RELIGION

SOCIOLOGY – UNIT 1
 Define the word religion, atheist, agnostic, taboo, profane,
sacred, divine, secularism, syncretism in at least two
sentences.
 List the four world religions.
OBJECTIVES
 Examine three functions of religion.
 Discuss consensus, conflict, interactionist and feminist
perspectives on religion and examine its relevance on
religion in the Caribbean.
 Analyze at least three effects of religion on the Caribbean
and culture.
 Identify and describe at least 2 Afro-Caribbean religions –
Rastafarianism, Kumina or Vodoo/Vodun - noting the
historical influences of European, Asian and African culture.
 Examine the emergence, basic belief system, and the
most important rituals of the imported vs emerged
religions in the Caribbean
 Discuss the issues associated with religion in the
Caribbean – discrimination, prejudice, intolerance
and secularization.
 Assess the impact of religion as an institution on
contemporary society.
OBJECTIVES
 Compare the views and rituals or traditions of
religions
 Demonstrate an understanding of Religion as an
institution of social control
 WHAT IS
RELIGION?
  According to Durkheim – “A unified system

of beliefs and practices relative to sacred

things…things set apart and forbidden,

RELIGION IS…
beliefs and practices which unite into one

single moral community called a Church, all

those who adhere to them”

  A system of beliefs, practices, and

philosophical values shared by a group of

RELIGION IS… people; it defines the sacred, helps explain

life, and offers salvation from the problems

of human existence - Tischler (2002)

  A set of symbols, invoking feelings of

reverence or awe, and is linked to rituals or

RELIGION IS…
ceremonials engaged in by a community of

believers. - Giddens (2001)

  It is often argued that religion is in decline in

the Modern World– in the face of rising

rationality and science and it is true that in

many European countries, church going and

RELIGION IS…
even Christian beliefs are becoming less

common. But in contemporary world

religion may play a powerful role as it

always has.
THE FUNCTIONS
OF RELIGION
  Religion unites people through shared

symbols, values and norms. Religion also

1. SOCIAL speaks eloquently about the vital human

COHESION dimension of love. This religious life

underscores both our emotional and moral ties

to each other.
  Every society uses religious imagery and rhetoric to

promote conformity. Societies infuse many cultural

norms especially relating to marriage and production

2. SOCIAL with religious justification.

CONTROL  Religion confers legitimacy on the political system. In

Medieval Europe, monarchs claimed to rule by divine

right. Few of today’s political leaders publicly ask for

God’s blessing, implying to audiences that their efforts

are right and just.

  Religious beliefs offer the comforting sense that the

3. vulnerable human conditions serve some greater

PROVIDING purpose. Strengthened by such convictions people are

MEANING less likely to collapse in despair when confronted by

AND life’s calamities. For this reason major life choices are
PURPOSE usually marked by religious observances that enhance

spiritual awareness.
TYPES OF
RELIGION
 Christianity MAJOR
 Islam
 Judaism
RELIGION
 Buddhism S OF THE
 Hinduism
WORLD
SYNCRETIC
RELIGION
  The Principle of Religious Syncretism holds that

when any two cultures meet and interact they

SYNCRETIC
RELIGIONS will exchange religious ideas with the dominant

culture prevailing in the exchange. Current

exemplifications of this principle abound.

 Vodoo/Vodun AFRICAN
 Kumina
 Rastafariansm
RELIGION
S
  A social institution involving beliefs and

practices based upon a conception of sacred.

FOR  Their focus is to describe the beliefs and

SOCIOLOGIST
RELIGION IS doctrines but they do not make value

judgements or criticize the beliefs or creeds

of others.
 ACCORDING  How religion affects people eg. behaviour,
TO WEBER practices, observances and their relationship with
WE STUDY non-believers
 How society affects religion eg, increasing
RELIGION AS secularization of social life and fundamentalism

A SOCIAL  The emphasis is not then on matters of faith but

then impact of religion of society.
INSTITUTION
BASED ON
 ACCORDIN
G TO  How religion affects people is explained in the

DURKHEIM context of the sacred and the profane

 Sacred – things people revere or believe are holy
RELIGION eg?

AS A  Profane – things that are of this world – then

material, routine, the ordinary

SOCIAL  Why the separation of the sacred vs the profane?

