SOCI 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Omnipotence, Secularism, Symbolic Interactionism

• School: York University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOCI 1010
• Professor: Deborah Brock

Document Summary

Provides a lense for understanding religions as sets of social beliefs and practices, and not simply as spiritual matters. Provides a way to understand how groups of people create, live, and reproduce religious beliefs. Advances our understanding of religion as a key social institution (regardless of individual beliefs n practices) Provides a perspective through which to study religions comparatively, historically and cross culturally. Allows us to study the role of religion in social change, social control and social justice. The organization of beliefs about the supernatural or spiritual worlds, and the associated formation of people into communities of believers. Religion contain rituals, ceremonies and practices specific to their faith. Objective evidence is not necessary to substantiate the claims of religious faiths. Animism: the belief that spirits or supernatural beings are present in nature, in both living beings and inanimate objects. Polytheism: the belief that there are numerous gods or supernatural beings in existence.