SOC103H1 Final: SI; CHPT 13 CHURCHES AND RELIGION TEXT AND LECTURE STUDY NOTES.doc
Document Summary
Social institutions chapter 13 study notes - religions. Religion: any system of beliefs about the supernatural, and the social groups that gath- er around these beliefs. New religious movements (nrms): groups and institutions comprising people who share similar religious or spiritual views about the world but who are not part of main- stream religious institutions. Church: any social location or building--church, mosque, synagogue, or temple-- where people carry out religious rituals. Seekers: people and groups who draw on the teachings of several religions and philosophies to fulfill their needs for spirituality. Secularization: a steadily dwindling influence of formal (institutional) religion in public life. Civil religion: an organized secular practice that serves many of the same social func- tions as traditional religion, by giving people direction, explaining how the world works, and providing solidarity. Sociologists do not assume the real existence of a god or gods. Substantive; definitions focus on what religion is.
