From the religion, culture and unchurched spirituality powerpoint I learned that religion influences culture and culture influences religion. Religious culture is a form of identity, whether that may be through food, dress and even music, whereas religion is a way of life which has an impact on national culture through laws and education as well as relationships.
Many social issues revolve around religious culture such as material claims. Religion encourages altruism. Religious communities have throughout time provided people in need with material resources such as food, shelter, educational resources and care of the vulnerable. Another social issue revolving around religious culture is claims of community. Religions provide not only the material framework for decent but also people to relate. This makes individuals tackling social problems part of a wider community tackling the same problems. A third social issue which revolves around religious culture can be spiritual claims as it creates a “spiritual” community for its believers and spiritual belongingness influences how believers as a collective body live on this earth in preparation for the afterlife.
However religion can be susceptible to internal extremist forces as it can be easily hijacked by fundamentalist forces who can misuse it to promote violence and conflict. As well as this some aspects of religion are known to inhibit deviant tendencies. For example, certain aspects of Scientology are problematic as are some Islamic practices which are known to incite controversy on the ethics of veiling or so-called “honour” killing. Also some religious adherents refuse medical treatments if these are in conflict with their religious beliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, don’t to accept blood transfusions on religious grounds.
I have understood
Max Weber states that as culture, Christianity (Protestantism) contributed to the success of socio-economic patters in the Western world as protestantism enabled the ideological atmosphere in which a capitalist system could thrive in Europe.
Karl Marx reduced religion to socio-economic causes and stated that religion was used as a tool of the ruling class to oppress the masses. His view was that religion gives false consciousness in oppressed people to accept their predicament as religion promises of better life after death was a capitalist illusion.
Bruce Lincoln stated that religion, like all culture, should be approached as a negotiation of power through rhetoric, by paying attentions questions such as “Who speaks.. to what audience.. who wins what, and how much? Who conversely loses?”
However I still can’t fully recognise why religions are dominated by spirituality and how there are overlaps between religion and spirituality. Thus I intend to read over the powerpoint and do further research into this.
I feel I have better understanding of the impact religion has on culture and how much influence it can have on a persons life. I also have further knowledge on the social issues which revolve around religion and feel I could teach these to my class as part of a religious education lesson.
