Module: Society as an Objective Reality

At the end of this module the student shoud be able to:

1. Explain how society and its institutions shape individuals

2. Describe the construction of society through the hidden rules of society

Concept of Society
In order to concretize society mainstream sociologists have tended to define it as structure that is a
recognizable network of inter-relating institutions.
The word recognizable is crucial in its context because it suggests that the way in which societies differ from
one another depends on the manner in which their particular institutions are inter-connected. The notion that
societies are structured depends upon their reproduction over time. In this respect the term institution is
crucial. To speak of institutionalized forms of social conduct is to refer to modes of belief and behaviors that
occur and recur are socially reproduced. While we may subscribe to the arguments that society is both
structured and reproduced the Marxist account attempts to provide us with a basis for understanding how
particular social formations arise and correspond with particular mode of production. Society is not a static
or peace-fully evolving structure but is conceived of as the tentative solution to the conflicts arising out of
antagonistic social relations of production. Frequently social scientists emphasize the cultural aspect of social
relationships. In doing so they see society as being made possible by the shared understanding of its
members. Because human beings exist in a linguistic and symbolic universe that they themselves have
constructed the temptation is to construe society as a highly complex symbolic and communication system.
This stress on culture is associated with the notion that society is underpinned by ideas and values. Society is
a process in which people continuously interact with one another, the key terms are negotiation, self, other,
reflexivity the implication being that society is constituted and reconstituted in social interaction. Society is
not imposed upon people in the proce ssual definition rather it has to be accepted and confirmed by
participants. Each interaction episode contains within it the possibility of innovation and change. So against
the view of society that sees it as structure the process view assert that people make structure.

Definitions of Society
August Comte the father of sociology saw society as a social organism possessing a harmony of structure
and function. Emile Durkheim the founding father of the modern sociology treated society as a reality in its
own right.
According to Talcott Parsons Society is a total complex of human relationships in so far as they grow out
of the action in terms of means-end relationship intrinsic or symbolic.
G.H Mead conceived society as an exchange of gestures which involves the use of symbols.
Morris Ginsberg defines society as a collection of individuals united by certain relations or mode of behavior
which mark them off from others who do not enter into these relations or who differ from them in behavior.
Cole sees Society as the complex of organized associations and institutions with a community.
According to Maclver and Page society is a system of usages and procedures of authority and mutual aid of
many groupings and divisions, of controls of human behavior and liberties. This ever changing complex
system which is called society is a web of social relationships.

Social Reproduction or How Societies Persist

If one defines society as “organization of groups that is relatively self- contained,” then the next question is
how societies manage to exist and persist across time and space. The problem of explaining how societies
manage to exist over a long period of time is called reproduction by Louis Althusser. No society can edure
over time if it does not support its very own reproduction. To do this all societies require the creation of
institutions to perpetuate the existence of the society.

Two types of institution that reproduce the condition of social life:

Ideological State Apparatuses – are institutions that are and used by society to mold its members to share the
same values and beliefs that a typical member of the society possess.

Repressive state apparatuses – refer to those coercive institutions that use physical force to make the
members conform the laws and norms society like courts, police and prisons.

From a structural functionalist perspective, social reproduction is carried out through four functional
prerequisites as elaborated by the American sociologist, Talcot Parsons.
What distinguishes the ISAs from the (Repressive) State Apparatus is the following basic difference: the
Repressive State Apparatus functions ‘by violence’, whereas the Ideological State
Apparatuses function ‘by ideology’.
I can clarify matters by correcting this distinction. I shall say rather that every State Apparatus, whether
Repressive or Ideological, ‘functions’ both by violence and by ideology, but with one very important
distinction which makes it imperative not to confuse the Ideological State Apparatuses with the (Repressive)
State Apparatus.
This is the fact that the (Repressive) State Apparatus functions massively and predominantly by repression
(including physical repression), while functioning secondarily by ideology. (There is no such thing as a
purely repressive apparatus.) For example, the Army and the Police also function by ideology both to ensure
their own cohesion and reproduction, and in the ‘values’ they propound externally.
In the same way, but inversely, it is essential to say that for their part the Ideological State Apparatuses
function massively and predominantly by ideology , but they also function secondarily by repression, even if
ultimately, but only ultimately, this is very attenuated and concealed, even symbolic. (There is no such thing
as a purely ideological apparatus.) Thus Schools and Churches use suitable methods of punishment,
expulsion, selection, etc., to ‘discipline’ not only their shepherds, but also their flock s. The same is true of
the Family The same is true of the cultural IS Apparatus (censorship, among other
things), etc.

