CH 11 SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND KNOWING

Islam

-2nd largest religion in the world. -It's the fastest growing religion in the world. -2 main denominations = Sunnis (largest group 87-90%) and remaining Muslims are Shia. -Monotheistic. Belief in Allah and organized teachings of the prophet Muhammad.

Hinduism

-4 major denominations = Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. -It's the oldest religion in the world. -Most sacred religious text = Vedas -Believe in a cycle birth, and rebirth, governed by a principle of karma (punished or rewarded) -Blurs the distinction bet. Monotheism and polytheism.

Features of religious fundamentalism

-Religion is under attack by modern society -Find aspects of modern society evil -Emphasize truth and accuracy of sacred text -Insist laws of text have more authority over nat'l laws/ int nat'l laws. -Draw sharp boundaries bet. -Believers and non believers. -Have strict requirements of how believers should behave. -Strong conservative views about gender and family. -Intolerant of dissenting beliefs. -Goal is to have their own religious beliefs placed at the center of public life.

Buddhism

-more focused on personal spiritual development. Believe in reincarnation and the principle of karma. -Stressed the development of morality and wisdom through the practices of meditation and reflection. -Main texts are the Sutras, which contain the words and teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gaurama, and his quest for enlightenment during the sixth century BCE

Major religions

Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism.Nearly 70% of the people in the world are affiliated with Christianity, Islam, or Hinduism.

Theodicy

Described by Max Weber it is the attempt to explain why suffering and injustice exist in the world. Weber documented how ancient religions offered powerful explanations for suffering and injustice.

Secularization thesis

argument that religion would become less important in modern society is known as this. This doesn't mean that religion will disappear completely or lose all of its legitimacy, but rather that it will become less influential. 1) Individual level: religious faith is declining (less attend church) 2) public/macro level: religious leaders and organizations have less influence and less authority in public debates about social issues.

Contemporary religious fundamentalism

began to emerge during the 1970s, and today there are versions of religious fundamentalism among all of the major world religions

Religion

defined by Emile Durkheim as a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things, which untie all of its adherents into a single moral community. It's a source of culture and meaning.

Public religion

defined by SOCI Jose Casanova as a situation in which individuals and organizations make faith-based moral arguments about the public good. We can see examples of this all over the world.

Sigmund Freud

described God as an illusion which was a useful way to restrain the violent impulses of society

Ritual

An event where people come together to reaffirm the meaning of the sacred, to acknowledge its special qualities and its separateness from ordinary (profane) life. It is the social part of religious belief, allowing ppl to gather and reaffirm their common beliefs and to share a powerful experience together. Durkheim argues that ritual was so fundamental that it was an essential feature of all societies. He argued all societies need some form of religious practice.

Utopia

An image of an imaginary, perfect world in which there is no conflict, hunger, or unhappiness.

epistemology

A branch of philosophy that explores how we know whether a statement or a fact is actually true. For a scientific epistemology, knowledge about the world is true when it offers a good description, explanation, and prediction of natural reality.

Polytheism

A religious cosmology in which there is a group deities. They are responsible for many of the forces of nature and who often intervene in human lives. Ancient religions tended to be polytheistic

Monotheism

A religious cosmology in which there is only one deity. Who created the world and is responsible for all living things.

Sects

A smaller and more loosely organized group of religious believers who disagree with the est. church and try to create their own authentic expression of religious faith.

Post-secular society

A society in which religion and science coexist harmoniously, and where there is an attempt to create mutual learning and respect between religious ideas and scientific ideas. (argue the continued existence of religion doesn't have to be a threat to a secularizing society.)

Proselytizing

Islam spread with this. It is the attempt by an individual or an organization to convert other people to their own religious beliefs.

Key diff. of religion and science

KEY DIFFERENCE BET. RELIGIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC WAYS OF KNOWING WHAT THE WORLD IS THAT SCIENTISTS WANT TO SEE COMPELLING EVIDENCE BEFORE THEY ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT A CLAIM ABOUT HOW THE WORLD WORKS.

Christianity

Largest religion in the world. Monotheism as well as a corresponding belief that Jesus was the Son of God who was sent to save humanity from sin. Sacred texts include hebrew bible (old testament) and new testament. Which records the life and teachings of Jesus and his early followers.

Persistence of religion

Nearly 85% of the world's pop. maintains a religious affiliation. Innovation and change in religion makes it continue to be important in society.

Judaism

Originated in Middle East more than 3,500 years ago. Monotheistic religion based on belief that there is one all-powerful god who created the world. Was a major influence on Christianity and Islam. Sacred text is Torah: tells story of Abraham, his descendants, and the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Forced to live segregated and poor from as early as 12th cent.

religious fundamentalism

SOCI Michael Emerson and David Hartman; this term was first used to describe a form of conservative Protestantism that developed in the US between 1870 and 1925, as a part of a conflict with other Protestants who wanted to make the religion more relevant for a modern and progressive society. Today, however, religious fundamentalists are more likely to see themselves in direct conflict with the values and the political institutions of modern, secular society.

Cosmology

The system of knowledge and beliefs that a society uses to understand how the world works and how it is organized.

Scientific cosmologies

Today, it is a branch of astronomy.Since the 20th cent. Modern physics has revolutionized the way that scientists think about the origin, nature, and future of the universe.

Karl Marx

Viewed religion as a form of ideology

religious cosmologies

Weber. religious cosmologies describe the world by making reference to mysterious, magical, and incalculable forces. they provide their adherents with a theory about the meaning of human life that is grounded in belief, faith, and sacrifice. They reassure ppl with the understanding that their own lives are connected to a larger spiritual eternity. it has moral dimension.

Social cosmologies

theories about how societies were created, how they work, and how they are connected to the larger world. Emile Durkheim and Max Weber both wrote about social cosmology.

Durkheim

argued that there was a natural human proclivity to classify and categorize things, as a way to understand our relationship to our society and to the larger world. He argued that the classifying impulse is shared by the earliest religious ideas as well as the most advanced scientific systems.

Robert Merton

one of most important scholars in SOCI of science. Merton was interested in the 'extra-scientific elements' that influenced scientific interests, practices, and reward systems Merton identified four basic values in science: universalism, the communal character of science, principle of disint erestedness, and the principle of organized skepticism.

Denominations

sects became est. as these. It is a religious sect that has begun to develop a more est. bureaucracy and a common set of ritual practices.

Relavitism

the idea that truth depends on the group, the community, the society, and the culture to which a person belongs.