SOC 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Sun Myung Moon, Nontheistic Religions, John Calvin

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1101
• Professor: Halyna Mokrushyna

Document Summary

Religion: system of beliefs, symbols, and rituals, based on some sacred or supernatural realm, that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a community. Faith: unquestioning belief that does not require proof or scientific evidence. Sacred: term used to describe those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural. Profane: term used for the everyday, secular, or worldly aspects of life. Durkheim: religion is essential to the maintenance of society found in all societies because it met basic human needs and served important societal functions. Central feature of all religions is the presence of sacred beliefs and rituals that bind people together in a collectively. 3 important function: providing meaning and purpose to life, promoting social cohesion and sense of belonging, providing social control and support for the govt. Protestant reformation (especially calvinism) provided a religious ethnic that served as one factor in the development of capitalism.