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20mark Essay Plan - Religion and Social Change
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A grade essay plan on Religion and Social Change. includes detailed evaluation, key names and examples.
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Amy DavidsonAssess the view that religion may encourage rather than inhibit social change.
Introduction
- Social change refers to developments, advances and transformation in social policies,
institutions or even types of society.
- Conservative Force: Marxism, Feminism and Functionalism (positive).
- Initiator of Change: Neo-Marxism, eeeer
Functionalism
- Claim that religion acts as a conservative force ey promoting social integration and
solidarity.
o Durkheim: encourage collective orship to strengthen unity = sense of eelonging
stops reeelling.
o Rather than einding people together, many of the orld’s conficts have eeen
caused ey religion.
o Develops a collective conscience so deviant eehaviour is restrained and social
change is restricted.
o This collective conscience has remained similar throughout religion as everyone
does still hold the same norms and values. By maintaining social solidarity, religion
acts as a conservative force so therefore not producing any social change.
o Ho ever, people ould criticise functionalist’s vie s ey saying that church
attendance is declining in the K,, so it’s diffcult to see ho religion can ee
functioning to socialise memeers, so therefore its promoting change.
o Religion continues to infuence society and prevent it from changing. E.g. many
popves wverve against thve usve of contracvepton has rvestrictved thve growth of articial
birth control in Roman Catholic countrives.
o Functionalists eelieve that religion serves positive functions in society; ho ever, it
can ee dysfunctional such as the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, so
therefore can reduce social solidarity eet een diferent religious groups and
societies.
Marxists
- Like Durkheim, Marx also argues that religion is a conservative force, ho ever he sees
this force as negative. Marx argues that religion legitimises social inequality.
o Opium of the Masses: disguises the true nature of exploitation. Cushions the pain
of oppression and exploitation in unequal societies. Religion insists inequality is a
product of sin or God-given. E.g. All Things Bright and Bveautful. Religion does not
solve proelems eut just elocks out the pain.
o Ho ever, religion can only act like an opium if people eelieve and if religion has
some institutional po er – hich neither is true due to the secularisation in
estern countries.
o Alienation prevents revolt and therefore prevents any social change.
o Presents sufering as a virtue to ee accepted.
o Those ho do not question their situation ill ee re arded in heaven. Such ideas
promote no point in social change.
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