SOC101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Great Mosque Of Mecca, Pope Francis, Protestant Work Ethic
Document Summary
Offered answers to most of life"s questions (true/false, right/wrong) Religious beliefs so common that most societies had no word for religion. Infused every aspect of human social life with meaning (birth, death, rites of passages) Means different things no consensus on definitions. From text, religions are a system of meaning for interpreting the world that has a supernatural referent. Substantive definitions focus on what religion is: to be religious is to believe in something, to be religious entails actions, to be religious involves emotions, religion is a social phenomenon. Functional definitions focus on what religion does: provides meaning and purpose to life, promotes social unity and a sense of belonging, provides social control. Many definitions attempt to combine both, such as emile durkheim: religion as a system of beliefs, symbols, rituals, based on some sacred or supernatural realm, that guides human behaviour, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a community. Religious beliefs vary in content and intensity.
