8.6 Conclusion
We began this chapter on the banks of the rivers, some polluted and some sparkling in the sun. We wrote about how the rivers themselves might have personhood and have the rights to flow freely. This transformative vision is sustained in part by religious and spiritual beliefs about the interconnectedness of all life, human and non-human alike. In this way, religion and spirituality can be a force for social change.
The power of religion and spirituality can also be used to cause harm and to resist needed social change. Our religious beliefs and institutions can uphold institutions such as slavery, sustain racist colonialist beliefs and practices, support gender based violence and repression of normal expressions of gender and sexuality, and reinforce harmful dominion over the earth.
In the face of these toxic beliefs and practices, revolutionary religious and spiritual leaders and activists are resisting and articulating new visions. From revolutionary love to active hope to water as a holy power, religions and spiritualities can envision new ways of being in community, and new actions that transform our world.
8.6.1 Review of Learning Objectives
This chapter offered you the opportunity to:
- Define religion as a social institution
- Analyze how world beliefs and rituals contribute to the role of religion and spirituality in society
- Compare and contrast differences between how sociologists from five sociological perspectives explain religion and spirituality.
- Describe how emerging changes in religion demonstrate resistance to social change and support for social change
- Explain how religion and spirituality play a role in addressing our climate crisis
8.6.2 Key Terms
agency: the capacity of an individual to actively and independently choose and to affect change
Animism is the worldview that everything has an inner being. Living things, inanimate objects and natural phenomena all have a living soul.
anthropocentrism: human-centered approaches to ethics and daily life
cultural appropriation: unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.
denomination: a large, mainstream religion that is not sponsored by the state (3e)
ecclesia: a religion that is considered the state religion (3e)
ecofeminism: a feminist theory and practice which links links the exploitation of the Earth to the degrading treatment of women
eco-theology: a theology which emphasizes environmental ethics, stewardship, and creation care
fundamentalism: A religious movement that requires a strict and typically literal interpretation of core texts and adherence to traditional beliefs, doctrines, and rituals. (https://sociologydictionary.org/fundamentalism/)
Gender Based Violence: violence directed against a person because of his or her gender and expectations of his or her role in a society or culture https://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/en/about
holiness code: a set of core laws or principles that define the key ideas for that organization. (author)
interspirituality: the idea that beneath the diversity of theological beliefs, rites, and observances lies a deeper unity of experience that is our shared spiritual heritage.
Liberation Theology: a religious movement that combines Christian principles with political activism to enact social change. (https://sociologydictionary.org/liberation-theology/)
mystic: a person who has a direct experience of the divine, unmediated by conventional religious rituals.
Nones: people who answer “none of the above” on religious identification surveys
patriarchy: a system in which men dominate women and have the power and authority. https://sociologydictionary.org/?s=patriarchy
religion: a system of beliefs, values, and practices concerning what a person holds to be sacred or spiritually significant (3e)
religious syncretism: the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices
Resource Mobilization Theory: a theory that explains social movements’ success in terms of their ability to acquire resources and mobilize individuals (3e)
ritual: actions that embody the beliefs of a people and create a sense of continuity and belonging. Rituals generally involve activities performed in a particular order at a particular place in a particular time.
sect: a small, new offshoot of a denomination (3e)
social control: A way to regulate, enforce, and encourage conformity to norms both formally and informally (https://sociologydictionary.org/?s=social+control)
spirituality: the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.
Spiritual but not religious: people who focus on the individual experience of connection or belonging rather than membership in a particular religious organization.
theocratic state: a government, ruled by or subject to a deity or its representative officials who are viewed as divinely guided. (open soc dictionary)
theology: the study of the nature of God and religious belief. (https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/)
White supremacy- the belief, theory, or doctrine that white people are inherently superior to people from all other racial and ethnic groups, and are therefore rightfully the dominant group in any society.
8.6.3 Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion
“Conclusion” by Kimberly Puttman is licensed under CC BY 4.0.