeed. World affirming offers a sense of identity and techniques that promise success. Wallis – some have attracted disillusioned former members of world rejecting, and provide a halfway house back to conventional lifestyle.

The Dynamics of Sects and NRMs:
Denomination or death –
Niebuhr – sects are world rejecting organisations that arise from schisms. He argues that they are short lived – either dies out or compromises with the world and becomes a denomination, because:
The second generation, who are born into the sect lack the commitment
The ‘protestant ethic’ effect, sects that promise asceticism tend to become prosperous – members will compromise with the world and either leave or abandon their world rejecting views.
Death of the leader, leads to collapse of sect, or a more formal leadership taking over, changing into a denomination
The sectarian Cycle –
Stark and Bainbridge – religious organisations move through a cycle.
1. Schism – disprivileged members break away and found world rejecting sect
2. Initial Fervour – with charismatic leadership and great tension between the sect and wider society
3. Denominationalism – ‘protestant ethic’ effect and second generation
4. Establishment – sects become more world accepting and tension disappears
5. Further schism – disprivileged members break away from new sect
Established Sects –
Wilson – not all sects follow these patterns. Depends on how they answer ‘what shall we do to be saved?’
Conversionist sects, aim to convert large number of people, grow into larger, formal denominations
Adventist sects believe they must be separate from wider society, preventing them from compromising – these go on to become established sects, socialising their children into commitment.
However – globalisation will make it harder for sects to keep themselves separate, but it will always make it easier to recruit new members.

The growth of the New Age:
The ‘New Age’ covers a wide range of beliefs & activities, they differ greatly.
Heelas – two common themes among the new age
Self-spirituality; new agers seeking spiritual, have turned away from traditional religions, now look inside themselves to find it
De-traditionalisation; rejects the spiritual authority of external traditional sources – values personal experience and believes we can discover the truth for ourselves from within.

Postmodernity and the New Age:
Drane – appeal is part of a shift towards postmodern society. People have lost faith in experts and a disillusioned with the church’s failure to meet their spiritual needs. Now looking within them to find the truth.
The New Age and modernity –
Bruce- new age feature of the latest phase of a modern society, they both value individualism. Spiritual shopping reflects consumerist ethos in late modern society.
Heelas – the new age and modernity are linked:
A source of identity – overlap of different roles leads to a fragmented identity,
Consumer culture – creates dissatisfaction, never delivers what it promises, new age offers an alternative way to do so
Rapid social change – new age provides sense of certainty or truth, after disruption to norms & values
Decline of organised religion – leaves the way open to new age as an alternative

3. Religiosity and social groups
Gender and Religiosity
Priesthoods are mainly male
Women participate in religion and believe in god more than men – Miller and Hoffman; women express greater interest in religion, have a stronger personal commitment to it and attend more.
Women now leaving traditional churches at a faster rate than men.
More women more involved in sects & the New Age – Bruce; twice as many women involved in sects
Reasons
Socialisation - Miller and Hoffman; women are socialised to be more passive, obedient and caring – qualities religions value.
Miller and Hoffman; women are more likely to work part-time or to be full time carers – have more time
Davie; women have a closer proximity to birth and death –ultimate ‘questions’ answered by religion
Different views on God; women see God as the one of love and forgiveness, while men see him as the one of power and control.
New age; women associated with healing and caring role – they are more attracted to the new age, gain higher status and sense of self. The new age emphasise the importance of being authentic. Brown – it emphasises subjective experience rather than rather than external authority. Women are less aggressive/competitive – attracted to New Age beliefs
Compensation for deprivation - Glock and Stark; participation in religion is because of the deprivation life offers. These problems are more common among women and explain their higher level of sect membership:
Organismic deprivation –physical and mental health problems. Women are more likely to suffer ill health and thus to seek healing through religion.
Ethical deprivation- women tend to be more morally conservative, and see morals declining.
Social deprivation- Women are more likely to be poor.
Trends - Women churchgoers are now declining faster than men. Brown (2001) puts this down to the 1960’s where women rejected the subordinate gender roles which were closely bound to the Christian traditional roles.
Ethnicity and Religiosity
Christianity still dominates UK (72%)
Significant numbers of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs – more likely to regard religion as important. But Modood found participation amongst these groups is actually declining
Reasons
Most ethnic minorities originate from poorer countries with traditional cultures, on arrival in the UK, they and their children maintain the pattern they brought with them from their country of origin.
Cultural defence – Bruce; religion in such situations offer support and a sense of cultural identity in an uncertain or hostile environment. Bird – religion among minorities can be a basis for community solidarity. A means of preserving ones culture and language, and a way of coping with oppression in a racist society.
Cultural transition – Religion can also be a means of easing the transition into a new culture by providing support and a sense of community for ethnic minorities in a new environment. However once a group has made its transition into wider society, religion may lose its role and decline in importance.
Age and Religious participation
The older a person is, the more likely they are to attend religious services, except;
The under 15s – made to attend church by parents
The over 65s – more likely to be sick, makes it hard to attend. Also higher death rates.
Reasons – Voas and Crockett;
1. The aging effect – this is the view that people turn to religion as they get older. Heelas – people become more interested in spirituality as we approach death.
2. The generational effect – as society becomes more secular, each new generation is less religious than the one before. They claim each religion is half as religious as their parents. If this is so we can expect a continuing rise in the average age of churchgoers, as the young become less and less willing to attend.
2/5’s of churches have no-one under the age of 11 attending services.
There is an exception of Pentecostal churches, which continue to attract younger members.
Gill - children are no longer receiving a religious socialisation, and those brought up without religious beliefs are less likely to become churchgoers in later life.

