Summary CIE A-Level Sociology: Religion, Education and Media
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Course
Unit 6 - Religion
Institution
CIE
Book
Cambridge International AS and A Level Sociology Coursebook
This is a comprehensive and detailed summary of the topics present in Chris Livesey’s A-Level Sociology Coursebook. It has all the information you’ll need to study the topics of Religion, Education and Media (chapters 6, 8 and 9 in the book).
Contains lots of knowledge, with differentiation bet...
Chapters 6 (education), 8 (media) and 9 (religion)
January 28, 2020
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2017/2018
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sociology
religion
education
cie
cambridge
media
a level
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Structuralist perspective to studying human behaviour.
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Available practice questions
Sociology A-Level Education Scholars & Terms (Message me for Quizlet link!)
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Some examples from this set of practice questions
1.
Durkheim
Answer: Socialisation function:
Since children spend more time at school than at home, it\'s a good plae to inculcate essential norms and values of society. This allows society to achieve value consensus, wherein all members of a society share the same values and live in harmony.
Supported by Parsons: Pattern maintenance (latency).
2.
Parsons
Answer: Supports Durkheim\'s theory on socialisation. Believes that it creates pattern maintenance (latency), meaning that the next generations are assured to have the same values as the previous ones.
3.
Durkheim II
Answer: Social solidarity:
Through the official curriculum, schools make individuals feel as though they belong to one single community
AO2: House systems, inter-school competitions, teaching national history and literature...
This makes individuals feel less like isolated individuals and more as part of something bigger.
4.
Durkheim III
Answer: Economic function:
Education is both beneficial forte individual, as it allows him to find a job, and for wider society, because employers benefit from skilled workforce. Therefore, economic changes in society are always accompanied by educational reforms.
AO2: This was the case when compulsory education was introduced at the time of the British Empire to fulfil administrative jobs.
Supported by Avis.
5.
Avis
Answer: Work based learning wherein students acquire practical skills to use in the workplace.
AO3: No parity of esteem. Programmes such as BTEC or GNVQ are not equally regarded as conventional curriculums, and are therefore looked down upon.
Finn: Apprenticeships are a form of cheap labour and exploitation. If students who take apprenticeships didn\'t do so, they would appear in unemployment statistics. Hence, they were put in the Youth Training Scheme, which aimed to give them practical jobs.
Therefore, it can be considered a strength for Functionalism because it shows a link between the education and the economy and for Marxism, as it\'s evidence of exploitation.
Sociology A-Level Media Scholars & Terms (Message me for Quizlet link!)
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Flashcards102 Flashcards
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Some examples from this set of practice questions
1.
Miliband
Answer: The mass media is a form of social control in society:
The ruling class are able to maintain their control and power by socialising the working class into accepting the legitimacy of the capitalist hegemony (Gramsci). Certain ideas and beliefs are portrayed in a good light to benefit this capitalist system, creating a sense of false consciousness (Althusser)
2.
Winn
Answer: The media is like a plug-in drug
This means that it wields an addictive influence, especially on the young as they are much more susceptible. Nevertheless, anyone who watched TV is instantly subjected to a form of mind control.
3.
Bagdikan
Answer: In 1983, 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all the media in the USA. However, in 1992, 22 companies owned and operated 90% of media.
Media concentration is happening and it\'s highly detrimental to the public because it gives increased control of the minds of the people to the bourgeoisie — it allows them to implement a narrow set of ideas that benefit their interests.
4.
Gramsci
Answer: Cultural hegemony:
A situation in which the bourgeoisie\'s dominant ideas are spread to the masses through social institutions, such as the Mass Media. IN this way the ideas of the ruling class come to be seen as the norm, and power is achieved mainly by ideological means rather than force. He calls this \'to manufacture consent\'.
Marxists believe that it is the means by which the workers are indoctrinated into false consciousness (Althusser) — They are unable to see what is their \'true position\'.
5.
Althusser
Answer: Ideological State Apparatus:
In the case of the media, it is one of the strongest ISAs as it involuntarily indoctrinates a set of ideas into the working class.
Sociology A-Level Religion Scholars & Terms (Message me for Quizlet link!)
Flashcards78 Flashcards
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Flashcards78 Flashcards
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Some examples from this set of practice questions
1.
Buy these flashcards and get a link to the original Quizlet flashcards with organized layout, bold key words and keep it in your account forever!
Answer: Send me a message via Stuvia
2.
Durkheim
Answer: Defines religion through the functions it carries out
3.
Aldridge
Answer: Social constructionist theory of religion:
Interpretivist theory which focuses on how members of a society define religion. They believe that it is therefore impossible to produce a single universal definition of religion as there are more than thousands of religions in the world and everybody has an individual definition for it.
4.
Durkheim II
Answer: Collective consciousness:
Religion makes people feel as though they belong to something greater than themselves. It acts as a social glue that binds people together, allowing society to thrive.
AO2: All Christians feel Christian.
5.
Durkheim III
Answer: Explanation of the inexplicable:
Religion provides a plausible answer for the ultimate questions that humans can\'t figure out by themselves.
AO2: The meaning of life, what comes after death, etc.
Content preview
Sociology A2: Religion, Education & Media
Cambridge International A-Level
Sociology
, Sociology A2: Religion, Education & Media
Sociology A2 / Religion
DEFINITION OF RELIGION
There are three ways of defining religion:
• Inclusive/exclusive:
— Inclusive: Some sociologists believe that certain unofficial faiths should be counted
as religions. AO2: This is the case of the cult around Madonna (little monsters) or football
hooliganism. Inclusive definitions are therefore broader and more accepting.
— Exclusive: Other sociologists believe that only certain faiths should be considered
religions. AO2: Their stricter stance includes the Christian faith, Islam, Buddhism, etc.
