Lesson 26: Religion


Attention

I'm not sure how updated this particular site is, but the Adherents website, which attempts to list all the world's religions and some basic information about them, does a good job of identifying how diverse religious practice is!


Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Describe the Sociological Perspectives on Religion
  • Reflect on personal religious history and perspective

Teaching

Concepts and Terms

Sociology studies religion and spiritual practices in the light of Sociology, not in terms of attempting to "prove" or "support" one or the other. In this light, review some of the following concepts from your textbook:

  • Sacred vs. Secular
  • Religion, Religiosity, and Spirituality
  • Cults, Sects, Denominations, Churches
  • Secularization

Christian History

Please do not assume that because I focus here on Christianity that I feel that this is the only valid world view. This is the world view that I profess and the one that I can speak to most authoritatively.

I personally find that the history of the Christian churches is fascinating. It is not only the history of my own faith, but a history of a lot of what we refer to as American Culture. America has been highly influenced by Christianity not so much as a "national faith" but the way it has shaped our work ethic, finances, expectations in life, etc.

  • Catholic Church (hierarch and power)
  • Protestant Church (power to people)
  • Protestant Ethics
    • Work as payment for sin
    • Save for the future (your reward is in the afterlife)
    • Know your Place (manifest destiny)
    • Gender inequality (sort of a Know your Place situation)

The Christian History Institute is a pretty good source of interesting articles.

Ethics and Religion

Regardless of our own religious affiliations (or lack of them) we are influenced by religious thought in many ways.


Assessment

Ethics and Religion Assignment

The learning outcomes for this lesson are embodied in the Ethics and Religion assignment.