A-DAPTATION
Organism
G-OAL ATTAINMENT
Personality
I-NTEGRATION
Society
L-ATENCY
Culture
Adaptation- is the capacity of society to take resources from society and distribute them accordingly. This
function is carried out by the economy which includes gathering resources and producing commodities to
social redistribution.

Goal Attainment- is the capacity to set goals and mobilize the resources and energies necessary to achieve
the goals set forth by society. This is set by the political subsystem. Political resolutions and societal
objectives are part of this necessity.

Integration- or harmonization of the entire society to achieve consensus. Parsons meant, the coordination,
adjustment and regulation of the rest of the subsystem so that society will continue to function smoothly. It is
a demand that the values and norms of society are solid and sufficiently convergent.
The strength of reproduction theory is also its weakness. It fails to explain how people do not simply
reproduce the very social conditions that they are born with, but they also possess the power of agency. One
can be born slave in a slave society, but it does not mean that being born a slave, one has no power and
opportunities to ameliorate and change the conditions of one’s birth. People can also change the social
structures that they themselves created. For if societies simply reproduce their own existence, then no radical
change is forthcoming.

Evaluation
Write an analysis of your family using Parson’s AGIL scheme. How does your family mobilize resources,
set goals, integrate, and maintain intimacy among members. Who do you think acts as government in your
family? How about the economy?
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: The Family Today: Declining or Changing?
At the end of this module the student can:
- Explain the function of the family
- Define kinship, marriage and household
- Enumerate and explain the different forms of kinship by blood, kinship by marriage and kinship by rituals
- Discuss the different types of families
- Summarize recent changes in the family as an institution

Motivation:
What is your own idea of a family? Draw a picture or make a sketch that matches your definition. In your
drawing, be sure that you specify the members and the gender of the parents. Compare your work with your
classmates’ own drawing or sketches.

Kinship is one of the main organizing principles of society. It is one of the basic social institutions
found in every society. This institution establishes relationships between individuals and groups. People in
all societies are bound together by various kinds of bonds.

The most basic bonds are those based on marriage and reproduction. Kinship refers to these bonds,
and all other relationships resulting from them. Thus, the institution of kinship refers to a set of relationships
and relatives formed thereof, based on blood relationships (consanguineal), or marriage (affinal).

Types of Kinship

Kinship by blood
Consanguineal kinship or kinship based on blood is considered as the most basic and general form
of relations. This relationship achieved by birth or blood affinity.

Descent refers to a biological relationship. Societies recognize that children descend from parents
and that there exists a biological relationship between parents and offspring.

Descent groups can be of two types:

Unilineal Descent is a system of determining descent groups in which one belongs to one's father's or
mother's line, whereby one's descent is traced either exclusively through male ancestors (patrilineal descent),
or exclusively through female ancestors (matrilineal descent).

Ambilineal Descent some societies trace their descent through the study of both parent’s ancestors.
In a bilateral descent, kinship is traced through both ancestral lines of the mother and father.

Kinship by Marriage
Affinal Kinship refers to type of relations developed when marriage occurs. When marriage takes
place new forms of social relations are developed.

