1. Education and Religion
Chapter 12
Education and Religion

2. Chapter Outline An Overview of Education and Religion
Sociological Perspectives on Education
Problems in Education
Religion in Historical Perspective
Sociological Perspectives on Religion
Types of Religious Organization
Trends in Religion in the United States
Education and Religion in the Future

3. Education and Religion
Powerful forces in contemporary societies.
Impart essential values, beliefs, and knowledge.
Grapple with issues of societal stability and social change, reflecting society even as they attempt to shape it.

4. Functions of Education
Manifest functions
Socialization
Transmission of culture
Social control
Social placement
Change and innovation
Latent functions
Production of social networks
Restricting some activities
Creation of generation gap

5. Conflict Perspective
Education is a vehicle for reproducing existing class relationships.
Unequal funding is a source of inequality in education.
Access to colleges and universities is determined not only by academic record but also by the ability to pay.

6. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Self‑Fulfilling Prophecy- students perform according to the expectations of their teachers.
Students labeled as gifted may achieve at a higher level because of the label.
Some girls learn to attribute success to effort while boys learn to attribute success to intelligence and ability.

7. Religion
Seeks to answer important questions such as why we exist, why people suffer and die and what happens when we die.
Comprised of beliefs, symbols and rituals.
All known groups over the past 100,000 years have had some form of religion.

8. Four Main Categories of Religion
Simple supernaturalism - belief that supernatural forces affect people's lives positively or negatively.
Animism - belief that plants, animals, and elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits that impact events in society.

9. Four Main Categories of Religion
Theism - belief in a God or Gods.
Transcendent idealism - belief in sacred principles of thought and conduct, such as truth, justice, life and tolerance for others.

10. Major World Religions Followers Founder Date Christianity 1.7 billion
Jesus
1st century C.E.
Islam
1 billion
Muhammad
ca. 600 C.E
Hinduism
719 million
No specific founder
ca B.C.E.
Buddhism
309 million
Siddhartha Gautama
500 to 600 B.C.E.
Judaism
18 million
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
ca B.C.E.
Confucianism
5.9 million
K’ung Fu-Tzu
500 B.C.E.

11. Functionalist Perspective
Religion has 3 important functions:
Providing meaning and purpose to life.
Promoting social cohesion and a sense of belonging.
Providing social control and support for the government.

12. Conflict Perspective
According to Karl Marx, religion is the "opiate of the people."
Max Weber argued that religion could be a catalyst to produce social change.

13. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Religion serves as a reference group to help people define themselves.
Women’s versions of a certain religion usually differ from men’s versions.

14. Characteristics of Churches and Sects
Organization
Large, bureaucratic, led by a professional clergy
Small, faithful group, high degree of lay participation
Membership
Open to all; members usually from upper and middle classes
Closely guarded membership, usually from lower classes
Worship
Formal, orderly
Informal, spontaneous
Salvation
Granted by God
Achieved by moral purity
Attitudes Toward Other Religions
Tolerant
Intolerant

15. Trends in Religion in the U.S.
The rise of a new fundamentalism has occurred at the same time as a number of mainline denominations have been losing membership.
Some members of the political elite in Washington have vowed to bring religion "back" into schools and public life.

16. Goals 2000: Educate America Act
Passed by Congress in 1994 to challenge the nation’s public school system to meet specific goals by
Very little progress has been made.
The stated goals are overly idealistic.

17. Goals 2000: Educate America Act
Three key goals:
Students leave grades 4, 8, and 12 with competency in English, math, science, history, and geography.
U.S. students will lead in science and mathematics achievement.
Every adult will be literate.