SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Christian Symbolism, New Religious Movement, Collective Effervescence
16 Oct 2011
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Document Summary
Religion: a set of organized beliefs about the supernatural or spiritual world and its associated ceremonies that guide peoples behaviour. One of the key concepts of religion is faith. Faith: a belief system based on conviction that does not require objective evidence to substantiate its claims (faith that god exists without first-hand evidence to support the claim). Emile durkheims the elementary forms of religious life is the defining analysis of religion from a functionalist perspective. He asserts that all religions originate in society which creates religion by separating the world into the profane and the sacred. Elements of the everyday world that do not inspire or motivate. Sacred: encompasses those things that we set apart, ritualize and at time have deep emotional connections to. (wine for catholics) sacred originates within members of society who collectively assign special meanings to certain objects or rituals. Totem: an object that has special significance and meaning for a group of believers.
