Religion and society

Cambridge A‑Level Sociology 9699 – Paper 4: Religion, Globalisation & Media

Objective

To analyse how religion interacts with society – contributing to social order, cohesion, control and change – and to evaluate the impact of globalisation and media on these processes.

Key Concepts

• Religion: A system of beliefs, practices, symbols and institutions that gives meaning to life and provides a moral framework.
• Social Order: The patterned ways in which society is organised – norms, values, institutions and power relations that regulate behaviour.
• Social Cohesion: The bonds that create a sense of belonging and shared identity.
• Social Control: Formal and informal mechanisms that ensure conformity to societal expectations.
• Social Change: Processes that alter the structure, culture or functioning of a society.
• Globalisation: The intensification of worldwide social relations linking distant societies (economically, politically, culturally).
• Media: Institutions and technologies that produce, distribute and represent information and cultural meanings.

Definition of Globalisation (syllabus wording)

Globalisation is the intensification of worldwide social relations linking distant societies – through the flow of goods, capital, people, ideas and cultural forms.

Theoretical Perspectives on Religion and Social Order

1. Functionalist Perspective

• Key Proponents: Émile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons
• Core Arguments:
  • Religion creates a collective conscience that integrates individuals.
  • Rituals and symbols reinforce social solidarity.
  • Moral codes derived from religion provide informal social control.
  • Religion supplies meaning and purpose, reducing existential anxiety.

2. Marxist Perspective

• Key Proponents: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
• Core Arguments:
  • Religion is part of the ideological super‑structure that legitimises class domination.
  • “Opium of the people” – pacifies the oppressed and hinders revolutionary consciousness.
  • Sanctifies social hierarchies through sacred texts and doctrines.

3. Weberian Perspective

• Key Proponent: Max Weber
• Core Arguments:
  • Religion can confer charismatic, traditional or legal‑rational authority.
  • The “Protestant ethic” links religious values to the development of capitalism.
  • Modern rationalisation leads to disenchantment and secularisation, reshaping religion’s role.

4. Feminist / Gender Perspective

• Key Proponents: Joan Scott, Nelly Richardson, Margaret Flint
• Core Arguments:
  • Religion often reproduces patriarchal power relations (e.g., male clergy, gendered rituals).
  • Women’s religious movements can both challenge and reinforce gender norms.
  • Intersection of religion, gender and class produces varied experiences of oppression and agency.

5. Post‑Modern / Constructivist Perspective

• Key Proponents: Peter L. Berger, Steve Bruce, Zygmunt Bauman
• Core Arguments:
  • In plural societies, religion is a socially constructed “belief system” rather than a fixed reality.
  • Phenomena such as “believing without belonging” and “spiritual but not religious” illustrate fluid identities.
  • Religion is one of many “symbolic resources” individuals draw upon to construct personal narratives.

Religion & Social Order (syllabus sub‑sections)

Social Cohesion

• Collective rituals (worship services, festivals) reinforce group identity.
• Shared moral frameworks define acceptable behaviour and generate trust.
• Faith‑based charities, pastoral care and community networks create social capital.

Social Control

• Doctrine and religious law (e.g., Sharia, Canon law) prescribe conduct.
• Sanctions include ex‑communication, guilt, promises of reward/punishment in an afterlife.
• Internalisation through religious education, family socialisation and rites of passage.

Social Change

• Religious movements can mobilise for reform (e.g., liberation theology in Latin America, the civil rights movement in the US).
• New theologies (prosperity gospel, eco‑theology) reinterpret doctrine in response to contemporary issues.
• Digital worship and online activism illustrate how religion adapts to technological change.

