<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >
  • Give examples of religion as an agent of social change
  • Describe current U.S. trends including megachurches and secularization

In examining the state of religion in the United States today, we see the complexity of religious life in our society, plus emerging trends like the rise of the megachurch, secularization, and the role of religion in social change.

Religion and social change

Religion has historically been an impetus to social change. The translation of sacred texts into everyday, nonscholarly language empowered people to shape their religions. Disagreements between religious groups and instances of religious persecution have led to wars and genocides. The United States is no stranger to religion as an agent of social change. In fact, the United States' first European arrivals were acting largely on religious convictions when they were compelled to settle in the United States.

Liberation theology

Liberation theology began as a movement within the Roman Catholic Church in the 1950s and 1960s in Latin America, and it combines Christian principles with political activism. It uses the church to promote social change via the political arena, and it is most often seen in attempts to reduce or eliminate social injustice, discrimination, and poverty. A list of proponents of this kind of social justice (although some pre-date liberation theory) could include Francis of Assisi, Leo Tolstoy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Desmond Tutu.

Although begun as a moral reaction against the poverty caused by social injustice in that part of the world, today liberation theology is an international movement that encompasses many churches and denominations. Liberation theologians discuss theology from the point of view of the poor and the oppressed, and some interpret the scriptures as a call to action against poverty and injustice. In Europe and North America, feminist theology has emerged from liberation theology as a movement to bring social justice to women.

Religious leaders and the rainbow of gay pride

What happens when a religious leader officiates a gay marriage against denomination policies? What about when that same minister defends the action in part by coming out and making her own lesbian relationship known to the church?

In the case of the Reverend Amy DeLong, it meant a church trial. Some leaders in her denomination assert that homosexuality is incompatible with their faith, while others feel this type of discrimination has no place in a modern church (Barrick 2011).

As the LBGT community increasingly advocates for, and earns, basic civil rights, how will religious communities respond? Many religious groups have traditionally discounted LBGT sexualities as “wrong.” However, these organizations have moved closer to respecting human rights by, for example, increasingly recognizing females as an equal gender. The Roman Catholic Church drew controversial attention to this issue in 2010 when the Vatican secretary of state suggested homosexuality was in part to blame for pedophilic sexual abuse scandals that have plagued the church (Beck 2010). Because numerous studies have shown there to be no relationship between homosexuality and pedophilia, nor a higher incidence of pedophilia among homosexuals than among heterosexuals (Beck 2010), the Vatican’s comments seem suspect. More recently Pope Francis has been pushing for a more open church, and some Catholic bishops have been advocating for a more "gay-friendly" church (McKenna, 2014). This has not come to pass, but some scholars believe these changes are a matter of time.

No matter the situation, most religions have a tenuous (at best) relationship with practitioners and leaders in the gay community. As one of the earliest Christian denominations to break barriers by ordaining women to serve as pastors, will Amy DeLong’s United Methodist denomination also be a leader in LBGT rights within Christian churchgoing society?

Questions & Answers

what are agents of socialization
Antonio Reply
sociology of education
Nuhu Reply
definition of sociology of education
Nuhu
what is culture
Abdulrahim Reply
shared beliefs, values, and practices
AI-Robot
What are the two type of scientific method
ogunniran Reply
I'm willing to join you
Aceng Reply
what are the scientific method of sociology
Man
what is socialization
ogunniran Reply
the process wherein people come to understand societal norms and expectations, to accept society's beliefs, and to be aware of societal values
AI-Robot
scientific method in doing research
ogunniran
defimition of sickness in afica
Anita
Cosmology
ogunniran
Hmmm
ogunniran
list and explain the terms that found in society
REMMY Reply
list and explain the terms that found in society
Mukhtar
what are the agents of socialization
Antonio
Family Peer group Institution
Abdulwajud
I mean the definition
Antonio
ways of perceived deviance indifferent society
Naomi Reply
reasons of joining groups
SAM
to bring development to the nation at large
Hyellafiya
entails of consultative and consensus building from others
Gadama
World first Sociologist?
Abu
What is evolutionary model
Muhammad Reply
Evolution models refer to mathematical and computational representations of the processes involved in biological evolution. These models aim to simulate and understand how species change over time through mechanisms such as natural selection, genetic drift, and mutation. Evolutionary models can be u
faruk
what are the modern trends in religious behaviours
Selekeye Reply
what are social norms
Daniel Reply
shared standards of acceptable behavior by the group or appropriate behavior in a particular institution or those behaviors that are acceptable in a society
Lucius
that is how i understood it
Lucius
examples of societal norms
Diamond
Discuss the characteristics of the research located within positivist and the interpretivist paradigm
Tariro Reply
what is Industrialisation
Selekeye Reply
industrialization
Angelo
With real life examples , describe any four importance of sociology that help in academic achievement
Lazarus Reply
SOCIAL INSTITUTION IN TRADITIONAL AFRICAN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
Oyintokoni Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Introduction to sociology 2e. OpenStax CNX. Jan 20, 2016 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11762/1.6
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Introduction to sociology 2e' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask