Essay on The Social Change in Religion - 748 Words

The Social Change in Religion Religion has two meanings in sociology, the inclusive definition also known, as the functional definition is the most general and refers to following a set of rules or rituals. This could include football and vegetarianism, as well as more traditional religions such as Christianity and Judaism. The exclusive definition, also known as the substantive, requires a belief in a god or similar higher being. This is the definition I will be using for my essay. Social change is the process of a society moving on either slowly by evolution as believed by functionalists or quickly by revolution as believed by Marxists. Most sociologists argue that religion doesn’t lead to†¦show more content†¦revolutions. A revolution is when the people of a society attack the people in authority in order to gain control of the society usually by force. Functionalists say religion helps to keep a slow/no change in society by creating a collective conscience; this is a system of shared morals and values that are considered the norm by everyone in society. Because of this people very rarely do anything that isn’t considered the norm and therefore social change is very slow and sometimes non-existent (evolutionary). Marxists however have a different view on religions effect on social change. They also believe that religion stops social change, but they say this Is caused due to religion being used to give the working class a false class conscience. False class conscience is a Marxists term that describes people’s positions in society being justified. This means that Marxists believe that religion was created by the working class to justifies why people are where they are in life, this suppresses them and reduces the chance of a revolt and therefore social change. Marx used an analogy of flowers on chains (making things look better than they actually are). This was further enhanced because when the working class went to church they were being taught about the afterlife and how if you were good in this life, you would be rewarded forever in the afterlife. SimilarlyShow MoreRelatedReligion and Social Change1217 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Religion can be both a conservative force and an initiator of social change†. To what extent to sociological arguments/evidence support this view. There is great debate concerning the role of religion in society, and whereas some claim that religion acts as a conservative force (that is, it inhibits change), others argue that religion is a major contributor to social change. 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