Religion and Society

A connection with the supernatural and the development of religion has been with humans since the dawn of time. Laws and lifestyles have been established due to the influences of religion. Motivation to succeed and do well is from the teaching of religion. Today we will look into the influences religion has played on society and how we have grown form that influence.

            Religion regulates behavior. Laws we have lived by, were established from the basis of religious teachings. In the Christian religion, God establish his ten commandments for the people of earth to live by. These teaching have shown us, among others, to not kill or steal. These words were kept to heart so that individuals can be seen in good light in the eyes of God. Although through time and the break between church and state the motivation has changed of why we shouldn’t commit these act. Instead of fearing God’s judgment we fear imprisonment, although never the less the root of this law was established due to religious influence.

            Religion gives society something to believe in. This gives a psychological super natural motivation to succeed and be good. The belief that some form of higher power has reasoning for life, give individuals motivation to continue living and trying. The desire to work hard and to make the world a better place is rooted from the influence of religion. That some form of God shows that every action has a bigger meaning and purpose behind it.

The All Mighty Dollar Bill

            We have already established a connection between America’s prayer frequency and the well being of society. Through the Baylor Religion Survey we have also determined that prayer is being used as a coping mechanism. For today’s post we will continue analyzing Joseph O. Baker’s sample survey on American society to look deeper into this coping mechanism theory, as we focus on individuals financial status. If you haven’t read my first post on the topic, navigate through the blog until you have found the post titled “Prayer and Society”.

            Money isn’t the key to happiness; this maybe the saying of the middle class but the data begs to differ. Baker states with his findings, “A downward trend in mean for the frequency of prayer as income and education levels increase” (175). This gives us an incredible amount of information on the power of the dollar bill and its influences on the well-being of the ones who use it. If we have determined that prayer is used as a coping mechanism and that people of all income levels pray regularly and those with less income tend to pray more frequently, then we have discover the key to a societies happiness.

            The conclusion to the Baylor Religion Survey generated a statistical individual who would pray the most. Female, African-American parents are seen as the most frequently praying people in the United States. If we were to break down how each of these attributes is seen sociologically this conclusion would make complete sense. The institutions of society have suppressed women through out time, especially in American culture. Although efforts have been made to balance these inequalities through the women’s rights movement. Women still have less job opportunities and averagely played less. Our next attribute is the race of our prayer. Through out American history African-Americans have oppressed in the job market until recent years. Even after attempts of the equal rights movement the dominant race is white in the job market. Lastly our prayer is a parent. This is something that any race, gender or social class can relate to. Children play a heavy toll on families financially. Children aren’t expected to start generating significant income until the age 19 or after higher education. This means parents are supporting their children financially for an extended amount of time. After viewing the date from this survey one could predict that the frequency of prayer would increase as more children are introduced to a family.

            The point to this analysis is that the well-being of a society will affect the participation of religious rituals. In modern society income is a major factor in determination the level of happiness. So we can say that an individual’s income will determine their participation in religious rituals of prayer. If people can’t generate enough income to live a happy and fulfilling life they will turn to God in hopes of a supernatural force to meet their needs.

"Our religio-secular world"

I have found a piece of recent writing concerning religion and secularism, which I think is good, and applies to the situation in American society. It is by Martin Marty, a longtime recognized academic, theologian, and professor of religious history, now at Univ. of Chicago. Marty’s words are clear—it would be best to just quote him. Here is an excerpt from the preview of the article (I can’t seem to access Jstor for the rest even though it is said to be free):

“In recent decades, many experts have marshaled empirical data demonstrating a secular trend in modern societies. Still other experts, marshaling different data, have documented a resurgent religiosity in these same societies. As a result of these paradoxical findings, my book shelf is crowded with contradictory titles: next to The Secular City is The Unsecular City; a volume that refers to Secular Man adjoins one exploring Unsecular Man.

. . . From my perspective—that of a theologian who has spent a lifetime pondering the impact of secularism on religion—we need a new model for describing the world that we actually inhabit. It is neither exclusively secular nor exclusively religious, but rather a complex combination of both the religious and the secular, with religious and secular phenomena occurring at the same time in individuals, in groups, and in societies around the world.

The old debates revolved around binary categories: societies were either secular or religious; worldly or otherworldly; materialist or spiritual; favoring immanence or transcendence, etc. The use of such polarizing concepts is valid in some contexts, but it does not adequately express the ways that individuals, groups, and societies actually behave; most people blur, mesh, meld, and muddle together elements of both the secular and the religious, the worldly and the otherworldly, etc. In adjusting to the complex world around them, people confound the categories of the social scientists, theologians, and philosophers: they simply ‘make do’ with a syncretic and characteristically modern blend of attitudes—call it religio-secular.”