Marriage is an important social institution wherein two persons, enter into family life. During this
process, the partners make a public, official and permanent declaration of their union as lifetime couples.
Marriage is at the center of the kinship system. Marriage creates alliances and “fictive kinship”
among members of clans and tribes.

Endogamy and Exogamy

Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting
others on such a basis as being unsuitable for marriage or for other close personal relationships. Exogamy is
the custom of marrying outside a community, clan, or tribe. It is the practice of marrying outside one’s
group, which is common in modern societies. Rules of exogamy create links between groups, while rules of
endogamy preserve separateness and exclusivity and are means of maintaining boundaries between one
group and other groups.

Monogamy and Polygamy Marriages

Monogamy refers to the marriage of sexual partnering practice where the individual has only one
male of female partner or mate. In modern societies, monogamy is often associated with romantic love,
where one marries out of love. Many young people today believe that people should marry out of free will
and not based on forced choices or simply due to traditional requirements. Such a strong belief is often
coupled with the assertion that one has to assert one’s choice even if it could cost huge sacrifices. Romantic
love that is glamorized in television, movies, soap operas, and novels is a modern phenomenon. Despite the
subjective sensation of lovers that their love is timeless and boundless, it is nonetheless true that romantic
love has a past and exists within a particular cultural context.

Polygamy refers to the practice of having more than one partner or sexual mate. It can be polygyny
(a man has multiple partner) or polyandry (a woman has multiple mate). If marriage includes multiple
husbands and wives, it can be called group or conjoint marriage. In the case of Jacob in old testament, a man
marries several sisters. This practice is known as sororal polygyny.

While many people think that monogamy is natural, it is also true that many societies, such as the
Mormons and the Muslims, practice polygamy.

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Family and the Household

The family is considered the basic unit of social organization. It is made up of group of individuals
who are linked together by marriage, blood relations, or adoption.
The best way to look for the definition of “family” is to look at the government census definition. For
example, the Census Bureau of Canada defines the family:
Census family refers to a married couple and the children, if any, of either or both spouses; a couple
living common law and the children, if any, of either or both partners; or, a lone parent of any marital status
with at least one child living in the same dwelling and that child or those children. All members of a
particular census family live in the same dwelling. A couple may be of opposite or same sex. Children may
be children by birth, marriage or adoption regardless of their age or marital status as long as they live in
the dwelling and do not have their own spouse or child living in the dwelling. Grandchildren living with
their grandparent(s) but with no parents present also constitute a census family.

(Source: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/concepts/definitions/c-r-fam-eng.htm, accessed August 11, 2014)

The United Nations (UN) uses the term nucleus family:

A family nucleus is of one of the following types (each of which must consist of persons living in the
same household):

a. A married couple without children,

b. A married couple with one or more unmarried children,
c. A father with one or more unmarried children or
d. A mother with one or more unmarried children.
Couples living in consensual unions should be regarded as married couples.

(Source:http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/fam/fammethods.htm#A3, accessed June 4, 2014)

Common in these definitions are the following elements: the biological component (with a child,
married), the functional component (takes care of the children and provides economic support), and the
residential component (living under one household or common residence).
Whether the family is universal, whether it has existed from the beginning in all forms of societies,
will depend on the definition of the family. But Friedrich Engels, who wrote The Origin of the Family,
Private Property and the State (1884), is right to argue that families do evolve in relation to the material and
economic conditions of societies. Families have never been static all throughout human evolution.
All definitions of the family will have to address three components: residential, biological, and
functional roles. If one defines the family simply as the nuclear family, meaning two adult couples with
children, then this can be challenged immediately by the case of kibbutz in Israel and the Nayar in India. If
one defines the family as taking care of the children, then it can be shown that in many societies,
socialization is carried by kinship groups and not the nuclear family. Another challenge to the nuclear
definition of the family is the emerging single-parent households, gay couples living together, and overseas
families whose members do not live regularly with the family. These examples may not contradict and
discredit the definition of the family, but they challenge the nature and functions of the family.
The family as a basic unit of society performs several important functions or roles for society:
(1) for biological reproduction;
(2) as the primary agent of socialization of children;
(3) as the institution for economic cooperation through division of labor; and
(4) to care for and nurture children to become responsible adults.
Types of Families
The nuclear family is the most basic family form ad is made up of a married couple and their
biological or adopted children. The nuclear family is found in all societies, and it is from this form that all
other types of family forms are derived.
Extended families are families that include the other members of the kinship group such as your
uncles, grandparents, and cousins. Around the world especially in more developed societies, there is the
process called nuclearization of the families (Kumar 2011), this process refers to the growing predominance
of nuclear families over extended families.

