Term
| 1. Identify the main protests against the Catholic Church that prompted the Protestant Reformation |
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Definition
Corruption in church
-abuses of power in politics
-sexual activity among the clergy |
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Term
| 2. Identify and briefly discuss ways in which the Protestant Reformation affected the other social institutions of: education, economy, and polity. |
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Definition
-polity: ind. rights, democracy
-economy: work ethic
-education: concerns about literacy |
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Term
| 3. Discuss the notion of “individualism” in the context of the Protestant Reformation |
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Definition
a. the rise of individualism
i. individual “solely: answerable to God
ii. loosening of social control: church, state, economy
iii. deep, unprecedented inner loneliness of the individual |
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Term
| 4. What is the “Protestant Work Ethic |
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Definition
a. the rise of individualism
i. individual “solely: answerable to God
ii. loosening of social control: church, state, economy
iii. deep, unprecedented inner loneliness of the individual
b. ideas of pre-destination
i. as distinct from pre-determination
ii. evolution from idea of the church as a unified “body of Christ” to individual religiosity and fate of the soul after death
iii. influence of Calvinism
iv. new stress of discovering one’s final destination
1. new questions about meaning of life on earth
v. social Darwinism (Herbert Spencer)
c. calling
d. asceticism
e. capitalism |
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Term
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Definition
1. God has already determined what you are going to do in your life
2. You only think you have freewill but you are responding to things based on what gods plan already was for you |
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Term
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Definition
1. Its already chosen if you are going to heaven or hell
2. Can’t earn your way to heaven
3. Free will is recognized
4. You act well so you feel reassured and for how others see you |
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Term
| 6. How do ideas about predestination inform the Protestant Work Ethic |
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Definition
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Term
| 7. Relate the notion of “calling” to the Protestant Work Ethic. |
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Definition
-work as sacred duty
-work to glorify god
-blessed work of the elect vs. failure of the damned
-increase in rational approach to work: increasing productivity |
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Term
| 8. What did Martin Luther mean by the phrase, “every man a monk”? |
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Definition
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Term
| 9. Why did the early Protestants embrace asceticism? |
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Definition
-self indulgence as distracting from one's sacred work
-dont waste time
-only devote time to work
-separation of business and home reflects Puntan notion of ones duty to ones property - the worker as a steward of God's possessions
-profits should be put to God's use, not one's own
-distrust of hostility toward authority figures
-corruption comes with personal wealth and love of the world
-economic profits to be managed in accordance with new work ethic
-limits on redistributing wealth to charity: do not undermine others' work ethic
-similarly, limits on inheritance to ones children: the success of the business trumps childrens inheritance
-wealth to go back into ones work |
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Term
| 10. How did Max Weber relate the Protestant Work Ethic to the development of capitalism |
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Definition
-investment of wealth in ones own and others work
-fit w/ zeitgeist in philosophies about ind. rights and responsibilities |
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Term
| 11. In what ways do you see the Protestant Work Ethic continuing to influence the US today, and in what ways do you see that it has lost its influence? |
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Definition
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Term
| 12. Identify and briefly describe O’Dea’s 5 dilemmas of institutionalization. |
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Definition
1. Dilemma of mixed motivation
-statuses and roles inform privileges, rewards, life opportunities, material, compensation and status
-motivations to achieve benefits of office in institutionalized religion
2. symbolic dilemma: objectification vs. alienation
-symbols and rituals as they become objectified, lose some power to elicit religious sentiments
-one origin of alienation -when socialization fails to establish relevance and power of the symbols
3. the dilemma of administrative order: elaboration vs. alienation
-bureaucratization alienates pple w/apparently arbitrary reponses to new issues
-bureaucracy distorts original religious sentiments -loss of relevance to ind.s
4. dilemma of delimitation: concrete def. vs. substitution of the letter for the spirit
-loss of spirit and proximity to inspiration w/interpretation
-ritual and symbols used may seem too concrete, literal and simplistic
-from relationship to a charismatic leader to consulting sacred text
-loss of spirit and proximity to inspiration w/interpretation of original charismatic leaders message to subsequent generations
5. dilemma of power: conversion vs. coercion
-from freely-expressed ind. faith to consensual validation
-strong norms that approach coercion such as a rite of passafe into adulthood and full membership in the church |
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Term
| 13. What is “cognitive dissonance,” as discussed in class in the context of religion? |
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Definition
-pple view themselves as always having felt/been a certain way
-inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, attitudes toward religion or what you believe/practice. believing/saying one thing and not acting in the way people that believe that should |
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Term
| 14. Briefly describe the 6 strategies used to resolve apparent contradictions in religious dogma, as discussed in class. |
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Definition
1. reinterpreting sacred texts, paying attention to some things but not others
2. ignoring less desirable option
3. acknowledging dissonance but interpreting it as due to ones own ignorance
4. looks to others for resolution
5. become conventional seekers
6. become alternative seekers |
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Term
| 15. How do “folk” and “elite” concerns about apparent religious contradictions generally differ? |
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Definition
Folk
-preserve customs and tolerate more cognitive dissonance
-more concern with fit with local traditions
-mix of local customs and patriotism are common
Elite
-scholars have more macro view and more concerned with consistency |
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Term
| 16. Distinguish between the following: cult, sect, denomination, and ecclesia. |
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Definition
Denominations
Established reformation of larger group
Tolerated by larger group, other denominations
Cults
-Charismatic Leader
Reform of Ideology or New Inspiration
Short-Lived
Evolve to denomination or dissolve
Sects
-Reform of established religion
Identifies with established religion
Usually short-term
Evolve into denominations, ecclesia, or dissolve
Ecclesia aka “Church”
Society-wide