INSTITUTIO
N
THE SACRED VS
THE PROFANE
  Things that people revere or believe are holy
THE  What is considered ‘holy’ is set apart from the

SACRED everyday ordinary

 Such beliefs inspire awe and devotion for some
entity or set of principles
  Other-worldly being or beings
 A holy book or set of scriptures – Bible, Koran,
Bhagvad Gita
 Places of worship – Jerusalem, Ethiopia, Ganges

THINGS River in India

 Ceremonies handed down or prescribed –

SACRED communion or the Eucharist in Roman Catholic

Church, Nyabinghi in Rastafari, Spirit possession in
Vodoo
 Relics, artifacts and symbols – totem revered by the
aborigines in Australia, the cross, cow, buildings eg
church,mosque or the Buddhist temple,
candlesticks, gestures – kneeling, or lying prostrate
  Things that are of this world as opposed to the

THE realm of the scared

 Considered profane as believers see these things as
PROFANE compromising or belittling the sacredness of
object or principles
  Ordinary members of a congregation walking
around the alter
 Murder in the church

 Robbing the church of ornaments or money

THINGS  Non-Muslims entering the Mosques and Islamic

PROFANE shrines such as Kaaba in Mecca

 Religious icons being handled by non-believers

 Women seeing their menses

 Women wanting to be priests and clerics in some

religions
  Focused on the symbols, rites and rituals of
religions in defining a sacred sphere which
dictated how the members acted among
themselves and in relation to non-members.
 Behaviour prescribed by religious beliefs and
are culture bound
DURKHEIM  Aim is to preserve the sacredness of the belief
 According to Durkheim this is what defines
religion – the existence of the sacred and the
profane.
 It is this strong belief that unites and binds the
society…the very core of Religion as a social
Institution.
ELEMENTS OF
RELIGION
ELEMENTS  Religious beliefs

OF  Religious practices

RELIGION
 Religious institutions
  Things we hold to be true – usually associated
with the supernatural power or powers
BELIEFS
 Offer guidelines on how to behave or to justify
our behaviour eg.?
  Supernaturalism

 Animism

 Naturism

 Theism
 Monotheism
BELIEFS  Polytheism

 Abstract ideals

 New Thought Movement

 Agnostic

 Atheism
PERSPECTIVES
OF RELIGION
 1) According to the functionalist how does Religion promote
social unity?

2) What is Marxist's view on the nature of Religion? How is

FOCUS religion seen as a barrier to social change by Marx?
QUESTIONS 3) According to the Feminists how does religion dominate
and exploit women?

4) According to the Interactionists how does religion create

meaning

5) Explain Weber's view of religion as an agent of social

change
 [Link]

FUNCTIONAL [Link]
IST/
CONSENSUS
FUNCTIONALISM
 Comte – religion evolved as a consequence of human thought. Man used supernatural
explanations to account for the cosmic world which people held in awe eg volcano eruptions,
earthquakes etc. This was to explain his existence in society and to make sense of events that
affected his life
 Durkheim – In his Elementary Forms of Religious Life(1912) religion is worship of society.
Society is more powerful than the individual since it constitutes laws, norms and values that
individuals must obey. Hence the purpose of religion – social cohesion through the belief in
the sacred and the profane
 Malinowski – Sees religion as a coping mechanism. Religion through rituals helps persons to
cope in times of anxiety, loss and change. Rituals related to crisis-of-life events, or events that
threaten social order, assist in restoring order and stability in society eg. Funerals, christening.
The coming together to perform such rituals, promotes solidarity as the unity of purpose of the
ritual relieves emotional anxiety and stress that could lead to social instability.
 Parsons – as a part of the cultural system provides guidelines for behaviour and helps us to
cope with change. Religion contributes to the functional pre-requisite of society. It provides
the belief system upon which social order and stability is achieved – hence forms the core of
our laws
MARXIST  [Link]
MARXISM
 Religion reinforces social inequality and division.
 Religion is the ‘opiate of the masses’ (opium of the people), it aims to dull the pain of
capitalist oppression and promote and protect capitalism
 Religion is seen as a barrier to revolutionary change as the masses believe that only has
God has the power to solve all the social ills of society eg. Poverty, disease, daily
suffering…’leave it God’
 Authority is also legitimized by religion eg. Absolute rule of monarchies or invoking the
presence of God at swearing in ceremonies
 Social order or hierarchy is fixed and divinely ordained eg Bible references master and
servant…King and subject…your lot in life is therefore accepted
 Reinforce racial inequality as well eg slavery
  . [Link]
FEMINISTS
FEMINISTS
 It’s a patriarchal system/institution
 Religion is another means used by men to dominate and exploit women
 Religion helps to maintain the stats quo in society
 Reinforces gender inequality through
 The language of the religious texts
 Images eg the perfect woman in the face of the Virgin Mary(on a side Queen Elizabeth ! Painted
herself white and was known as the Virgin Queen) or as immoral as seducers(Eve) or temptresses
 Image of woman being subordinate to man – stemming from the creation story
 Absence of women in leadership positions in the church eg RCC, Hinduism Judaism or Islam or in
Rastafarianism
INTERACTIO  [Link]
NIST
INTERACTIONIST
 Berger and the universe of meaning. People create and interpret meaning to what they believe is
sacred
 Rituals of faith
 Symbols of beliefs to demonstrate faith

 Weber – religion does not always maintain order and prevent change. Sometimes it causes change as
Calvinism caused capitalism
 Explained in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
 Predestination
 Devine transcendence
 Asceticism
 Vocation

Question – how is this linked to social action theory?

