1.
Introduction
Moqaddas Shaukat
1st Semester Department of
Crminology

2.
Religious Institute
Today My Topic for Discussion is
Religious Institute
Let Me Describe What Is Religious
Institute?

3.
Elements of Social Structure
• The structure of society refers to the way society is organized.
Society is organized into different parts: institutions, social
groups, statuses, and roles.
• Institutions An institution is an established and enduring
pattern of social relationships. The five traditional institutions
are family, religion, politics, economics, and education.
• Social Groups Institutions are made up of social groups.
A social group is defined as two or more people who have a
common identity, interact, and form a social relationship. The
religious association to which you may belong is a social group
that is part of the religious institution.

4.
• Statuses Just as institutions consist of social groups, social groups
consist of statuses. A status is a position a person occupies within a
social group. The statuses we occupy largely define our social
identity. The statuses in a family may consist of mother, father,
stepmother, stepfather, wife, husband, child, and so on.
• Roles Every status is associated with many roles, or the set of
rights, obligations, and expectations associated with a status. Roles
guide our behavior and allow us to predict the behavior of others.
As a student, you are expected to attend class, listen and take
notes, study for tests, and complete assignments. Because you
know what the role of the teacher involves, you can predict that
your teacher will lecture, give exams, and assign grades based on
your performance on tests.

5.
5
Religion and Society
• What is religion?
– A system of beliefs, rituals, and ceremonies
– Promotes community among followers
– Provides a personal spiritual experience for its
members

6.
Religious Institute
• Now let me elaborate religious institute.
• In preindustrial societies, religion dominates all
aspects of society.
• In industrial societies, the institution of religion has
become separated from many social and economic
activities

7.
7
Function of Religion
• What does religion do for people?
– Gives them hope of something better than what
they have now.
– Gives answers to unknowing questions.
• What happens when I die?
• Why am I here?
• What is the point to life?
– Serves to bind people together in times of crisis and
confusion

8.
8
Social Control
• Can religion control society?
– Yes?
– Inhibits social change
– Forces masses into submission by offering a
consolation for their harsh lives on earth
– Promotes social instability by perpetuating patterns of
social inequality
– Believers vs. Nonbelievers

9.
9
Gender and Religion
– Women have played fundamental role in religious
socialization
• However, they take subordinate role in religious
leadership
• Most religions are patriarchal
– Leader is a male
– Reinforce men’s dominance in secular and spiritual matters
• Women compose 12.8 percent of U.S. clergy

10.
10
Characteristics of Religion
• Beliefs
– Ideas, based upon faith, that people consider true
• The sacred
– Sacred: that which has supernatural qualities
• Rituals
– Routines that reinforce the faith
• Moral communities
– People who share a religious belief
• Personal experience
– Grants meaning to life

11.
11
3 Components of Religion
• Denominations
• Sects
• Cults

12.
12
Components of Religion
– Denomination:
– Large, organized religion with strong support
in the world
– Christianity
– Muslim
– Judaism
– Hinduism

13.
13
Components of Religion
– Sect:
– Relatively small religious group that has broken
away from some other religious organization to
renew what it considers the original vision of
the faith
• Protestants
• Episcopalians
• Church of Christ

14.
14
Components of Religion
– Cult
– Small, alternative faith community that
represents either a new religion or a major
innovation in an existing faith
• Similar to sects
• Tend to be small
• Are often viewed as less respectable than
more established faiths

15.
15
Christianity
• World’s largest religion
• 2 largest branches
– Roman Catholic
• Pope is head of Church in Vatican City.
– Protestant
• Luther breaks away from Roman Catholic Church in 16th
century

16.
16
Judaism
• Numerically smallest of world religions
• Important beliefs:
– God’s chosen people
– Torah: first 5 books of the Bible; oldest truths from God
• Major divisions
– Orthodox: strictly traditional
– Reform: liberal and worldly
– Conservative: middle ground between Orthodox and Reform

17.
17
Hinduism
• Largest of the Eastern religions
– Concentrated largely in India
• Important beliefs
– Dharma: special force that makes daily demands and sacred
obligations
• Comes from main God = Shiva
– Karma: spirit remains through life, death, rebirth
• Organization
– Caste membership

18.
18
Buddhism
• Large religion throughout Asia
– Includes southeast Asian countries and China
• Based upon teachings of Buddha (the enlightened
one)
– Only monks can spread his teachings
• Important beliefs
– To relieve human suffering one must follow a path that ultimately
leads to enlightenment
– “Right” thoughts and actions must be daily performed and evaluated
through meditation

19.
19
Confucianism
• Confucius
– attempted to solve practical
problems of daily living
• Jen: human sympathy that binds
people in 5 basic relationships
– Sovereign and subject
– Parent and child
– Older brother and younger
brother
– Husband and wife
– Friend and friend

20.
Is religion bad?
• Stunts intellectual growth
– Spanish Inquisition
• Arrested or killed any philosophers against Church.
– Galileo
– Enlightenment Movement in Europe.
• Causes social inequality
– Believers vs. nonbelievers
– Denomination vs. Denomination

21.
Is religion good?
• Gives hope of something better!
• Answers questions science fails to.
• Gives us community spirit!
– Not to mention cool holidays!