Religion Short Answer Questions

Directions: Please answer the following questions in complete sentences and provide examples
when asked.

1. How are sociologists able to study religion if they are supposed to be using science?
Provide an example.
Sociologists study how the world and its people work as they pertain to religion,
instead of questioning why or which religion is right. For example, sociologists
study the three theoretical perspectives, letting them look at things like how
religion can create, or be impacted by, conflict.
2. Please identify and explain a function of religion.
One function of religion is to teach the moral path.
3. What are the four kinds of religious organizations?
a. Church
b. Denomination
c. Cult
d. Sect
4. What type of membership do religious organizations have? Explain why it fits into that
category. (Check back through your notes/the slideshows!)
Religious organizations have a voluntary membership. They are made up of
people who share similar beliefs, who want to be there, and it comes with an
intangible benefit: the connection to a higher power and moral correctness.
5. Please explain and identify an example of each theoretical perspective. (Page 473 has a
chart.)
a. Functionalist
The belief that society is a set of parts that all work together to create the
social system. For example, religion promotes good morals and unity,
which can be used for the betterment of the human experience.
b. Conflict Theory
A focus on the effects of conflict, competition, and constraint within
society. For example, Christianity was built on the teachings of a man who
led an oppressed people, and died for the sins of others.
c. Symbolic Interactionism
The use of mutually understood symbols to communicate. For example,
each religion has a symbol, like the cross for Christianity, or the crescent
moon and star for Islam. These symbols are venerated by practitioners of
the religions, and can be used to identify each other in everyday society.