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Religion in Society: Beliefs, Rituals, and Social Change

Explore the impact of religion in society, from the coherent answers it provides to existential dilemmas to its role in shaping social values and norms. Learn about different forms of religion, including simple supernaturalism, animism, theism, polytheism, and monotheism. Discover how religion can instill values and cause social change. Understand various types of religious organizations, such as churches, sects, denominations, and cults. Gain insights into the trends in religion in the United States.

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Religion in Society: Beliefs, Rituals, and Social Change

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  1. Chapter 17, Religion • Religion in Society • Varieties of Religious Belief • Religion and Social Change • Structure and Change in Modern Religions • Trends in Religion in the United States

  2. Defining Religion • Coherent answers to the dilemmas of human existence that makes the world meaningful. •  Beliefs and rituals that bind people together through shared worship, thereby creating a social group.

  3. Religion As An Institution • Helps people express their feelings of spirituality and faith. • Guides a society’s mental life, especially its ideas about morality, goodness, and evil. • Legitimizes a society’s norms and values.

  4. Forms of Religion • Simple supernaturalism - belief in a great spirit, without a well-defined concept of God or a set of rituals involving God. • Animism - belief that all forms of life and all aspects of the earth are inhabited by gods or supernatural powers.

  5. Forms of Religion • Theism -belief systems that conceive of a God or Gods as separate from humans and other living things on earth. • Polytheistic - religions that include numerous gods. • Monotheistic - belief in a single, all-powerful god.

  6. Religion and Social Change • Marx believed that religion is shaped by economic and political institutions and instills in the masses the values of the dominant class. • Weber argued that religion can cause major social change by instilling values in the members of a society and in turn causing changes in other institutions.

  7. Forms of Religious Organization • Church - a religious organization with strong ties to the larger society. • Sect - rejects the religious beliefs or practices of established churches.

  8. Forms of Religious Organization • Denomination - on good terms with the religious institution from which it developed but must compete with for members. • Cult - new religion formed by people who are not satisfied with more established churches and denominations.

  9. Trends in Religion in the U.S. • Over half of Americans over age 18 identify themselves as Protestant. • About 1/4 identify as Roman Catholic. • About 2% identify themselves as Jewish. • Other religions combined account for 6%. • 8% say they have no religious affiliation.

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