CRITIQUES OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF This topic also includes the debate between Copleston and Russell – see the workbook from the anthology.

ESSENTIAL IDEAS Durkheim Religion helps to unite society Strength Empirical evidence to support in Fundamentalist Christian communities Weakness Doesn’t explain why some religious people will go against their society, Martin Luther King Marx Religion is there to distract the poor from revolution Logical – if people believe their next life will be better, they will be less inclined to push to change this one Does not explain why religion itself has often been the driving force of social change Freud Religion is an illusion to help people cope with the fear of death Makes logical sense as the promise of an afterlife can be a source of comfort to a great many people. His work as a whole is largely discredited due to his preoccupation to explain everything in relation to sexual behaviour Dawkins Religious belief is dangerous Empirical evidence that many atrocities have been committed in the name of religion, eg 9/11 attacks There are other institutions that are also responsible for atrocities, eg political parties Postmodernism People choose the bits of religion that make sense to them – a pick and mix approach Religion remains current and is relevant to the people using it There is no objective morality, we have nothing to measure right and wrong against

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – DURKHEIM Explain Durkheim’s key idea Religion serves to unite the community. Give a strength of Durkheim’s idea The commitment to society as a whole can be empirically evidenced in communities such as the Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christian communities. Give 3 weaknesses of Durkheim’s idea This does not explain why religious believers will go against the rules of their society, eg Martin Luther King challenged societies’ views on the treatment of black people. His work was based primarily on aboriginal societies so it is questionable how much of it is applicable to modern western society. The link between religion and society is overplayed as societies have changed over time but beliefs about the nature of God haven’t; this suggests that they cannot really be the same entity.

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – MARX Explain Marx’s key idea Described religion as the ‘opiate of the people’ as he argued that it served to distract people from their oppression by the ruling classes and promised them a better experience in the afterlife. This belief was meant to distract them from starting a revolution. Give a strength of Marx’s idea There is logic in the argument that if people believe in the chance of a better experience in the afterlife, they will be less motivated to take drastic action to improve their circumstances in the present one. Give 2 weaknesses of Marx’s idea Rather than stagnate change, religion has often promoted it, eg the early Christians challenged the rule of the Romans and Jesus himself expressed what were considered at the time to be revolutionary views. Religion is no longer necessary in a capitalist society yet it still exists so it must serve more of a purpose than mere distraction and social orderliness.

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – FREUD Explain Freud’s key idea Religion is a projective system, it is an illusion created by humans; feeds off people’s fears of helplessness and death. Give a strength of Freud’s idea Makes logical sense as the promise of an afterlife can be a source of comfort to a great many people. Give 2 weaknesses of Freud’s idea He argued that an individual’s relationship to God was determined by the kind of relationship that they had with their father, Nelson and Jones’ research indicates that it is actually the relationship with the mother that has the most influence. He has been criticised for being overly focused on linking everything back to sexual behaviour and so his conclusions have become increasingly questioned in recent years.

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – DAWKINS What sort of atheist is Dawkins? Strong atheist, the kind that actively wants to stop others believing in God. What are Dawkins’ 4 reasons for not believing in God? 1, It is not necessary – evolution can explain the origins of human life. 2, Faith claims - attributing things that we don’t understand to a ‘supernatural power’ prevents us from investigating things further. 3, The issue of purpose - humans are obsessed with finding purpose in everything. Dawkins argues that to assume the purpose for our existence lies outside the universe is just that, an assumption. 4, The virus of religion - iis like a virus, it can infect human minds and make them do evil things. Give a strength of Dawkins’ ideas Dawkins’ work is based on empirical evidence, we can observe and verify occasions when religious extremism as caused death and destruction, eg the 9/11 attacks. Give 3 weaknesses of Dawkins’ ideas Any 3 of the following: Dawkins believes that ideas or beliefs are passed on in the same way that genes are yet ideas can be changed, genes cannot. Dawkins says that the sole reason for living is to pass on our DNA. This completely ignores that fact that we pursue hobbies, have non-reproductive sex and create machines that have nothing to do with survival. Dawkins assumes that all acts of terrorism and extremism are bad. Nelson Mandela committed acts of terrorism yet is widely regarded as a hero. Dawkins lumps all religions together rather than judging each one on its own individual merits. He ignores that religion was never meant to be proven by science, religion is based on faith rather than facts. Admittedly religion has been a cause of pain and misery but so have other social institutions such as political parties like the BNP.

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – POST MODERNISM What does post-modernism say about absolute truth? It does not exist What did Kant say about religious authority figures? They are often corrupt and self serving What 2 points did Hume make about religion and the poor? Religion has become embedded in a society purely for the benefit of oppressing the poor and as a means of comfort for the poor. Give 2 reasons why some people are reluctant to give up on organised religion Religious tradition still exists today and therefore it proves it is still necessary for society. For example, we still use rules from the 10 Commandments to give us a moral viewpoint. A complete abolition of religion for some may be a harsh, unnecessary and daunting prospect. If we consider just how many people devote their lives to a religion, perhaps as a means of securing a good afterlife (especially in Christiantiy and Islam).

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – STRENGTHS OF POST MODERNISM What is the advantage of letting people develop their own religion? Allowing religious beliefs to develop organically by society ensures that they are relevant to both the time and people that ‘use them’, eg many traditional religious views are against the practice of divorce yet it is considered a modern necessity by many people today. How could organised religion be described as dangerous? Organised religion can be seen as detrimental to morality as there are have many occasions where it has been used to justify extremism and fundamentalism, eg 9/11 attacks. Why are some people keen to get rid of religious leaders? Allowing people to develop their own idea of religious belief removes the need for leaders of religion which could be seen as a good thing as there have been examples of corruption and inappropriate behaviour in the past, eg child abuse scandals within the Catholic Church.

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – WEAKNESSES OF POST MODERNISM Why do some people believe that organised religion is still relevant? Many of our laws and those of other countries around the world are based on laws from holy books such as the Bible, this suggests that organised religion is still relevant. Why do some people argue that organised religion needs to remain to support science? There are questions that science cannot answer and so organised religion is needed to provide a response, and in some cases reassurance. Why might moral relativism be dangerous? Postmodernism leads to moral relativism, a situation where there is no absolute right or wrong. Without an absolute, we are unable to condemn any types of behaviour.