 Discuss interactionist perspectives on religion
and examine its relevance on religion in the OBJECTIVES
Caribbean.
 Evaluate the relevance of the perspective to the
Caribbean society
 Identify and describe at least 2 Afro-Caribbean
religions – Rastafarianism, Kumina or
Vodoo/Vodun - noting the historical influences
of European, Asian and African culture.
 HISTORY OF
RELIGION IN
THE CARIBBEAN
  Diverse characterized by religious pluralism

 A reflection of the different traditions and cultures of our

RELIGION IN colonial past and maintained by the existing social order

THE (Mustapha 2013)
CARIBBEAN
 ‘deep seated in the psyche and social behaviour of

Caribbean people’ (Hylton 2002)

Africans Traditional Syncretic Indigenous
Orisha Christianity Revivalism Rastafari

Kumina Hinduism Vodun

Obeah Islam Shouter Baptists

Judaism Shango

Buddhism Santeria

Myalism
  The Amerindians
HISTORY
OF  The Europeans

RELIGION  The Africans

IN THE  The Asians

CARIBBEA
N
 The Creation of syncretic religions
 Polytheistic

AMERINDIA
Theocratic society
NS
Rule by absolutism

Patriarchal
  Introduced Christianity as a consequence
of and agent of colonialism
 Initially RCC then other Protestant
EUROPEANS
denominations came eg Wesleyans,
Moravians, Methodists, Baptists
 Nature – intolerant to other religions
 Influence through our schools, legal
systems, political systems, culture
  Religious and social practices influenced by

the region – Gold coast, Ewe-Fon of

AFRICAN Dahomey, Yoruba of Nigeria, Bantu from
INFLUENCE
Congo and Angola

 Exists in a creolized form via process of

retention & syncretism

  Exist in a syncretic form

AFRICAN  Syncretic religions that first had their genesis

under slavery are:
RELIGION  Myalism/Revivalism/Kumina(Pocomania)
IN THE and
Zionism of Jamaica
CARIBBEA  Rastafarianism of Jamaica

N  Santeria of Cuba & Puerto Rico

 Orisha/Shango of Trinidad and Tobago
 Vodun of Haiti and Dominican Republic
 Goombay of Belize
SYNCRETIC
CHARACTERISTICS
African derived characteristics Christian elements

 African deities with catholic saints  Recital of prayers

 Spirit possession of believers by deities  Singing Christian hymns and use of
candles
 Animal sacrifice
 Worshipping Christian deities
 Use of items such as flour, oil, cream soda
having spiritual powers  Use of symbols eg cross, rosary beads
 THE
HISTORY  The Upper class attended mainstream European

OF churches and continued to do so. Poorer people had

dual membership.
RELIGION  Formal allegiance to one of the European religion
whilst participating in the rituals and ceremonies of a
IN THE syncretic.

CARIBBEA  Afro-Christian form such as: Revivalism

N
  The indentured labourers brought their own
religions in the mid 19thc - Islam and
Hinduism(majority)
 Little influence of creolization – came as citizens
 Remained separate in terms of religion and
ASIAN culture but united as a race
INFLUENCE
 Question? What contributions have thy made to
the development of society?
 Question? Are they a divisive force in the
society?
 HISTORY  There was however a conversion of a number of Muslims
and Hindus to Presbyterianism owing to the efforts of the
OF Caribbean Mission as a means of bettering their lives
 Coming from the US in the 20th century a surge of religious
RELIGION ideas have had an impact on the institution of religion in
the Caribbean.

IN THE  Evangelical fundamentalists and Pentecostals e.g.

Assemblies of God, Church of God, Church of the Open
CARIBBEA Bible
 Fundamentalists have their beliefs on a literal interpretation

N of the Bible believe that the “end times’ are at hand.

ACTIVITY
 What is meant by religious syncretism?
 Choose any two from Kumina, Vodun or Rastafarianism
 Examine its emergence
 Basic belief system
 functions
 Important rituals
 Evidence of syncretism
IMPACT OF RELIGION
ON CARIBBEAN
SOCIETY AND
CULTURE
  Discrimination
 Religious prejudice

ISSUES  Intolerance
  Religion can be a source of oppression in individual
women
 Christian churches

INDIVIDUA  Islam
 Rastafarianism
LS  Roles of women, prescribed dress, behaviours and
aspirations.
 Laws affecting reproductive health ( birth control
and abortion)
  Religion can help groups maintain solidarity and
keep its traditions alive in the face of globalizing
GROUPS western culture.
 Impact on education- schools close to celebrate
various holidays
  The Justice system is impacted by religion. What
people believe to be fair or just is shaped largely
by religion.
 Religion has the potential to generate conflict.
INSTITUTIO  Religion impacts health and diet

N  Adventist diet- vegetarian, no alcohols

 Muslims do not eat pork
 Hindus (Brahmins) are vegetarians
 Rasta eat (ital)