Abstract The cognitive and social functions of Christianity relieve death anxiety among Christians by establishing an inclusive group that functions to depreciate the significance of physical death, while simultaneously attaining a high degree of comfort in its unity. This paper points out that dependence placed by congregants upon the Church, and symbolically, God, allows Christians to deny their own mortality, and thus relieves them of paralyzing death thoughts. It states that, while superficially solving the universal tragedy of death, the denial of individual autonomy and the implications of religious claims to absolute truth that are inherent in religious practice are detrimental to the ego and fail to fully alleviate thanatophobic convictions among Christians.
From the Paper "Throughout human history, the mystery of death has fascinated and frightened the human mind. From its first encounter with death, usually through the loss of a loved one, the mind struggles either consciously or unconsciously to escape the inevitability of its end. It generally attempts to alleviate death anxiety through the creation or adoption of a myth system or through commitment to a social support group. Modern religion, particularly Christianity, provides both a mythical system of explanation and a social system that together serve to dissolve, ignore or suppress thoughts of death through a repression of the individual and his ego."
Abstract This paper details in great length the reasons why the author has abandoned Christianity. The argument includes principles of Christianity concerning the character of Jesus, fallacies in the Bible and the prophecies as reasons for the author's decision.
From the Paper "There are many reasons why I am not a Christian. In this paper I am going to present my case for not being a Christian and argue for my beliefs. I am sure that I will sound harsh and cruel in parts of this paper, but I ask that you, the reader, do not take it personally and that you understand that I am being so in order to get my point across.For the first eighteen and a half years of my life I was a Christian. I was brought up in a Southern Baptist Church, but I did not consider myself to be a Baptist. I considered myself a Christian. I was never one to like denominations that claimed to worship the same thing, each of course claiming that they where the ones that were correct. So I simply called myself a Christian and let other people bicker and argue about the petty things. But I did consider myself a good Christian, as nearly all Christians believe the same about themselves, I simply was not worried about whether someone should be sprinkled with water or dunked during baptism. I mean do you really think that God would care that much about you being soaked or lightly sprayed? I didn?t think so. To me it was the spiritual aspect that was important. But I think that my dissatisfaction with the factions within Christianity itself, Catholic or Protestant (and if Protestant what denomination), made it easier for me to let go of the religion altogether."
Abstract This essay critically assesses the contribution of cultural sociology to the understanding of religion. It does this by first examining and summarizing how three "classical sociological theorists" (i.e.: Weber, Durkheim and Marx) see the nature of religion as a cultural form. It then looks at various recent theories of religion under globalization. The author then assesses the contribution that these cultural theories give to the understanding of real religious phenomena through examining whether they can help in an understanding of Islamic fundamentalism in general, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Algeria specifically. The paper includes extensive use of quotes from the three theorists.
From the Paper "In fact, according to Giddens, Marx believed that religion is the "opium of the people" (Giddens, 1996, p464). In other words, Marx believed that religion defers happiness and rewards to the afterlife, teaching the acceptance of existing conditions in this life. This means that attention is diverted away from inequalities and injustices in this life by promising a better future in the Afterlife. In addition to this, Budd believes that Marx thought religion not only reflected the suffering of the working class, but offered a "fantasy escape" from that suffering (Budd, 1973). Marx believed that religion had a very powerful ideological element, and that religious beliefs and values often provide justifications of inequalities of wealth and power (Giddens, 1996). He further claims that religion often has ideological implications which serve to justify the interests of the ruling class at the expense of other subordinate classes (Giddens, 1996)."
Abstract This paper discusses the importance of the scientific method to sociological research. The author explains the way it is employed in sociological studies.
From the Paper "When considering the field of sociology, many researchers reject the idea that it may be classified as a science in the same sense that biology and chemistry are. Indeed many believe that because sociology studies phenomena that usually..."