Secularisation Debate

Position	Key Arguments	Representative Evidence
Classic Secularisation (Durkheim, Wilson)	Modernisation → rationalisation → decline of religious belief and institutional authority.	Pew Research (2015): 16 % of adults in Western Europe identify as “non‑religious”.
New Secularism (Berger, Davie)	Religion declines in institutional form but persists in “spiritual” or “individualised” practices.	British Social Attitudes Survey (2022): 27 % report “spiritual but not religious”.
Revivalist/Pluralist View	Global migration and digital media generate new religious movements and re‑energise existing traditions.	World Religion Census (2019): rapid growth of Islam and Pentecostal Christianity.

Globalisation, Religion & Social Order

Key Themes

• Religion & Identity: Diasporic communities use faith to maintain ethnic identity (e.g., Sikh temples in the UK).
• Migration: Religious pluralism intensifies as migrants bring diverse faiths, creating both integration opportunities and inter‑group tension.
• Poverty & Development: Faith‑based NGOs (Caritas, Islamic Relief) address poverty, influencing welfare provision and state‑religion relations.
• Crime & Social Control: Moral‑panic narratives link immigration and Islam to crime, shaping policy (e.g., UK Prevent strategy).
• Power & Governance: Transnational religious networks (the Vatican, OIC) lobby governments, affecting foreign policy and human‑rights debates.

Core Globalisation Debates (syllabus)

• Globalisation and Identity: Transnational religious identities, hybridisation, and the “global village” of faith (e.g., online Muslim youth cultures).
• Globalisation, Power & Politics: Religious lobbying at the United Nations, the Vatican’s role in climate negotiations, and the influence of the World Evangelical Alliance on US foreign policy.
• Globalisation, Poverty & Inequalities: Faith‑based aid critiques (dependency theory), the rise of “prosperity gospel” movements in the Global South, and the tension between charitable work and state welfare.

Contemporary Global Issues (2020‑2024)

• COVID‑19 and Digital Worship: Pandemic‑induced shift to livestreamed services; case study – the Church of England’s “Online Prayer Hub” (2020‑2022) and its impact on attendance patterns.
• Religion and Climate Change: Eco‑theology in Pentecostal churches (e.g., “Creation Care” movement in the US) and Islamic environmental activism (e.g., “Green Ramadan” campaigns).
• Prosperity Gospel Globalisation: Expansion of televangelist networks (e.g., “TDJ” – Trinity Broadcasting Network) into Africa and Latin America, linking wealth‑promising theology with neoliberal economic agendas.

Illustrative Case Studies

• Muslim Communities in the UK: Mosques provide social services, mediate integration, and sometimes become sites of contestation over gender norms.
• Latin American Pentecostalism: Rapid growth linked to urban migration; churches act as alternative social support and political mobilisation hubs.
• Hindu Diaspora in South Africa: Festivals such as Diwali serve as platforms for cultural preservation, economic activity and inter‑ethnic dialogue.

Media, Religion & Social Order

Ownership & Control (syllabus models)

• State‑owned / Public Service: BBC, ABC – mandated to provide balanced religious coverage; regulated by Ofcom (UK) or the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
• Commercial: Fox News, Sinclair Broadcast Group – market‑driven agendas; profit motives can shape framing of religious issues.
• Hybrid / NGO‑run: Faith‑based online platforms (e.g., “Islamic Relief TV”, “Christianity Today Online”) – blend charitable missions with media production.
• Regulatory Frameworks: Ofcom (UK), FCC (US), Ofcom‑style bodies in other jurisdictions set standards for impartiality, hate‑speech and religious representation.

Representation & Effects (syllabus focus)

• Agenda‑Setting: Media decide which religious issues are salient. Empirical support – McCombs & Shaw (1972) demonstrated that news emphasis predicts public concern.
• Cultivation: Repeated portrayals shape long‑term attitudes. Gerbner & Gross (1976) showed that heavy TV viewers are more likely to associate religion with conflict.
• Framing & Stereotyping: Example – UK tabloids often depict Muslim women as “oppressed” (class, gender & ethnicity framing), reinforcing “othering”.
• Digital Echo Chambers: Algorithmic recommendation can amplify ultra‑conservative or radical interpretations (e.g., YouTube’s “radicalisation pipeline”).

