SOC313H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Fundamentalism, Embeddedness, Homophily
Document Summary
Religion is a complex phenomenon for sociologists to study. Much of the complexity stems from what aspects of religion we choose to emphasize. 2 definitions of religion: substantive definitions: what religion is (its formal qualities, functional definitions: what religion does. We can further distinguish b/w: organized religion: a set of social institutions, groups, buildings, and resources, spirituality: a set of beliefs that, though shared, may not be enacted in the presence of other people. Intrinsic religiousness: the importance an individual gives to the personal meaning of religion. Extrinsic religiousness: consists of involvement in religion whereby individuals find comfort in social connections and social networks based out of their religion. For social control to have an effect, it must have a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness. Religion expresses a collective consciousness: a shared sentiment and a shared way of understanding the world; has power to control people.
