by John Amy | Mar 18, 2014 | Theories of Religion
This is an extended version of the Activity one on page 9 of the book. Read the following description and answer the questions that follow: The congregation all assemble at a pre-ordained time. All watch and listen attentively and most wear symbols identifying their...
by John Amy | Mar 18, 2014 | Theories of Religion
Read the examples of the Trobriand Islanders, as described by Malinowski, and the Australian aborigines, as described by Durkheim. Discuss with another student how far these examples are relevant for an understanding of religion in our own contemporary...
by John Amy | Mar 18, 2014 | Theories of Religion
Marx identifies two aspects of the role of religion: It ‘cushions oppression’, by making people feel better about their oppressed situation. It acts as an ‘instrument of oppression’, by keeping people ‘in their place’. Read the section on Marx (pages 12 to 13),...
by John Amy | Mar 18, 2014 | Theories of Religion
Read the article below and, as a group, discuss (i) how such laws might be seen as an extreme form of patriarchy (ii) how the daily life of a typical teenage girl in the UK would be different under such rules? What would her daily life consist of? Carry out some...
by John Amy | Mar 18, 2014 | Theories of Religion
False (substantive definitions of religion are exclusive). Durkheim sees sacred things as set apart, special and forbidden; profane things are seen as everyday and ordinary. According to Durkheim and Mauss, religion is the original source of categories of thought,...
