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This chapter delves into the concepts of sacred and profane, exploring the totemic objects, rituals, and beliefs that define religious practices. It examines monotheistic and polytheistic traditions, patriarchal and matriarchal religions, as well as exclusive and inclusive religious groups. Additionally, the chapter explores the role of rituals, collective consciousness, and the Protestant ethic in religious communities. It discusses the influence of ideology, ethno-religious groups, and the formation of churches, sects, and cults. The concepts of charisma, religious socialization, and the social drift theory are also discussed. Lastly, it delves into the negative aspects of religious intolerance, such as anti-Semitism, and the phenomenon of secularization and rationalization in society.
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Chapter 17, Religion Key Terms
sacredThat which is set apart from ordinary activity. • profaneThat which is of the everyday world and is specifically not religious.
totemAn object or living thing that a religious group regards with special awe and reverence. • secularOrdinary beliefs of everyday life.
religiosityThe intensity and consistency of practice of a person’s (or group’s) faith. • monotheistsThe worship of a single god.
polytheistsWorship of more than one deity. • patriarchal religionsBeliefs and practices are based on male power and authority.
matriarchal religionsBased on the centrality of female goddesses, who may be seen as the source of food, nurturance, and love or who may serve as emblems of the power of women. • exclusive religious groups Those with an easily identifiable religion and culture, including distinctive beliefs and strong moral teachings.
inclusive religious groupsThose with a more moderate, liberal, and ecumenical religious orientation. • ritualsSymbolic activities that express a group's spiritual convictions.
collective consciousness.Body of beliefs that are common to a community or society and that give people a sense of belonging. • Protestant ethicBelief that hard work and self-denial lead to salvation.
ideologyBelief systems that legitimates the social order and supports the ideas of the ruling class. • ethnoreligious groupsGroups for whom religion and ethnicity are especially intertwined. Two examples are Hasidic Jews and the Amish.
churchesFormal organizations that tend to see themselves, and are seen by society, as the primary and legitimate religious institutions. • sectsGroups that have broken off from an established church, when a faction questions the legitimacy or purity of the church from which they are separating.
cultsReligious groups devoted to a specific cause or a leader with charisma, and are like sects in their emotional intensity. • charismaA quality attributed to individuals believed by their followers to have special powers.
religious socializationThe process by which one learns a particular religious faith. • brainwashing thesisClaim that innocent people are tricked into religious conversion.
social drift theoryEmphasizing that conversion is linked to shifting patterns of association and that people are active participants in the conversion process. • antisemitism The belief or behavior that defines Jewish people as inferior and then targets them for stereotyping, mistreatment and acts of hatred.
secularizationThe process by which religious institutions, behavior and consciousness lose their religious significance. • rationalization of societySociety is increasingly organized around rational, empirical, and scientific forms of thought.