Ideology and Science
1. Science as a belief system
Many scientists see modern science as a product of the rationalisation that began at the protestant reformation.
Some sociologists, such as secularisation theorists, argue that it has undermined religion by changing the way we think about the world.

The impact of science:
The success of science and technology has led to a wide spread ‘faith in science’ – a belief that can deliver goods.
Recently this faith has been dimmed by the fact science can cause problems as well as solve them – global warming, and weapons of mass destruction – manufactured risks.
Science uses ‘cognitive power’ this means that we are able to explain, predict and control the world in a way that non-scientific belief systems cannot do.

Open belief systems:
Popper (1959) science is an ‘open belief system’ – theories can be tested and subjected to falsification, this allows the theory to be disregarded or built on.
Scientific knowledge is cumulative – it develops greater and great through different scientists.
However no theory is ever able to be taken as definitely the truth as there is always the possibility for someone to prove that this is not true with evidence.
Science is not sacred or absolute truth – it can always be tested, criticised and falsified.

The CUDOS norms:
Merton argues that science can only thrive as a major social institution if it receives support from other institutions and values.
This first occurred in England as result of the values and attitudes created by the protest reformation. The new institution of science also received support from economic and military institution due to the benefits it could hold for them.
Society must share a set of norms that make scientists act in ways that serve the goal of achieving increasing scientific knowledge;
Communism – scientists must share their knowledge; otherwise it cannot be improved upon and grown.
Universalism – judged by universal objective criteria (such as testing) and not based on bias of the scientist producing it e.g. race, sex
Disinterestedness – this means being committed to discovering knowledge for its own sake.
Organised scepticism – no knowledge/claim is regarded as ‘sacred’. Every idea is open to questioning, criticism and objective investigation.
Closed belief system:
Traditional religious belief systems are regarded as closed belief system. Religion claims to have special, perfect knowledge of the absolute truth. It cannot be challenged- and those who do so may be punished for their heresy, as it undermines god. Religious knowledge does not change – it is fixed and does not grow.
Horton (1970) distinguishes between open and closed belief systems:
Open = one where knowledge claims are open to criticism
Closed = knowledge claims cannot be overturned, whenever threatened; it has a number of ‘get out clauses’ that reinforce the system and prevent it from being disproved – at least in the eyes of its believers.
Polyanyi argues that belief systems have three devices to sustain themselves in the face of apparently contradictory evidence:
Circularity; each idea in the system is explained by another idea within the system
Subsidiary explanations
Denial of legitimacy to rivals; they reject alternative worldviews by refusing to grant any legitimacy to their basic assumption.
Science as a closed system:
Some other writers argue that science itself can be seen as a self-sustaining or closed system of belief. E.g. Polanyi argues that all belief systems reject challenges to their knowledge claims – science is no different.
One explanation for scientist’s refusal even to consider such challenges comes from Kuhn – mature science is based on a set of shared assumptions (paradigm). Science education teaches what to study and the method of study– anyone who breaks is often dismissed.
The sociology of Scientific Knowledge:
Interpretivists argue that all knowledge- including scientific – is socially constructed. It is created by social groups using the resources available to them. Scientific ‘facts’ are the result of shared theories, and what they should expect to see, and of the particular equipment they should use in order to see it this way,
Other critical perspectives
Marxism and feminism see scientific knowledge as far from pure truth. Instead they see it as serving the interests of the dominant groups – men and the ruling class. In this respect science can be seen as a form of ideology.
Postmodernists; science is one of the meta narratives that falsely claims to possess the truth

2. Ideology
It is a world view or a set of ideas and values – a belief system, however in sociology it often means – A distorted/false/biased idea of the world
Ideas that conceal the interests of a group
Ideas that prevent change (keep people ignorant)
Self-sustaining and irrational belief system
Marxism and Ideology:
The ruling class (bourgeoisie) control the proletariat by legitimating a ruling-class ideology:
1. Equality cannot work – against human nature
2. Blames the poor for their position – all have an equal chance
3. Racist ideas which divide different ethnic groups against each other
4. Nationalist ideas – workers of one country have nothing in common with those in another
All these ideas produce a ‘false consciousness’ amongst the proletariat
Hegemony and Revolution –
Ideological domination = hegemony
Gramsci say’s the proletariat have a dual consciousness (a mixture of ruling class ideology and their own ideas)
Therefore they can develop their own ideas and overthrow capitalism – requires ‘organic intellectuals’ from the proletariat

Ideology and Utopia – Mannheim:
All belief systems are a one-sided view of the world – all are based on the interests of a particular class
2 types of belief system:
1. Ideological thought – justifies keeping things as they are – reflects interests of ruling class
2. Utopian thought – justifies social change – reflects the position of privileged
Solution is to ‘detach’ thought from class – create a ‘free floating intelligentsia’ – to provide a total worldview free of bias
Feminism and Ideology:
See gender inequality as the fundamental division in society
There are many ideologies to justify gender differences
Pauline Marks:
Science used to justify not educating women in the past (intellectually inferior)
Many religions define women as inferior to justify oppression
However some religions placed women at the top of the social hierarchy e.g. Goddesses in Hinduism as creators of the world