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• Karl Marx argued religion was used to keep workers from questioning their oppressed position in everyday life by promising them riches in the afterlife.
• Pluralism is the presence of numerous distinct religious groups in one society.– Possible negative effect: having too many choices weakens the credibility of any one church.
– Possible positive effect: diverse religions can engage with one another to build a common sense of community.
• Attendance at religious services is declining overall in the United States, but the number of people who profess to have religious or spiritual beliefs is holding steady or rising.
• Churches and church organizations also played a key role in the civil rights movement through coalition building, fundraising, and communications.
• The church has long played an important role in African American communities, building strong social networks, providing social services, and functioning as a safe haven for people who have experienced enormous marginalization in society at large.
• Religious affiliation and practice can be closely connected to elements as varied as family structure, gender, social status, age, educational attainment level, type of involvement in the church, geography, and politics.
Selling God, Shopping for Faith: The Commercialization of Religion
• Americans donate billions of dollars per year to religious organizations, and in addition to donations, there is a huge market for religious products, particularly Christian products.
• In an effort to appeal to a wider audience, especially young people, many churches have incorporated elements of pop culture into their services and messages and added more secular activities to attract members.
Selling God, Shopping for Faith: The Commercialization of Religion
• The sect–church cycle is one explanation for the existence of so many Christian churches in the United States. – Sects usually start out by separating from an existing church because of disagreements over the direction or emphasis of the church.
– Over time, if the sect develops a large enough following, it may become a church in its own right, and eventually another sect may split off from it.
• Stricter religious institutions are more likely to grow faster than more lenient or open groups because members of stricter groups are likely to be more committed and to buy more completely into the group’s overall mission.