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The Problem of Defining the Family

Traditional definitions Filipinos are family-oriented. The anak-magulang complex and the kamag-anak
relationship are very important to Filipinos. Ama (father), ina (mother), and anak (children) are c ulturally
and emotionally significant to us Filipinos who treasure filial attachment not only to our immediate family
but also to our extended family (tiya and tiyuhin, inaanak, lolo, at lola). This family centeredness supplies a
basic sense of belonging, stability, and security. It is from our families that we Filipinos naturally draw our
sense of self-identity.

This traditional view of the family leads many people to think that the family is an indispensable unit or
institution of society. Today, however, many experts who study the family raise doubts about its future.
Consider the following statistics:

- Declining marriage rate and increasing rate of cohabitation There were 476,408 marriages registered in
2011, down by 1.3 percent from 482,480 recorded in 2010, the NSO said in a report posted on its website,
adding that the number of registered marriages has been declining since
2009.
(Source: http:// www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/03/28/924859/fewer-pinoys-gettingmarried, accessed
August 19, 2014)

- Increasing annulment rate in the Philippines The number of marriage annulment cases in the Philippines
has risen by 40 percent in the last decade with at least 22 cases filed every day, according to a report by the
Catholic bishops’ news agency. Citing data from the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), CBCP News
said the number of annulment cases had risen from 4,520 in 2001 to 8,282 in 2010.

- Increasing number of cases of domestic violence The 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey
(NDHS) conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed that one in five women aged 15 – 49 has
experienced physical violence since age 15; 14.4 percent of married women have experienced physical
abuse from their husbands; and more than one-third (37%) of separated o r widowed women have
experienced physical violence, implying that domestic violence could be the reason for separation or
annulment.

Cohabitants are couples who share common residence with a child, just like nuclear family but
without the benefit of marriage.
Annulment is a judicial statement that THERE NEVER WAS A MARRIAGE between the man and
the woman. It is the cancellation of marriage from the date of its formation
Religion and the Search for Ultimate Meaning

At the end of this module, the students are expected to:

- discuss the significant role of religion in society;
- distinguish religion from other social institutions;
- define and explain the meaning of religion;
- explain the various religious groups;
- connect contemporary religious movements with globalization; and –
- conduct participant observation (e.g., attend, describe, and reflect on a religious ritual of a different group).

The Nature of Religion and Its Meaning

The English word religion is from the Latin verb religare, which means “to tie” or “to bind fast.” Religion is
a powerful institution that connects human beings, both as individuals and collectively, to a transcendent
reality. A scholar studying the importance of religion in world history and in the evolution of humanity
observes, “The evidence proves that since the remote past religion has been a part of our mental and
emotional make-up. Even nonbelievers usually agree that the term homo religiosus [religious man] aptly
describes the human experience. Men and women by their nature are religious, and efforts to eliminate
religion, as many social and political movements have done since the eighteenth century, come up short.
Religion has a pervasive effect and influence on the development of humanity, society, culture, and the
individual. However, many scholars in the early 20th c entury predicted the demise of religion as a social
phenomenon because of the advancement in science and the unprecedented advancement in technology. As
people rely more and more on scientific reason and method to explain natural events and so-called miracles,
supernatural occurrences, and mysteries, many c ritics of religion such as Sigmund Freud, the founder of
psychoanalysis, and Karl Marx, the father of scientific socialism, believed that religion will gradually
disappear. This view is called secularization (from the Latin word saeculum, which means “worldly”).
Surprisingly, in the 21st century, religion seems to have grown stronger, with no sign of abetting. Headlines
in both local and international scenes contain news about religious issues. Hence, one scholar on religious
studies boldly concludes, “The fact is that atheism and rationalism no longer constitute (if they ever really
did) the major challenge to Christian theology today. That challenge comes not from the death of God but
from the “rebirth of the gods” (and the goddesses!)” (Cox 2000, p. 9).