Tags:sociology, science, scientfic method, hypothesis, data
Abstract The writer of this essay examines sociological perspectives for law enforcement. In this article, perspectives on crime and crime prevention are explored. The writer discusses sociology as a tool, that can be used at the planning and policy levels to devise more effective crime prevention strategies.
From the Paper "The first reaction of a working law enforcement officer on hearing the word sociology is likely to be negative. It evokes a mental image of naive professors who have little or no experience of crime, its perpetrators or its victims and who spend their time coming up with theories of root causes of crime that supposedly absolve criminals of all responsibility for their actions. This image, however, has been largely created by Hollywood and has little more ... "
Abstract The paper examines a few key components of Durkheim's path breaking work. Specifically, the paper reviews Durkheim's rules for the sociological method, as well as his functionalist approach to sociology. No less important, some time is devoted to examining why social integration and social solidarity were so important to his functionalist theory.
From the Paper "Emile Durkheim's contributions to sociology are voluminous. The following paper will examine a few key components of Durkheim's path-breaking work. Specifically, the next several pages will review Durkheim's rules for the sociological method, as well as his functionalist approach to sociology; no less importantly, some time will be devoted to examining why social integration and social solidarity were so important to his functionalist theory. From there, the paper will review the relevance of Durkheim's sociology to today's world and conclude with how his sociological method might be modified to address with a pressing social issue taking place presently."
Abstract This paper proposes that the study of sociology is readily applicable to the workplace. Although sociology explores human society, the author contends that social arrangements found in the world also exist within human organizations. This discipline can tell us much about business structures and corporations.
From the Paper "Sociology, as most of us well know, is the study of human society and of the social institutions and arrangements human beings create. What is perhaps less well-known, however, is that sociology also tells us much about the business structures and corporations which define our contemporary world. For example, it seems logical to conclude that the same social arrangements which inform the world outside a large organization are the very same ones found inside a large organization - for the most part. Therefore, business or professional organizations in a patriarchal (or matriarchal) society can be reasonably expected"
Abstract This paper examines the concepts of gender inequality and racial prejudice from James M. Henslin's "Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach". The author points out that the dimensions of each of these structural injustices.
From the Paper "In James M Henslin's "Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach", many issues and concepts encapsulated within the domain of sociology are explored. Of these, two issues are particularly compelling in light of one another -- gender inequality and racial prejudice. Each of ..."
Abstract This paper reviews approaches of economic sociology to explaining the development and functioning of markets.
From the Paper "In the dim distant past before the discipline of economics attempted to redefine itself as a precise mathematical science, credible economists considered the effects of institutions on markets recognized that one size does not fit all in relation to human behavior and accepted the proposition that uncertainty can never be completely factored out of any analysis of human activity, The neoclassical economic perspective prevailing in today's world however goes to extremes to define each economic relationship as narrowly as possible to eliminate uncertainty and assign a ..."
Abstract The paper discusses both Iranian and United States statistics in relation to each nation. The paper further discusses the social orders of each nation, as well as the forms of political power that exists within the countries. The paper uses sociological theory as a framework for this discussion, drawing conclusions from the research based upon these theoretical perspectives.
From the Paper "Iran was formerly known as Persia until 1935. By 1979 Iran was an Islamic republic with a theocratic system of government. Problems existing in the nation include its continued strained relations with the United States that began when Iranian terrorists held American hostages in the United States Embassy in Iran from 1979-1981. Also, until 1988, Iran was in a consistent war with neighboring Iraq, a war that intensified hostilities with the United States in the Persian Gulf from 1987-1988. Iran is considered a terrorist nation by the United States, and has been subjected to "US economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement" in terrorism ("Iran", 2004). Iran is located in the Middle East between Iraq and Pakistan, and is comprised of 68, 017, 860 people. For every 1,000 people in the nation there are approximately 17 new births, and 6 deaths."
Abstract This paper looks closely at two central questions regarding the sociology of historical modes of production. It looks firstly at antique, chiefdom and then slave modes of production, and there progression. Next, it it looks at the methods of the feudal system, how it functioned, and the methods which the landlords and the church used to oppress the peasants.
