Category: Religion
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Lakewood Church and the Prosperity Gospel
Three out of four of the Largest churches in the U.S. preach the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ – these are megachurches which preach the idea that God is a spiritual source which individuals can call upon to ‘enrich’ their lives – popular buzzwords include ‘hope, destiny and bounty’, and the sermons are filled with optimism, with the…
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Is Religion a Source of Consensus or Conflict?
Functionalism is the only perspective which has traditionally argued that religion is a source of value consensus, all other perspectives disagree with this in one way or another, but not all believe that religion is necessarily a cause of overt conflict in the world. Functionalism Functionalists generally argue that religion promotes value consensus in a…
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Karen Armstrong – September 11th 2001, Islam and the West
Karen Armstrong argues that there is no inherent incompatibility between the Western and Islamic world, but sees economic and political factors as the main reasons for increasing tensions in recent decades. Armstrong’s arguments can be used to criticise Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civlizations’ thesis, which sees increasing conflict between different cultures/ religions as an inevitable outcome…
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The causes of Fundamentalism
Steve Bruce argues that the main causes of Fundamentalism are modernisation and secularisation, but we also need to consider the nature of the religions themselves and a range of ‘external factors’ to fully explain the growth of fundamentalist movements. Modernisation has undermined religion in at least three ways: Social life has become separated from religious…
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What is Religious Fundamentalism?
The early 21st Century has seen the rise of various Fundamentalist groups, for example: The increasing influence of the New Religious Right in the United States The rise of Zionism in Israel The rise of Islamic Fundamentalism in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Steve Bruce: Communal and Individual Fundamentalism Communal individualism is that usually…
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Is Science Ideological?
If sociologists refer to something as being ‘ideological’, they typically mean that it supports powerful groups in society, effectively keeping the existing ruling class, or elites, in power. Scientists generally claim that the process of conducting scientific research and constructing scientific knowledge is value-free, and thus ‘non-ideological’. In simple terms, they claim their research reveals…
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Do Biological Differences Explain why Women are More Religious than Men?
Grace Davie has argued that women feel closer to God because they are involved in the creation of life through pregnancy and childbirth. It is possible that being pregnant, and carrying a new life around for several months, makes women reflect more on spiritual matters such as the meaning of life, and ethical considerations of…
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Why are older people more religious than younger people?
Older people are more religious than younger people, as measure by religious participation and religions belief. This post explores three reasons why this might be. The biological affect of ageing It seem ‘natural’ to assume that as people get older and closer to death, they become more interested in what happens after they die, which…
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Why are there more women in the New Age Movement than men>?
Woodhead (2007) suggested women are more attracted to New Age Movements because they experience double alienation in the family…. they family fails to give them a sense of occupational identity, and they feel dissatisfied with their limited role as housewife and caregiver. New age movements offer a chance for self-exploration and can provide women with…
