W5.1 April 1 (Mon) Chaebhin Jeong정채빈
1. 1. Summary: Émile Durkheim argued that, unlike everyday social elements, sacred things constitute religion. For example, in Judaism, the Torah is a sacred entity, but to ordinary people it is just a toy. If national monuments related to nationalism are considered sacred, it too can become a religion.
Social scientists define religion as an attempt to answer existential questions or as a group's collective beliefs and rituals related to the supernatural.
With regard to religion, the church's basic goal is to spread religious beliefs, but it is generally tied to the political and economic structures of society.
A denomination is a similar concept to a church, but it becomes a denomination when a church loses its religious monopoly in society. In other words, the interaction between the state and secular power increases. A sect is a religious group that generally criticizes the liberal tendencies of a denomination and advocates its return as a true religion.
The structural functions of religion include enhancing social cohesion, enabling social control, and providing meaning and purpose. According to Marx, religion plays an important role in maintaining the current state of society. It is explained that the function of maintenance exists because it provides a world view that can suppress or resolve social conflicts.
2. What was interesting/what did you learn:
1. Fear is defined as a factor in religious conversion. One of the motivations for people to pursue religion is fear of the unknown. If there had been no religion, people would have been anxious about the world after death and had difficulty establishing the meaning of life. I don't believe in religion, but I'm not negative about death. This is because of the perception that there will be another world after death. Through media such as movies and dramas, the fantasy of a world after death has gradually begun to be regarded as a general concept, and it is thought that this religious influence is responsible for not viewing death too negatively.
2. Various gaps appeared based on religion, including gender, education, race, class, and health. In particular, I thought about the connection between faith and education, and it struck me that all of my high-ranking friends in high school were religious.
3. Discussion Point:
-In the case of certain religions, there are cases where the scope of an individual's behavior is regulated based on gender. Should restricting an individual's behavior and depriving him or her of freedom be considered and respected as a part of religion?
-Some people are exposed to a specific religion from a young age and come into contact with it regardless of their will due to the influence of their parents. Do you think that exposure to religion and developing beliefs before one's ego is created is the right way to educate?
1. Believing in religion is an individual’s freedom, not coercion. In the case of religion, the consciousness and beliefs of the group are invested, certain sanctions or recommendations are made, and individual actions are often restricted in the process. I think it is up to the individual who believes in that religion to respect or follow that religion.
ReplyDelete2. I believe it is dangerous to expose people to religion before their egos are formed. Because exposure to and belief in religion influences career choices and basic knowledge levels, it is important for society to prevent families from being exposed to and believing in religion at too young an age, and to designate a specific age or level of knowledge for that to occur. It takes effort. We need to expose children to religion at a higher level.