I think Marty’s summation is good, but also idealistic. It sounds very broad, but how else can we explain both the spiritual urge and the material concerns in human experience? If a person can only see one side, then they are in a sense handicapped. The “both/and” view that sociology uses works well here—America being both secular and religious. I think the scope of American society is so huge—in size, pluralism, and modernity, that religious and secular attitudes mingle, and, as Marty describes, things get muddled and blurred. There are many angles to explore in relating this topic to American society.

For instance, a really big ongoing issue in the U. S. is keeping religion out of school curriculum. The combination of freedom of religious expression with the large diversity of religions, seems to cause a lot of friction and controversy in our society, among differing points of view. When does one person’s freedom of expression start to infringe on another person’s rights? In order to protect everyone’s rights, the U. S. government tries to keep the educational system neutral and secular.

I call Marty’s view idealistic, because he is referring to attitudes, and the realities of pluralistic society are that some religious views try for more—they want action, and want to change other people.

What would happen if, in America, all religious groups could agree to get along, and allow others to be different? Seems it would relieve our society of a lot of difficulties.

*Final note re. the religion vs. secularism debate: fivebooks.com has a transcribed interview with Martin Marty (Apr 19, 2011) in which he talks about five books on religion vs. secularism that he thinks “fuel the debate.” The interview contains interesting ideas on this subject.

Cited:

Marty, Martin. “Our religio-secular world.” Daedalus Vol. 132, No. 3, On Secularism & Religion (2003) pp. 42-48. MIT Press. 5/11/2013.

http://fivebooks.com/interviews/martin-marty-on-religion-versus-secularism-history?page=3

American religiosity confounds sociologists at present?

 


 The so-called theory of secularization in sociology began with the views of Karl Marx in the early days of industrialization. Three of the founders of sociology--Marx, Durkheim, and Weber--basically came to the same conclusion that religion would eventually succumb to social forces and decline in modern society. In my first post on this blog, I quoted W. H. Swatos as saying that sociologists need to shift their focus from "marginalizing" the role of religion in society, along the lines of this secularization debate (which has been occupying their attention during the twentieth century). He suggests that sociologists begin instead to look at the subject in ways that integrate religion with modern society. I tend to agree with this suggestion, because of the information I am finding about the presence and role of religiosity currently in the U.S.

In 2002, the Pew Research Center published the following survey results which are now well-known:
"Religion is much more important to Americans than to people living in other wealthy nations. Six-in-ten (59%) people in the U.S. say religion plays a very important role in their lives. This is roughly twice the percentage of self-avowed religious people in Canada (30%), and an even higher proportion when compared with Japan and Western Europe. Americans’ views are closer to people in developing nations than to the publics of developed nations." Using this now much-quoted survey as a perspective on religiosity in the American public, it shows that the U.S. is an exception to the general model of secularization that Marx, Durkheim, and Weber promoted.

In studying the impact of religion on American society, in particular regarding the enduring, flourishing presence of religiosity, I find there are interesting questions, and signs that academic research is going on, however it is hard to find any current published academic work on this topic so far. In terms of the secularization theory, why is America this exception? Why is religion so important in America today? As I sift through opinions that I encounter, some of the following are recurrent themes:

1. (In response to the Pew survey): American wealth is unevenly distributed, therefore representing individuals by the whole sum in this case is misleading. It is suggested that these kinds of surveys be broken done regionally because of the size of the country.
2. Americans have had religious freedom for over 200 years, and the voicing of religious view is protected by law. This greatly contrasts with the experience of other countries. Perhaps this contributes to why there is so much religious expression.

These are just two of the most prevalent opinions I have encountered. To be con't . . .





"Among Wealthy Nations," Pew Research Center. 2002. 

photo source: 
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2011/11/13/players_hold_prayer_before_game.aspx

 

                         Prayer and Society

              Majority of religions have a common factor in that they conduct a similar act of prayer. This is a mixture of belief and ritual. Prayer represents an individual’s attempt to communicate with the supernatural. Joseph O. Baker uses the Baylor Religion Survey to provide information about sociological patterns of prayer frequency and content in his academic journal, “An investigation of the Sociological Patterns of Pray Frequency and Content”, to determine how communication with the supernatural manifests itself by influencing the reason people pray and needs prayer addresses in American society.

The survey was conducted through a random sample, although the survey happens to be majority Christian. This means statically the information reveals more on Christians in American Society, but will still relate to all religions in American Society on some level. The survey revealed that three out of four people state that they pray daily. In those three, 95 percent believe that they were answered. These individuals stated the topic of prayer was on the subject of health and well being. Prayer is often used as a stress deterrent or a coping mechanism for problems in ones environment or internal affairs.