Some social scientists prefer a functional definition of religion that does not necessarily refer to the belief in
a supernatural being (god or force). In the functional definition, religion is anything that provides an
individual with the ultimate meaning that organizes his/her entire life and worldview. A classic statement of
this definition is given by the American scholar of religion, Milton Yinger, who defines religion as “a system
of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggles with the ultimate problems of human
life” (Yinger 1970, p. 7). In this definition, religion may also include humanism, individualism, nationalism,
and even socialism. Peter L. Berger (1973), a pioneer in sociology of religion in the United States, singles
out the problem of legitimation as a primary function of religion:

Religion legitimates social institutions by bestowing upon them an ultimately valid ontological status, that is,
by locating them within a sacred and cosmic frame of reference. The historical constructions of human
activity are viewed from a vantage point that, in its own self-definition, transcends both history and man (p.
43).

In this view, religion provides the ultimate basis for social order. The separation between the sacred and the
profane or the unholy, for instance, is a reflection of the order of the cosmos. Religious myths designate and
consecrate certain spaces as sacred. Hence, holy places are considered as places for worship and for
connecting with the divine such as churches and burial grounds.

Berger further adds that religion provides an all-encompassing explanation for the negative experiences in
this world. For Berger, religion “maintains the socially defined reality by legitimating marginal situations
[i.e., sufferings, pains, and miseries] in terms of an allencompassing sacred reality. This permits the
individual who goes through these situations to continue to exist in the world of his [sic] society—not ‘as if
nothing had happened,’ which is psychologically difficult in the more extreme marginal situations, but in the
‘knowledge’ that even these events or experiences have a place within a universe that makes sense” (p. 52).

Types of Religious Organizations

Religion is necessarily social. Beliefs and rituals are usually shared by people belonging to a definite
religious community. While an individual may opt not to belong to or affiliate with an established religion or
religious tradition, that person is still religious and belongs to an individualistic or spiritualistic interpretation
of religion. In the age of global capitalism, more and more people tend to retreat into their own private world
and create their own individualized religion. But they do not create it from scratch. They also borrow and
pick from various religious traditions in the marke t of religion. Even the practicing New Age believers who
have their own distinctive personal beliefs are influenced by non- Western religious traditions such as
Buddhism, Hinduism, and other beliefs. These people are called unchurched believers. Those who belong to
organized religious groups may belong to any of the following (Furseth 2006, pp. 137ff):

Church
The church is a religious organization that claims to possess the truth about salvation exclusively. A classic
example is the Roman Catholic Church. The church includes everybody or virtually everybody in a society.
Membership is by childbirth: new generations are born into the church and are formally inducted through
baptism. The church adapts to some extent to the fact that it must embrace everyone. Unlike the sect, the
church tends to be oriented toward compromises with the prevailing culture and the political sphere. Hence,
the church is relatively moderate in its demands on its members.

In the Philippines, the National Statistics Office estimates the Roman Catholics at about 7 4,211,896 in 2014
(http://web0.psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/2014%20PIF.pdf, accessed September 10, 2014). Being the largest
religious organization in the country, it is a very powerful institution as attested by the recent controversy
regarding the reproductive health bill.

