Week 2: Religion Michaelmas 2019 Dr Anna Krausova Introduction - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Political Sociology Week 2: Religion Michaelmas 2019 Dr Anna Krausova Introduction Political Sociology Various ways to approach the intersection between political science and sociology The study of religion an excellent example
and sociology
particularly change “A society is to its members what a god is to its faithful… Precisely because society has its own specific nature that is different from our nature as individuals it pursues ends that are also specifically its own; but because it can achieve those ends only by working through us, it categorically demands our cooperation. Society requires us to make ourselves its servants, forgetful
false consciousness and alienation yet understanding religion crucial for understanding social conditions from which it emerges historical materialism
reformation in Western Europe? “Man makes religion, religion does not make man…. The wretchedness of religion is at once an expression of and a protest against real wretchedness. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of the heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people” (Marx, 1844 [1970], p.131)
One of the fundamental elements of the spirit of modern capitalism, and not only of that but of all modern culture: rational conduct on the basis of the idea of the calling, was born—that is what this discussion has sought to demonstrate— from the spirit of Christian asceticism. ” (Weber, 1905[2010]: 122-3)
an end in its own right, to prove ‘predestination’) Individuals with values adopt certain kind of economic behaviour helps bring about capitalist economy
“A person’s religious identity inevitably shapes his or her values and political positions. The relationship between religion and parties arises from a centuries-old interplay of these two forces.” (Dalton, Citizen Politics, 2014)
Protestant-Catholic wars of religion)
by religion “Decreasingly able to mobilize support and form coalitions on the basis of ideology, governments and groups will increasingly attempt to mobilize support by appealing to common religion and civilization identity.” (Huntington, Clash of Civilizations, 1993)
“system of beliefs and practices based on belief in, or acknowledgement of, some superhuman power or powers” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2009)
Jews, Catholics) & vice versa (e.g. Church of England)
be?
Three dimensions (Dobbelare, 1981)
economic and physical security are weakest
Question: What is your religion?
marriages, etc.) disputed
(predictability, protection against risk) in US
democratization
It is the association with political elite, rather than religion, that lead to rejection
Forces, 2012)
predecessors in Central Eastern Europe
repression of religion
in East, despite secularisation in W Europe
in East, but least in W Europe
“Not only did we find that the state played a crucial role in the disestablishment of religion in Eastern Europe. It also is one of the driving forces of its re-establishment after 1990.” Muller and Neundorf , 2012, p.577)
However, could also be other way round: state follows changing public opinion?
arguments (Northmore-Bell & Evans, 2016)
What evidence would we look for to evaluate secularisation as
What evidence would we look for to evaluate secularisation as opposed to revival argument?
wealthy/economically secure residents
“Proponents of both the secularization and revival arguments note cross-national variation that does not fit with either over-arching approach, but neither argument can explain the variation in a systematic manner; a large number of countries are dismissed as exceptions” (p.33)
religiosity revived in Orthodox countries but remained steady in Catholic countries
affiliation
open adherents only returning now
affiliation/attendance (as secularisation would predict)
liberalism liberal democracy
in Protestant countries?
and non-Islamic regions with Arab states especially unlikely to be democratic
Islamic democracy (March, 2015)
law associated with economic communitarianism (state economic intervention)
elections due to reputation for good governance built up in opposition to autocratic regimes (Cammett and Luong, 2014)
for democracy not noticeably lower in the Muslim world
(2011): Beliefs and behaviour counteracting
democracy (WVS data)
behaviour can increase support
democractic, among Muslims both more belief and behaviour associated with less support for democracy
main social bases of parties in the Western world today
divides co-exist (e.g. Belgium, Canada, S. Africa and Switzerland) (Lijphart, 1979)
Parliament Elections (van der Brug et al., 2009)
greater where more religious diversity
denominational and religiosity effects on voting modest
declining loyalty among Christians as a whole, and declining numbers of church goers (Best, 2011)
Brooks et al, 2006
2014)
differences between religions
parents to children: socialisation
party choice unless accompanied by church attendance
denominational effects in Britain can depend on belief & class identity
weaker among stronger believers & working class
& there are relatively few material inequalities clearly attributable to religious identity & the state operates on largely secular principles
(Lipset and Rokkan, 1967) or simply that moral values matter in politics
(note that Muslim countries not generally more violence-prone (Gleditsch and Rudolfsen, 2016))
replacement? (2019)
2017)
denomination in Western democracies? (PPE 2010)
SAGE.
Central Eastern Europe.” Social Forces 91(2): 559–82
institutional resilience, state repression and divergent paths." Social Science Research 57: 31-48.
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The lecture slides build on previous lecture material by Professor Stephen Fisher