New‑Media & Digital Religion

• Social media enables micro‑communities – online prayer groups, livestreamed services, and religious influencers.
• Hashtag activism (e.g., #MuslimBan 2017) demonstrates digital mobilisation against state policy.
• Digital platforms facilitate transnational campaigns – e.g., the “#ClimateFaith” movement linking religious leaders to climate‑justice advocacy.

Case Studies

• #MuslimBan Twitter Campaign (2017): Showed how digital media can challenge exclusionary policy and generate global solidarity.
• BBC’s “The Big Questions”: Public‑service programme that fosters inter‑faith dialogue and exemplifies balanced representation.
• Online Evangelical Networks (Joyce Meyer Ministries, TDJ): Illustrate the global reach of Pentecostal media entrepreneurship.
• Reality TV Portrayal of Pentecostal Churches (USA, 2021): Highlights class and ethnicity stereotypes – often depicting worshippers as low‑income, minority groups.

Comparative Summary of Theoretical Views

Theory	Key Proponents	View of Religion	Impact on Social Order
Functionalism	Durkheim, Parsons	Integrative force that creates a collective conscience.	Promotes cohesion, reinforces norms, stabilises society.
Marxism	Marx, Engels	Ideological tool that masks exploitation.	Maintains class domination, suppresses dissent.
Weberian	Weber	Source of authority and ethical motivation.	Shapes rational‑legal structures; can drive economic change.
Feminist / Gender	Scott, Richardson, Flint	Often reproduces patriarchy but can be a site of resistance.	Influences gendered power relations and social policy.
Post‑Modern / Constructivist	Berger, Bauman, Bruce	Religion as a fluid, contested symbolic resource.	Creates pluralistic, negotiated forms of social order.

Evaluation of Perspectives (with Contemporary Empirical Evidence)

Functionalism

• Strength: Clearly explains how rituals foster social solidarity.
• Limitation: Tends to ignore religion’s oppressive dimensions.
• Empirical Example: Putnam & Campbell (2010) found higher levels of religious attendance correlate with greater social capital in the United States.

Marxism

• Strength: Highlights power relations and the role of religion in legitimising inequality.
• Limitation: Over‑deterministic; underestimates agency and religious revival.
• Empirical Example: Norris & Inglehart (2019) show that in economically disadvantaged regions, religious affiliation can increase support for populist, anti‑establishment parties.

Weberian

• Strength: Links religious ethics to economic behaviour and rationalisation.
• Limitation: Focus on Protestantism may not apply to non‑Western faiths.
• Empirical Example: Guiso, Sapienza & Zingales (2003) demonstrate a positive relationship between religiosity, trust and economic development across nations.

Feminist / Gender

• Strength: Brings gendered power dynamics to the fore; explains women’s dual role as agents and subjects.
• Limitation: May over‑generalise across diverse faith traditions.
• Empirical Example: Hout & Rindfuss (2021) show that women’s participation in Pentecostal churches in Brazil is associated with increased political mobilisation on gender‑related issues.

Post‑Modern / Constructivist

• Strength: Captures religious pluralism, fluid identities and the impact of digital media.
• Limitation: Risks relativism that can downplay material consequences of religion.
• Empirical Example: Pew Research (2022) reports that 34 % of Europeans consider themselves “spiritual but not religious”, illustrating the shift toward individualised belief systems.

Suggested Diagram

Conclusion

Religion remains a powerful and contested social institution. Through functionalist, Marxist, Weberian, feminist and post‑modern lenses we see how it simultaneously sustains social cohesion, enforces control, reproduces inequality, and adapts to global and media‑driven change. A nuanced, evidence‑based analysis equips sociologists to assess contemporary religious dynamics – from community‑based faith charities to digital spiritual movements – and to understand their implications for social order in an increasingly interconnected world.