Religion and Social Change

Learning objectives:

• To develop skills in essay planning

• To enhance awareness and use of PEEL

• To consolidate understanding of the religion preventing social change argument

• To examine a range of sources and consider how religion can promote social change

What do we know so far?

Which statement do you most agree with?

A: Functionalists see religion as promoting social change

B: Functionalists see religion as a conservative force

C: Marxists see religion as promoting social change

D: Both Functionalists and Marxists see religion as a conservative force

Functionalists discuss….

A: Social Solidarity

B: Ideology

C: Alienation

D: Life crises and uncertainty

Both Marxists and Functionalists discuss….

A: psychological/emotional benefits of religion

B: Ideological conditioning

C: socialisation/transmission of ideas

D: hierarchy

Marxists emphasise….

A: religion as a form of compensation

B: religion uniting people

C: religion reinforcing the position of the rich

D: religion as a form of control

Literacy Skills Development: Paragraph style and Application

June 2011

Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that religion is a force for social change. (18 marks)

Extracts from marks scheme

• knowledge will be broader and/or deeper and more conceptually detailed and answers will show an understanding of a range of sociological material on the relationship between religion and social change.

• May include concepts such as social solidarity; anomie; status quo; false class consciousness; oppression; ideology; emotional stability; etc.

• Sources may include Durkheim, Malinowski, Parsons, Marx, Budd; etc

Task:

In pairs, match the sentences to the points in the chart (just write the number into the chart).

Then organise them into a sequence that flows clearly.

But….can religion cause social change rather than being a

conservative force?

Who is this?

What did he do?

Why?

Does the case of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr back up the Functionalist or Marxist theory of the role of religion?

How religion can encourage social change…

Task

Study the source provided and consider:

• What religion is involved?• How it has/could lead to change in society?

Feedback

Case study Details Religion and change?

9/11

Liberation Theology

Methodism and Labour

Iranian Revolution (1979)

Plenary

Please fill out the ‘Exit Card’ on your desk.

Be prepared to pair/share