Members are born into ecclesia by virtue of being born into the society
Does not guarantee personal religiosity |
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Term
| 17. Describe the transition of cults, sects, denominations, and ecclesia as they change from one to the other. |
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Definition
supposedly all religions start out as cults -sometimes cults break off of established religions and think they know it better -sects evolve into denominations, ecclesia, or dissolve
-cults evolve into denominations or dissolve |
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Term
| 18. Identify and describe the stages of conversion in Lofland’s model. |
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Definition
Predisposing
-tension: anomie, felt need for change
-religious problem solving perspective
-religious seeker orientation: dissatisfaction w/ traditional religion
Structural contingencies
-turning pt in life
-close intra group affective bonds
-weakening of bonds with non members
Verbal Level Conversion
Moral Level Conversion
-intensive interaction |
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Term
| 19. Discuss the three dimensions of commitment for converts (Instrumental, Affective and Moral Commitment) according to Lofland? |
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Definition
Instrumental Commitment
-Sacrifice and investment
-Cognitive dissonance aspect: time/money/status -commitments
Affective Commitment
-Renouncing family and old friends
-“Communion” with new friends (and “family”)
-Small intimate groups are the norm
-Affective commitment before moral commitment, facilitating moral commitment
Moral Commitment
-Mortification process: humbling, deference to group and its ideology
-Transcendence: sense of ultimate purpose and meaning
-Note: liberal churches have less moral commitment as they demand lower levels of both instrumental and affective commitment |
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Term
| 20. What is meant by the term, “biographical reconstruction”, in the context of religious conversion? |
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Definition
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Term
| 21. Who generally knows more about the dogma of a particular religion: someone who grew up in the religion, or a convert? Why? |
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Definition
| Converts usually know more about the dogma (but still know relatively little, according to Prothero) |
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Term
| 22. Describe the “commitment mechanisms” that help conservative churches retain their members. |
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Definition
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Term
| 23. Where does most switching occur? |
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Definition
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Term
| 24. Which is more common: switching from conservative to liberal churches or switching from liberal to conservative churches? |
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Definition
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Term
| 25. Describe the relationship between switching and increases in income |
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Definition
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Term
| 26. Who is more likely to switch: people with children or people without children? Why? |
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Definition
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Term
| 10. How is “brainwashing” different from “religious conversion”? |
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Definition
Brainwashing
-Total physical control so one does not have control over circumstances of life and death—no alternatives but those made available by captors
Religious conversion
-Religious recruits nearly always active seekers |
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Term
| ESSAY 1 Discuss Lofland’s “Funnel Model” of conversion. |
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Definition
1. Loflands model is seen as a filtering of peopl: each step involves a filtering out of some people and a filtering or even funneling in of others
2.Those who have experienced the first six filters become “verbal converts.”
3.Total converts really believe the theology or ideology of the group and have gone through all seven steps
4. Verbal converts feel committed to the members of the group and they verbally assent to belief, but they are not yet really committed at a moral level.
5. The 7 steps are broken down into four categories: predisposing, structural contingencies, verbal level conversion and moral level conversion
6. predisposing includes
-tension: anomie, felt need for change
-Religious problem-solving perspective
- Religious “seeker” orientation: dissatisfaction with traditional religion generally or ones current religion specifically
7. structural contingencies
-turning pt in life
-close intra group affective bonds
-weakening of bonds with non members
8. Moral level conversion includes intensive interaction
9. verbal level conversion dosent have any sub categories but its reached by fulflilling the subcartegories of the first two sections so six steps |
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Term
| ESSAY 2. Discuss O’Dea’s 5 Dilemmas of Institutionalization. |
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Definition
1.dilemma of mixed motivation involves statuses and roles inform privileges, rewards, life opportunities, material, compensation and status and motivations to achieve benefits of office in institutionalized religion
2. An ex. of Dilemma of mixed motivation could be people taking a seminary class to become ministers when most of the people taking the class dont believe in god but want to help people
3. symbolic dilemma: objectification vs. alienation
-symbols and rituals as they become objectified, lose some power to elicit religious sentiments
-one origin of alienation -when socialization fails to establish relevance and power of the symbols
4. . the dilemma of administrative order: elaboration vs. alienation
-bureaucratization alienates pple w/apparently arbitrary reponses to new issues
-bureaucracy distorts original religious sentiments -loss of relevance to ind.s
5. dilemma of delimitation: concrete def. vs. substitution of the letter for the spirit
-loss of spirit and proximity to inspiration w/interpretation
-ritual and symbols used may seem too concrete, literal and simplistic
-from relationship to a charismatic leader to consulting sacred text
-loss of spirit and proximity to inspiration w/interpretation of original charismatic leaders message to subsequent generations
6. dilemma of power: conversion vs. coercion
-from freely-expressed ind. faith to consensual validation
-strong norms that approach coercion such as a rite of passafe into adulthood and full membership in the church
7. an ex of the dilemma of power could be like in the catholic church if someone doesnt recieve their confirmation they may not be seen as adult or a good member of the church |
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Term
| ESSAY 3. Discuss the concepts of cult (New Religious Movements), sects, denomination, and ecclesia. |
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Definition
1. Cults involve a charismatic leader that is all knowing
2. cults usually die out before they are fully established
3. cults evolve to denomination or dissolve
4. it can be said that all religions start as cults
5. Sects are a reformation of an established religion
6. many terrorist groups are sects
7. sects will evolve into denominations, ecclesia or dissolve
8. mormons are considered a sect of christianity because it is secretive and it is not christ centered but about profits
9. Members are born into Ecclesia by virtue of being born into society
10. denominations are established reformations of larger groups and are tolerated by other denominations and lager groups |
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