Chapter 16 Religion and Education Copyright 2012, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Copyright 2012, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Chapter 16

Religion and Education


What Is Religion?

• Many scholars see religion as difficult or impossible to define.

• Religion is complex and perceived differently.

• Religion is a social phenomenon that consists of beliefs about the sacred, practices, and a community that shares these beliefs and practices.


Components of Religion

• Beliefs• Ideas that explain the world and identify what

should be sacred or held in awe

• Ultimate concerns

• Religion separates sacred beliefs from profane.



• Ritual• A set of regularly repeated, prescribed, and

traditional behaviors that serve to symbolize some value or belief

• Rituals come in many forms. Some show devotion to God (prayer); some help believers organize their lives (meditations); some celebrate cycles (holidays).



• Experience• The combination of beliefs and rituals forms

the variety of religious experience.

• Examples include prayer or attendance at religious services.


Types of Religious Organizations• Sect

• A small group of people who are seeking a personal religious experience.

• Behavior of sect members tends to be spontaneous.

• Leadership is usually composed of laypersons, rather than those with specialized training.

• They tend to see themselves apart from the larger society.


Types of Religious Organizations• Church

• A large group of religious-oriented people into which one is usually born

• Leadership is composed of professionals who have specialized training.

• Has a highly bureaucratic structure

• Belief system is codified and rituals are performed in a highly prescribed manner.


Types of Religious Organizations

• Cult

• New religious movements

• Denominations


Theorizing Religion: Structural/Functionalist

• Answers questions about the meaning of life

• Helps people deal with tragedies

• Provides a set of ethical guidelines for daily life

• Provides hope for the future

• Creates community and social solidarity


Theorizing Religion: Structural/Functionalist

• Dysfunctions of Religion• Can lead to ethnocentrism and conflict

between religious groups

• Can oppress certain groups

• Can promote violence


Theorizing Religion: Conflict/Critical Theory

• Karl Marx called religion the “opium of the people” because he felt people are drugged by religion and do not have an accurate view of the social problems around them.

• Religion leads people to a false consciousness.

• Religion serves to enhance and protect the economic base of society.


Religion and Globalization

• The Globally Most Significant Religions• Judaism

• Hinduism

• Buddhism

• Islam

• Christianity


Education

• Education is closely related to the process of socialization.

• In the United States, when a child reaches 5 years of age socialization changes from informal (family) to formal (school).

• In the United States and other developed countries education goes on for many years.


Thinking About Education: Structural/Functionalist

• Durkheim defined education as the process by which the individual acquires the physical, intellectual, and moral tools needed to function in society.

• Robert Dresden saw other functions of education.• Children learn to function on their own, to

value achievement, that they are a part of society, and the norm of “specificity.”


Thinking About Education: Conflict/Critical Theory

• Education serves to reproduce social inequalities in society and reinforce the system of social stratification.

• Karl Marx believed that society’s dominant social institutions (like education) support and reproduce the capitalist system.


Thinking About Education: Inter/Actionist Theory

• Focus microscopically on education, specifically the interaction between teachers and students

• Students acquire labels (good, bad, smart, slow, etc.) to reinforce experience and expectations.

• Interaction Order


Education and Consumption

• Students have always been consumers of education.

• Education has been radically transformed in the digital age.

• Education takes place in societies where consumption is pervasive, and as a result education becomes commercialized.


Inequality in Education

• Who Succeeds in School?• Students from the most socioeconomically advantaged

families are the most likely to attain a college degree.

• The Coleman Report: How Much Do Schools Matter?• The most important predictors of success were teacher

quality and family background.

• Natural Inequality? Intelligence and School Success• The Bell Curve (1994)



• Class Differences in Early Childhood• Hart and Risley (1995) found that differences

in cognitive outcomes are explained by differences in parenting (professional, working class, and welfare).

• Seasonal Learning and Class Differences in Achievement• Comparing learning gains during the school

year to gains when students are not in school



• Inequality Within School: Tracking and Student Outcomes• Tracking leads to cumulative advantage.

• Who Goes to College?• Students from the most advantaged families are

more likely to go to college.

• Globalization and Education

Chapter 16 Religion and Education Copyright 2012, SAGE Publications, Inc.

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