            The survey did reveal a key component to showing the connection with prayer and society. It was seen that members of traditionally underprivileged or marginalized groups, such as women, African Americans, and older Americans are more likely to pray. The importance of this information is that it shows a connection between suffering and praying. Baker states in his conclusion of this information “ Individuals from social groups that experience more suffering and deprivation may turn to prayer as a coping mechanism. (170). This shows that gender, race, and social class all have some level of correlation to the content and frequency of prayer. If American society is going through economical and/or social problems one can assume that the frequency of individuals prayer will increase. We can assume this because people will turn to God to help to maintain a feeling of control in difficult situations to cope with environmental and internal demands that the American Society cannot meet.

The Catholic Religion

 

In America, there isn’t just one certain religion. It’s diverse, although in this country it is seen as a more Christian nation. One religion in specific that interested me while doing research was Catholicism. 

“In the U.S., about 23 percent of the adult population is Catholic.”  Catholics strongly believe in the bible and the son of Jesus Christ.  They believe if you sin you will not go to heaven. Abortion and birth control, in specific are sins. You must live by the Ten Commandments.

This strict religion can affect the way you socialize. In this religion the parents of a young toddler or infant baptize their children at an early age. I found this interesting because it’s like if their religion was already chosen for them. The children grow up with Catholic beliefs. This can cause someone to live their life in a way they probably wouldn’t have chosen. In other religions I researched, I read that people get baptized when they are ready.

 

Newport, Frank. "New Insights on the US Catholic Population." Christian Post. N.p., 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 07 May 2013.

Entry by Danielle 4/27/13

Blog Topic: The Impact of Religion on Society

Subject/Title: Religion and Secularization In American Society:

In Sociology Now, authors Kimmel and Aronson write: “Early sociologists believed that as societies became more modern, religion would decline. Individuals, and society as a whole, would no longer need it, and so society would become increasingly secular. Secularization—the process of moving away from religious spirituality and toward the worldly—was assumed to be the future of religion around the world” (p. 498).  However, as Kimmel and Aronson say, this is not the case. In fact, studies are showing an overall global trend of resurging religious activity, including within the United States: “The United States stands alone among wealthy, industrialized countries in its embrace of religion. Nearly six in ten Americans say religion plays a very important role in their lives (Pew Global Attitudes Project, 2002) [Kimmel, p. 500].

In general we define the term religion as a set of belief systems, world views, and usually a language of symbols and customs, that relate humanity with spirituality, or with meanings that encompass and integrate both material and nonmaterial “worlds.” We recognize that these are human concerns (we do not know that animals have these). Kimmel and Aronson point out that “no human society has yet been discovered that lacks an organized, coherent system of beliefs about a spiritual world” (489). On the other hand, secularization is defined as the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward nonreligious values and secular institutions. We know that the U.S. has transformed in this way, valuing and relying on science and technology.

In what manner do these seemingly opposite forces, religion and secularism, coexist in American society? Over the next few weeks, I plan to explore this topic from a sociological perspective  and post some of my findings here on this blog. I am looking for some relevant academic sources, including statistics, sociological theories, and discussion from (primarily) the beginning of the 21^st century. Sociologists consider religion to be one of the primary “agents of socialization” within societies. What current study and research is being done in this area?

Is the so-called “resurgence” of religion a reaction to the fragmenting, compartmentalizing influence of the modern industrial times? The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society (1998) contains information about the background of the study of religion and society. In fact, the editor,W. H. Swato writes,

“The sociology of religion has, very largely, become trapped in the discussions that concern the shift from preindustrial to industrial societies. The debate needs to move on. Building on to the best of the contributions concerning the nature and forms of modernity (Giddens, Beck, Baumann, and so on), those with appropriate skills need to offer alternative analyses that integrate rather than marginalize the role of religion in the modern world (Beckford 1996). Hervieu-Léger (1986, 1993) has made a significant start in this direction, recognizing that the nature and forms of religion at the turn of a new century depend significantly on the nature of modernity itself. Contemporary religion is a product of, not a reaction to, modernity” (“Content” page).

In the coming weeks, I hope to bring more of the discussion of the relationship between religion and secularization, and its effects on American society, to the blog.

Sources cited:

1. Kimmel, M. and A. Aronson. Sociology Now: Census Update. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2012. Print.
2. Swatos, W.H. “Content Pages.” Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Alta Mira Press, 1998. Hartsem.edu. Web. 28 Apr 2013.