• Functional/substantive:
— Functional: Some sociologists, such as Durkheim define religion through the functions
it carries out: AO2: These are social solidarity, emotional security, control of behaviour, a
Central Value System…
— Substantive: Other sociologists, such as Weber, focus on the content or the features
that make up a religion, such as a god, sacred texts, celebrations or holidays.
• Social constructionist definition: This interpretivist approach focuses on how the
members of a society define religion. They believe that it is therefore impossible to
produce a single universal definition of religion as there are more than thousands of
religions in the world.
, Sociology A2: Religion, Education & Media
THEORIES OF RELIGION
Functionalism
Functionalists believe in the concept of society as one whole organism (the Organic
Analogy), which requires to live in equilibrium and prevent anomy to thrive and for this to
happen, every element in society has to contribute to it. Therefore, if religion exists, it has positive
benefits for both the individual and society.
• Durkheim’s beliefs:
— Collective consciousness: Religion makes people feel as though they belong to
something greater than themselves. It acts as the social glue that binds groups of
people together, creating a thriving society. AO2: All Christians feel Christian.
— Explanation of the inexplicable: Religion provides a plausible answer for the
ultimate questions that human beings cant figure out by themselves, such as the
meaning of life, what comes after death, etc.
— Social solidarity: Religion provides individuals with a sense of unity, encouraging
them to be empathetic and consider the needs of each other instead of only caring
about one’s needs, which would most likely lead to chaos an anomy. AO2: Bible
quotes: “Love thy neighbour as thyself”.
• Parsons’s beliefs:
— Religion gives us a sense of morality; it tells us what is wrong and right ultimately.
AO2: The Bible explains what actions will send us to heaven and hell: they create a
moral code.
• Malinowski’s beliefs:
Religion has a positive psychological function as it constitutes a source of hope and
comfort.
Case study: Trobriand Islanders — Found out how religious rites were considered a
form of protection from the dangerous and the unknown.
In the same way, religious rites of passage help us face anomic transitions from one
stage of our lives to another, such as having a baby or losing a loved one. For instance,
having a baby is quite confusing, but getting together with the family to baptise the child
provides the parents with a sense of comfort.
• Religious surrogates:
— Americanism, Bellah: The USA is a melting pot of dozens of cultures, races and
ethnicities. The way in which they are all brought together is by turning Americanism
into a religion, which is all about patriotism and nationalism. A faith in Americanism
brings everyone together, preventing anomy and discord. AO2: Pledge of allegiance.
— Ersatz religions, Lane: If religion is taken away from the people, something else is
going to replace it. This was the case in the USSR, where religion was outlawed and
the country declared itself atheist. This left a God-shaped hole that was eventually
filled with communism itself. The most important symbol was the cult of personality
around Lenin and Stalin.
— Britain’s Civil Religion, Shils & Young: Many people consider the Monarchy as a
religion itself, venerating the queen and some other royal family members. AO2: this
was seen most clearly with Princess Diana’s death, which immediately brought most
of the country together.
, Sociology A2: Religion, Education & Media
AO3 Functionalism
1. Outdated: Does not consider multi-faith societies. When Durkheim studied religion,
nations were mono-cultural. However, nowadays there are contradictions on which version of
the explanation of the inexplicable is really true. This causes discord as some groups attempt
to impose their lifestyle and version of the truth over those of others. This is the case with Muslim
Fundamentalism (ISIS) or Christian Fundamentalism (Westboro Baptist Church). They are a
source of discord in society and only bring a few together.
2. Ignores secularisation: How can religion be benefitting the individual and society if
atheists choose not to receive said benefits? Post-modernists, particularly Lyotard, argue that
religion, being a meta-narrative like the rest, has collapsed, explaining the loss of religious belief
nowadays. Functionalism fails to acknowledge this because it is outdated.
3. Religion causes hostile demarcation: Simmel argues that whilst people of the same
religion may indeed group themselves together, this is not the case with people of different
religions. Followers of different religions may feel there is a rift between them, a feeling of ‘us
and them’. Therefore, the concept of social solidarity and collective consciousness does not
apply.
4. Malinowski does not mention alternative secular rites of passage: In an
increasingly secular society, humanistic funerals, ‘welcome to the world BBQ and sweet sixteen
parties are starting to substitute old religious rites.
5. Marxists argue that Functionalists ignore the negative aspects of religion:
Althusser argues that religion acts as an Ideological State Apparatus ISA whose role is to
spread false consciousness among the people. Marx himself sees religion as the ‘opium of the
masses’, confusing people and making them easy to control.
6. Feminists argue that Functionalists ignore religion’s patriarchal role: This is clearly
seen in the Bible AO2: God is male, Eve came from Adam’s rib, Eve was the one who ate the
forbidden apple, etc.
Marxism
Marxists believe that religion another tool used by the bourgeoisie to spread their control
over the proletariat.
• Religion is the opium of the masses, according to Marx, as it squashes revolutionary
spirit since it makes people passive, docile and meek. It has an hallucinatory effect called
false consciousness, which makes the proletariat believe they live in a fair system whilst
being exploited.
AO2: Toothache analogy: The problem is the toothache, religion is the painkiller.
Removing the issues of society is the real solution so that harmful painkillers stop being
used on the people.
• Religion obscures the authorship of human oppression: We live in a poor world with
hierarchies in which there is a major disparity between the rich and the poor. God is
omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent, yet does not intervene. Is God, therefore,
the cause of human oppression?
AO2: Divine right of kings: Legend of King Arthur. Therefore royalty is ordered by God.
• Religion provides a compensation for suffering: The Bible makes various mentions to
heaven as a reward for those who had the best behaviour during their time on Earth. This
includes remaining poor and meek. Consequently, people are less likely to revolt if they
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