The Big Thinkers
Who defined religion as “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things”?
Émile Durkheim
What is the most formal and all-encompassing type of religious organization?
Ecclesia
Belief in one god is called what?
Monotheism
What is the largest single religious group in the U.S.?
Christianity
Which theory sees religion as promoting social stability?
Functionalism
Which theorist saw religion as an “opiate of the masses”?
Karl Marx
What do we call a large, mainstream religious body that coexists with others?
Denomination
Belief in multiple gods is called what?
Polytheism
What term describes the decline in religious influence?
Secularization
Which theory sees religion as maintaining inequality?
Conflict Theory
Who argued that religion can promote social change, as seen in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism?
Max Weber
What type of group often splits from a denomination to renew faith?
Sect
Belief that spirits inhabit nature (trees, animals, etc.) is called what?
Animism
What is a church with over 2,000 attendees called?
Megachurch
Which theory studies religious symbols and meanings in daily life?
Symbolic Internationalism
According to Durkheim, what do religious rituals help create in society?
Social cohesion and collective conscience
What small, new religious group forms around a charismatic leader?
Cult / New Religious Movement
Which global religion emphasizes the Four Noble Truths?
Buddhism
What describes people who identify as spiritual but not religious?
Religious “nones”
According to functionalists, what needs does religion fulfill?
Social cohesion, control, and meaning
(one of these is fine)
Marx believed religion helped maintain what kind of system?
Class inequality / capitalism
Rank these from most to least formal: Sect, Cult, Ecclesia, Denomination.
Ecclesia → Denomination → Sect → Cult
Which religion teaches karma and reincarnation?
Hinduism
What theology combines Christian beliefs with activism for justice?
Liberation theology
Give one example of a religious symbol studied in interactionism.
Cross, Star of David, crescent moon, etc.