Sect
The sect also perceives itself as a unique owner of the truth. However, it constitutes a minority in a given
society. Recruitment takes place through conscious individual choice. A good example is the resurgence of
“born again” Christianity that recruits members by asking them to accept Jesus Christ in their lives. Once an
individual has joined, the sect requires a high level of commitment and activity. Members are expected to
support the teachings of the sect and to comply with its lifestyle, which may be strict and ascetic. Life as a
sect member constitutes a major contrast to the lives of people in society. Therefore, the sect and the larger
society may harbor mutual suspicions toward each other. Sects tend to depict society as a place full of
dangers and moral and religious decay. Sects often are breakaway groups from the mainstream churches.

An example of sect in the Philippines is the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC, or Church of Christ) that has 2,251,941
members in 2014. The INC was established in 1914 by Felix Manalo, who served as the first executive
minister. As a sect, the Iglesia ni Cristo believes itself to be the one true universal church. It preaches that all
other Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, are apostates

Denomination
In contrast to the church and sect, the denomination is oriented toward cooperation, at least as it relates to
other similar denominations. People join through individual and voluntary choice, although the most
important form of recruitment in established denominations takes place through childbirth. The demands for
activity and compliance are moderate, and there is a relatively harmonious mutual relationship between the
denomination and the larger society. The liberal branches of Protestant groups belong to this category.

In the Philippines, the religious groups affiliated with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines
(NCCP) are usually tolerant of other forms of religious organizations. The NCCP, founded in 1963, is
composed of ten mainline Protestant and non-Non-Catholic denominations, and ten service-oriented
organizations in the Philippines. It is a member of the World Council of Churches and the Christian
Conference of Asia. These groups usually maintain dialogues and cooperative programs with other religious
groups (http:// nccphilippines.org/about-us/, accessed August 7, 2014).

Cult
The concept of another form of religious organization, the cult, was introduced in 1932 by sociologist
Howard Becker. After reviewing the literature on cults, Gerry Lanuza (1999) provides a comprehensive
definition of a cult: “a non-traditional form of religion, the doctrine of which is taken from diverse sources,
either from non-traditional sources or local narratives or an amalgamation of both, whose members constitute
either a loosely knit group or an exclusive group, which emphasizes the belief in the divine element within
the individual, and whose teachings are derived from e ither a real or legendary figure, the purpose of which
is to aid the individual in the full realization of his or her spiritual powers and/or union with the Divine” (p.
494). The label cult is often attached to a religious group that society considers as deviant or non-traditional.
Hence, the term cult is often used in a negative way.
Cults are often considered as deviant groups within society. In the 1960s, when a series of unusual religious
groups emerged to challenge the dominant religious institutions, the members were considered as cultists.
They were considered as “brainwashed” by their religious organizations. “Brainwashing” means that cult
members were forced to believe in the doctrine of the group by force. Cults include the Moonies of the
Unification Church, the Hare Krishna of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the
Church of Scientology, and the People of Jonestown (with its 911 deaths in the jungles of British Guyana in
1978), Heavens Gate, Scientology, Dianetics, and others (see Demerath III, 2003, p. 22).
Religion in the Age of Globalization

Secularization thesis reconsidered Peter L. Berger (1999) briefly summarized the thesis of secularism:
“Modernization necessarily leads to ‘a decline of religion,’ both in society and in the minds of individuals”
(p. 2). Modernization drastically replaces tradition with science-based knowledge. And as science
dominates the entire cognitive fabric of society, it pushes the split between religion and other institutions.
Religion is reduced to just one of the many sources of ultimate meaning. Religion declines because the
previously accepted religious symbols, doctrines, and institutions lose their prestige and significance,
culminating in a society without religion. Hence, religious belief system weakens its hold on society. To
have a “secular mind” means that one believes that this world is all there is to reality. There is no heaven, no
afterlife of any kind, and no Messiah (Ledewitz 2009, p. 1).

This definition is well-expressed in the statement of Richard Dawkins, a contemporary biologist who wrote
several books criticizing religion:
This brings me to the aspect of humanism that resonates most harmoniously for me. We are on our own in
the universe. Humanity can expect no help from outside, so our help, such as it is, must come from our own
resources.

As individuals we should make the most of the short t ime we have, for it is a privilege to be here. We should
seize the opportunity presented by our good fortune and fill our brief minds, before we die, with
understanding of why, and where, we exist. (Source: Free Inquiry 18,
no. 1 (Winter 1997):18.)

Or, in the statement of Edward Wilson, a pioneer in the study of sociobiology, who himself grew up as a
believer: I was raised a Southern Baptist in a religious environment that favored a literal interpretation of the
Bible. But it happened that I also became fascinated by natural history at an early age, and, as a biology
concentrator at the University of Alabama, discovered evolution…I realized that something was terribly
wrong in this dissonance. The God depicted in Holy Scripture is variously benevolent, didactic loving, angry,
and vengeful, but never tricky. As time passed, I learned that scientific materialism explains vastly more of
the tangible world, physical and biological, in pre cise and useful detail, than the Iron Age theology and
mysticism bequeathed us by the modern great religions ever dreamed. It offers an epic view of the origin and
meaning of humanity far greater, and I believe more noble, than conceived by all the prophets of old
combined. Its discoveries suggest that, like it or not, we are alone. We must measure and judge ourselves,
and we will decide our own destiny. (Source: Free Inquiry 18, no. 1 (Winter 1997):18.)

With secularization, religious beliefs cannot compete with the intellectual credibility of both natural and
social science. Religious beliefs are made relative to one’s private belief. It is sufficient to claim a religious
belief as ‘true for me’ for it to be recognized as in some way valid. Yet scientific statements are considered
“truths.” The notion that the laws of gravity are a matter of private opinion, and therefore might be believed
or not, rather than scientifically accepted public truth, is dismissed as nonsense in secular society. However,
with the coming of globalization, there is a resurgence of religious movements, or new religious movements
as discussed earlier. This resurgence seems to challenge the thesis of secularization.

While statistics would show the rapid decline of church attendance and declining religious membership in
mainstream religion, it does not necessarily support secularization or the idea that once people begin to live
in a scientific and rational society, they will gradually shed off their religious beliefs just like in the case of
Wilson and Dawkins above. The rapid communication among people across time and space promotes the
spread of religious ideas across geographical boarders. As Peter Beyer (2006) points out, People, considered
now as loci of communication, carry their communicative orientations and habits, their particularity, with
them, but to a different social context. Migration is thereby a way of universalizing various particulars, but
also of particularizing universals as migrants generate adaptations of what they carry with them, transfer
these adaptations back to the place of origin and elsewhere, and thus contribute to the transformation or at
least pluralization of the original form (p. 59).

Summary
Religion as a social institution has a very powerful impact on society and the world. Basically, religion
provides the ultimate meaning to human being’s quest for life meaning, the search for origin of the world,
and the justification for death and suffering. Today, religions, instead of dying because of scientific and
technological advancement, are very much alive as shown in the cases of neo-pagan religions, Islamic
resurgence, Pentecostalism, charismatic groups, and born again Christianity. The revival of religion is
facilitated by the growing interconnection of different geographical regions through globalization.
Globalization is allowing religions to travel faster from one area to another. Indeed, religion contributes in
the globalization process since its creation.

Evaluation
Group yourselves with five members in each group. With the help and permission of your teacher, visit a
chapel, a mosque, or a church near your school. Request permission from the local priest or pastor that you
be allowed to observe their religious services. Show respect and observe proper behavior when you attend a
religious service. Record your observations after the services. Compare the religious services in your church
with the religious services you attended.