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Sociology of religion

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JASHORE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY,BANLADESH
Written: Piyas Biswas
Edited & published: Md. Humayun kobir
Department : Agro product processing technology

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Introduction
 The word sociology was coined by
Auguste Comte – French Philosopher in
1839. He is consider as a father of
Sociology.Sociology is the youngest of all
the Social Sciences.The word Sociology is
derived from the Latin Word ‘Societus’
which means ‘society’ and the Greek
word ‘logos’ means ‘science or study or
advanced study’.Science of society or
study of society.

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Definition of sociology
 Sociology is the study of human behavior.
Sociology refers to social behavior, society,
patterns of social relationships, social
interaction, and culture that surrounds
everyday life.
 L.F. Ward defines, “Sociology is the science of
society or of social phenomena”.
 Ginsberg says, “Sociology is the study of
human interaction and interrelation of their
conditions and consequences”.
 Emile Durkheim defines, “ Sociology as a
science of social institutions”.

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 Ogburn and Nimkoff defines, “Sociology
as the study of social life”.
 Kimball Young defines, “Sociology deals
with the behaviour of men in groups”.

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Definition of religion
 Religion is a social-cultural system of
designated behaviors and practices, morals,
worldviews, texts, sanctified places,
prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that
relates humanity to supernatural,
transcendental, and spiritual element.
 Emile Durkheim defined religion as "a unified
system of beliefs and practices relative to
sacred things, that is to say things set apart
and forbidden - beliefs and practices which
unite into one single moral community called
a church, all those who adhere to them.

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Types of Religion
 The major religions of the world (Hinduism,
Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Christianity,
Taoism, and Judaism) differ in many respects,
including how each religion is organized and
the belief system each upholds. Other
differences include the nature of belief in a
higher power, the history of how the world
and the religion began, and the use of
sacred texts and objects.
 There are also some other types
religious.monotheism, which is a religion
based on belief in a single deity, to some
scholars.

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 Similarly, many Westerners view the multiple manifestations
of Hinduism’s godhead as polytheistic, which is a religion
based on belief in multiple deities, while Hindus might
describe those manifestations are a monotheistic parallel
to the Christian Trinity.
 Some Japanese practice Shinto, which follows animism,
which is a religion that believes in the divinity of nonhuman
beings, like animals, plants, and objects of the natural
world, while people who practice totemism believe in a
divine connection between humans and other natural
being.

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Relation between
religion and sociology
 Social theorist Émile Durkheim defined religion as a
“unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred
things” (1915). Max Weber believed religion could be a
force for social change. ... Functionalism, conflict theory,
and interactionism all provide valuable ways for
sociologists to understand religion.

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 Religion is probably the strongest belief
system that has existed for thousands of
years. In many ways, it is a code of conduct,
a rule book that allows believers to function in
a non-primitive or cultured manner. The
earliest forms of religion were established to
facilitate social bonding.
 In fact, it is also believed that religious
practices are adaptive and have emerged
to sustain survival and reproductive
advantages through gene selection or gene-
culture coevolution dynamics.

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Sociology of religion
 Sociology of religion is the study of the
beliefs, practices and organizational
forms of religion using the tools and
methods of the discipline of sociology.
 This objective investigation may include
the use both of quantitative methods
(surveys, polls, demographic and census
analysis) and of qualitative approaches
(such as participant observation,
interviewing, and analysis of archival,
historical and documentary materials).

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 Modern sociology as an academic discipline began with
the analysis of religion in Émile Durkheim's 1897 study of
suicide rates among Catholic and Protestant populations,
a foundational work of social research which served to
distinguish sociology from other disciplines, such as
psychology.
 The works of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Max Weber (1864-
1920) emphasized the relationship between religion and
the economic or social structure of society.

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 Contemporary debates have centered
on issues such as secularization, civil
religion, and the cohesiveness of religion
in the context of globalization and
multiculturalism. Contemporary sociology
of religion may also encompass the
sociology of irreligion (for instance, in the
analysis of secular-humanist belief
systems).

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 Sociologists study religion as both a belief
system and a social institution. ... As a
social institution, religion is a pattern of
social action organized around the
beliefs and practices that people
develop to answer questions about the
meaning of existence
 As an institution, religion persists over time
and has an organizational structure into
which members are socialized.

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 The sociology of religion is distinguished from the
philosophy of religion in that it does not set out to
assess the validity of religious beliefs.
 Whereas the sociology of religion broadly differs from
theology in assuming indifference to the
supernatural, theorists tend to acknowledge socio-
cultural reification of religious practice.

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The role of religion in
sociology
 Religion serves several functions for society. These
include
 (a) giving meaning and purpose to life,
 (b) reinforcing social unity and stability,
 (c) serving as an agent of social control of behavior,
 (d) promoting physical and psychological well-
being, and
 (e) motivating people to work for positive social
change

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Thank You