1. SOCIOLOGY: A Brief Introduction
Richard T. Schaefer
SOCIOLOGY: A Brief Introduction
Sixth Edition
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. RELIGION AND EDUCATION13
RELIGION AND EDUCATION
Durkheim and the Sociological Approach to Religion
World Religions
The Role of Religion
Religious Behavior
Religious Organization
Sociological Perspectives on Education
Schools as Formal Organizations

3. Durkheim and Sociological Approach to Religion
Emile Durkheim perhaps first sociologist to recognize the critical importance of religion in human societies
Stressed social impact of religion
Viewed religion as collective act; religion includes many forms of behavior in which people interact with others

4. Durkheim and Sociological Approach to Religion
Defined religion as “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things”
Religious faiths distinguish between events that transcend the ordinary and the everyday world:
Profane: includes the ordinary and commonplace
Sacred: includes elements that inspire awe, respect, and fear. People become a part of the sacred by completing some ritual

5. World Religions World Religions
About 85% of world’s population adheres to some religion
Christianity is largest single faith, the second largest is Islam
Although the differences among religions are striking, they are exceeded by variations within faiths.
Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are monotheistic
Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism developed in India. Buddhism is now primarily found in Asia.

6. World Religions
Figure 13.1: Religions of the World

7. World Religions

8. The Role of Religion
Among its manifest (open and stated) functions, religion defines the spiritual world and gives meaning to the divine. It provides an explanation for events that are difficult to understand
The latent functions of religion are unintended, covert, or hidden

9. The Role of Religion The Integrative Function of Religion
Religion offers people meaning and purpose for their lives
Religion gives people certain ultimate values and ends to hold in common
These values and ends help society to function as an integrated social system

10. The Role of Religion Religion and Social Support
Through its emphasis on the divine and the supernatural, religion allows us to “do something” about calamities we face.
Religion encourages us to view personal misfortunes as unimportant in broader perspective of human history

11. The Role of Religion Religion and Social Change The Weberian Thesis
Weber argued that followers of John Calvin, a leader of the Protestant Reformation, emphasized a disciplined work ethic, this-worldly concerns, and rational orientation for life
Became known as Protestant ethic.
“Spirit of capitalism” has emerged as generalized cultural trait (in U.S.)

12. The Role of Religion Religion and Social Change
Liberation Theology: Use of church in political effort to eliminate poverty, discrimination, and other forms of injustice evident in a secular society

13. The Role of Religion Religion and Social Control: A Conflict View
Marx argued religion impeded social change by encouraging people to focus on other-worldly concerns rather than their poverty or exploitation
Felt religion drugged the masses into submission by offering a consolation for their harsh lives on earth: the hope of salvation in an ideal afterlife

14. Religious Behavior Belief
Religious beliefs: statements to which members of a particular religion adhere

15. Religious Behavior Ritual Experience
Religious Rituals: practices required or expected of members of a faith
Experience
Religious Experience: feeling or perception of being in direct contact with ultimate reality or of being overcome with religious emotion

16. Religious Organization

17. Religious Organization
Figure 13.2: Belief in God Worldwide

18. Religious Organization
Ecclesiae
Religious organizations claiming to include most or all members of a society and recognized as national or official religion
Ecclesiae are conservative, in general, and do not challenge the leaders of a secular government.

19. Religious Organization
Denominations
Large, organized religion not officially linked with the state or government
Tend to have an explicit set of beliefs, defined system of authority, and generally respected position in society
Usually claim large segments of population as members

20. Religious Organization
Sects
Relatively small religious group that have broken away from some other religious organization to renew what they consider the original vision of the faith
Fundamentally at odds with society and do not seek to become established national religions

21. Religious Organization
New Religious Movements or Cults
Small secretive religious groups that represent either a new religion or a major innovation of an existing faith
New religious movements are similar to sects in that they tend to be small and are viewed as less respectable than more established faiths.

22. Religious Organization
Figure 13.3: Largest Religious Groups in the United States by County, 2000

23. Religious Organization
Comparing Forms of Religious Organization
Ecclesiae, denominations, sects, and new religious movements have somewhat different relationships to society
Ecclesiae, denominations, and sects best viewed as types along a continuum
Advances in electronic communication have led to the electronic church

24. Religious Organization

25. Case Study: Religion in India
The Religious Tapestry in India
Today, Muslims account for 11% of India’s population; Hindus make up 83%
Other popular faiths in India include Sikh and Jainism

26. Case Study: Religion in India
Religion and the State in India
India is a secular state dominated by Hindus
Many see religion as moving force in Indian society, especially politics
Religious divide in India is greater now than it has been at any time since the partition of India and Pakistan

27. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Functionalist View
Manifest function of education is transmission of knowledge
Latent functions of education are transmitting culture, promoting social and political integration, maintaining social control, and serving as an agent of change .

28. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Functionalist View
Transmitting Culture
Exposing young people to existing beliefs, norms, and values of their culture
Promoting Social and Political Integration
Transforms diverse population into a society whose members share a common identity .

29. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Functionalist View
Maintaining Social Control
Schools teach students punctuality, discipline, scheduling, and responsible work habits, and how to negotiate through a bureaucratic organization
Serving as an Agent of Change
Schools serve as meeting ground where distinctive beliefs and traditions can be shared .

30. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Conflict View
Education is an instrument of elite domination
Schools reinforce existing social class inequality
Convince subordinate groups of their inferiority .

31. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Conflict View
The Hidden Curriculum
Standards of behavior deemed proper by society are taught subtly in schools
Credentialism
An increase in the lowest level of education needed to enter a field .

32. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Conflict View
Bestowal of Status
Tracking: Practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups on basis of test scores and other criteria
Correspondence Principle: Schools promote the values expected of individuals in each social class and perpetuate class divisions from one generation to the next. .

33. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Conflict View
Treatment of Women in Education
In the United States, the educational system has long been characterized by discriminatory treatment of women .

34. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Conflict View
Treatment of Women in Education
Sexism in education shows up in many ways:
Stereotypes in textbooks
Pressure on women to study traditional women’s subjects
Unequal funding for men’s and women’s athletic programs
Employment bias for administrators and teachers .

35. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Conflict View
Treatment of Women in Education
Women have made great strides in proportion of women continuing their education
In cultures where traditional gender roles remain as social norms, women’s education suffers appreciably .

36. Sociological Perspectives on Education
Interactionist View
Labeling and self-fulfilling prophecy suggest if we treat people in particular ways, they may fulfill our expectations.
Teacher-Expectation Effect: impact of teacher expectations and their large role in student performance .

37. Sociological Perspectives on Education.

38. Schools as Formal Organizations
Bureaucratization of Schools
Weber noted five characteristics of bureaucracy, all of which are evident in most schools:
Division of labor
Hierarchy of authority
Written rules and regulations
Impersonality
Employment based on technical qualifications .

39. Schools as Formal Organizations
Teachers: Employees and Instructors
The Teacher’s Conflict
Organization follows principles of hierarchy and expects adherence to its rules
Professionalism demands individual responsibility of the practitioner
Many fewer students choose teaching as career than in the past due to perceived low income, cost of education, and low respect given to profession .

40. Schools as Formal Organizations
Student Subcultures
Schools provide for students’ social and recreational needs, and student subculture is complex and diverse
Research identified four ideal types of subcultures at the college level:
Collegiate
Academic
Vocational
Nonconformist .

41. Schools as Formal Organizations
Figure 13.5: Students at Risk: Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual .

42. Schools as Formal Organizations
Home Schooling
More than 1.6 million students now being educated at home
Home schooling has increased in recent years, in part due to concerns with:
Poor academic quality of schools
Peer pressure
School violence .

43. Social Policy and Religion
Religion in the Schools
The Issue
Should public schools be allowed to sponsor organized prayers or other expressions of religion in the classroom?
Those who object want to maintain a strict separation of church and state.
Who has right to decide these issues?

44. Social Policy and Religion
Religion in the Schools
The Setting
The issues are at heart of the First Amendment’s provisions on religious freedom
In 1987 Supreme Court ruled that states could not compel teaching of creationism in public schools
Many school districts now require that teachers entertain alternative theories to evolution

45. Social Policy and Religion
Religion in the Schools
Sociological Insights
Supporters of school prayer and of creationism feel that use of nondenominational prayer will in no way lead to establishment of an ecclesia in the United States
Opponents of school prayer and creationism argue that religious majority in community might impose religious viewpoints specific to its faith at expense of religious minorities.

46. Social Policy and Religion
Religion in the Schools
Policy Initiatives
School education is fundamentally a local issue, though in 2003, President Bush declared that schools with policies that prevent school prayer are at risk to lose government funding.
The activism of religious fundamentalists in the nation’s public schools raises a more general question: Whose ideas and values deserve a hearing in classrooms?