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This module discusses three ways in which religion affects and is affected by society.

Since religion is part of human society, it will also, like all other institutions, display certain social dimensions. Below, we will be looking at three of these dimensions.

Religion belongs to the group

The group into which a child is born, includes religion as part of its accepted lifestyle. Centuries before the child was born, the group has already decided what type of supernatural being or beings is to be worshipped and how this worship is to take place. The group has also long ago decided what kind of behaviour has received supernatural approval or disapproval.

A simple example in this respect may be the issue of food that can be either permissible or impermissible to eat. To some religious traditions the consumption of all meat is forbidden, whilst to others only certain kinds of meat, such as pork, may be prohibited. The same will be true of what ethical norms should be shared. In this regard it may be permissible in some traditions to have more than one wife or husband while in others monogamy will be strictly prescribed. The group also plays a decisive role in determining religious symbols. For example, the symbolic meaning of elements like water and fire will greatly vary from tradition to tradition and from group to group. Such symbols only acquire meaning once the group has reached agreement on the matter.

Religion is learned

Although it is true that new religions are founded and that religious changes do occur, it is equally true that most people find themselves at birth in an established religious pattern. We should remember though, that no individual is born with fixed religious convictions. The fact that most children follow the religious convictions of their parents, is due to social influence rather than to biological factors. Once the individual starts growing up, he or she begins to learn about religion and religious behaviour from his or her society.

Examples of these include how to participate in religious activities, how to communicate with a divine being and how to undergo prescribed rituals and ceremonies. Love for or fear of one or more supernatural being, for instance, needs to be learned. The individual must also learn to become familiar with the content and meaning of certain symbols. Nobody is automatically aware of the definitions of symbols such as "soul", "angel", "devil" or "god". It is only under the guidance of the group that these symbols become meaningful.

Religion can change

As time goes by, societies tend to change. Since religion forms part of society, it is only natural that it will then also be affected by social change. Religious behaviour and understanding are developed by humans in the way in which, in their opinion, harmony may be achieved with the wishes of the supernatural or with divine truth.

However, being part of an ever–changing society, religion is often confronted with the reality of and need for change. If the changes facing religion does not affect the basic principles on which a certain tradition is founded, the likelihood of that religion adapting to a changing society could be considerable. An example that could be mentioned in this regard is the position of women.

The position of women, particularly in Western society, has in certain respects undergone major changes from what it has been a century or two ago. Although in general still far behind the changes that secular society has brought to the position of women, some religious traditions have taken note of these changes. Where it was before almost unthinkable to have women ordained as priests, this has happened in certain religious traditions - in 2015, Rev Libby Lane became the first female priest in the Church of England to be ordained as a bishop. Since these traditions did not have the submission of women as one of their building blocks, it was possible to adapt to a changing society. However, change in the attitude towards women have not as yet filtered through to all religious traditions.

Questions & Answers

A golfer on a fairway is 70 m away from the green, which sits below the level of the fairway by 20 m. If the golfer hits the ball at an angle of 40° with an initial speed of 20 m/s, how close to the green does she come?
Aislinn Reply
cm
tijani
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John Reply
what is physics
Siyaka Reply
A mouse of mass 200 g falls 100 m down a vertical mine shaft and lands at the bottom with a speed of 8.0 m/s. During its fall, how much work is done on the mouse by air resistance
Jude Reply
Can you compute that for me. Ty
Jude
what is the dimension formula of energy?
David Reply
what is viscosity?
David
what is inorganic
emma Reply
what is chemistry
Youesf Reply
what is inorganic
emma
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter,it composition,it structure and the changes it undergoes
Adjei
please, I'm a physics student and I need help in physics
Adjanou
chemistry could also be understood like the sexual attraction/repulsion of the male and female elements. the reaction varies depending on the energy differences of each given gender. + masculine -female.
Pedro
A ball is thrown straight up.it passes a 2.0m high window 7.50 m off the ground on it path up and takes 1.30 s to go past the window.what was the ball initial velocity
Krampah Reply
2. A sled plus passenger with total mass 50 kg is pulled 20 m across the snow (0.20) at constant velocity by a force directed 25° above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the work of the applied force, (b) the work of friction, and (c) the total work.
Sahid Reply
you have been hired as an espert witness in a court case involving an automobile accident. the accident involved car A of mass 1500kg which crashed into stationary car B of mass 1100kg. the driver of car A applied his brakes 15 m before he skidded and crashed into car B. after the collision, car A s
Samuel Reply
can someone explain to me, an ignorant high school student, why the trend of the graph doesn't follow the fact that the higher frequency a sound wave is, the more power it is, hence, making me think the phons output would follow this general trend?
Joseph Reply
Nevermind i just realied that the graph is the phons output for a person with normal hearing and not just the phons output of the sound waves power, I should read the entire thing next time
Joseph
Follow up question, does anyone know where I can find a graph that accuretly depicts the actual relative "power" output of sound over its frequency instead of just humans hearing
Joseph
"Generation of electrical energy from sound energy | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore" ***ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7150687?reload=true
Ryan
what's motion
Maurice Reply
what are the types of wave
Maurice
answer
Magreth
progressive wave
Magreth
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Muhammad Reply
fine, how about you?
Mohammed
hi
Mujahid
A string is 3.00 m long with a mass of 5.00 g. The string is held taut with a tension of 500.00 N applied to the string. A pulse is sent down the string. How long does it take the pulse to travel the 3.00 m of the string?
yasuo Reply
Who can show me the full solution in this problem?
Reofrir Reply
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Source:  OpenStax, Learning about religion. OpenStax CNX. Apr 18, 2015 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11780/1.1
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