From the Paper "Chiefdom's began to become more dominant as environmental factors, such as an abundance of resources, food and materials can be obtained from a variety of natural resources (Landstreet "Chiefdom" 229). With this society based upon a redistribution of goods, people would work together in order to supply one another with basic needs. If there was one Chiefdom in an area, others would likely follow; as this process continued, chiefdoms became more and more dominantly linked in society and to one another that older, tribal or band societies began to decline (Landstreet "Chiefdom" 232). Labor, thus, was divided into ..."
Abstract This paper includes a reaction to the reading of three works regarding the sociology of cities. The basic thrust of the essay is that cities can still thrive if they stress values and cultural elements which give them a competitive advantage. Austin and Miami are examples used in the readings. An effort is made to tie the readings together and explain why these cities thrive.
From the Paper "In their introductory sociology text, Giddens, Duneier, and Appelbaum point to cities as important forces in socialization because it is in the city that life teems and tosses in a stew of human activity fueling creativity, conflict, diversity, progress, industrialization, and organization. It is in the city that humans come together for struggle or education and the ideas that come out of that clash often lead the progress in economic development, personal enlightenment, human rights, and other important social developments. Because of the proximity of other humans in the city, people are forced to come face to face with their prejudices and their own ideologies. That is the reason the city has a special place in the creative conflict that is human history. But do cities really matter anymore?"
An examination of the sociological perspective through the fictional depiction of an owner of a corporation exploiting the labor of illegal migrant workers.
Abstract The paper begins by giving a scenario in which the owner of a corporation exploits illegal migrant workers by forcing them to work on American holidays. The paper discusses how this exemplifies six social terms: social marginality, social mobility, culture, social stratification, discrimination, and exploitation. The paper then describes how forcing of the workers to work on American holidays primarily represents an example of exploitation. The author explains how the manager's actions represent dynamics of the three social paradigms that define the sociological perspective; structure-functionalism, Marxism, and symbolic interactionism.
From the Paper "Closely related to the concept of exploitation in the example are five other social problems of social marginality, social mobility, culture, social stratification, and discrimination that Macionis identifies. Within the example of Mr. Smith, we can see how each of Macionis' identified problems apply to provide an added perspective on the dynamics of society. Social marginality also contributes to the problem here, because it allows certain ethnic groups to be disregarded or forgotten as far as rights entitlement due to inferior status within society."
Tags:sociology, john macionis, marxism, structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism
Abstract This paper is very in-depth and complex as it delves into Greek and Classical philosophy and the Christian religion with its Jewish roots. The paper discusses differences and similarities between different classical philosophies and Christian thought and how each has influenced the other. The paper first defines Christianity as a philosophy and explains why it can be considered as such; it sets up a basis for comparison. Then the paper discusses the similarities between Christianity and "pagan" philosophies. When that subject is exhausted, it moves on to contrast the two. After the general classic philosophies, the paper compares and contrasts the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, specifically, to Christianity. Finally, the paper "presents an argument for Christianity as a complete philosophy in the manner in which it can satisfy discrepancies in other philosophies while defending some of its own." The paper looks at problems with Greek philosophies and how Christianity solved them or presented an alternative.
From the Paper "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22-23, NIV). These words, spoken by Paul, mark the introduction of Christianity in Athens, Greece, a center of philosophy in the ancient world. Paul goes on to explain the heart of the religion to a group of Epicureans and Stoics in the marketplace. Some of the men "sneer" at him, but others ask him to speak of these "strange ideas" more so that they can understand. Acts 17:34 goes on to tell of several Greeks who become Christians as a result of Paul's message. The acceptance of Christianity as a new and interesting idea by some of the Athenian philosophers implies several things: first, that Christianity was itself viewed as a philosophy; second, that Christianity must have had something in common with the major philosophies of the day; and finally, that Christianity must have offered to some what the other philosophies of the day did not. Making these statements at this point in my paper may seem presumptuous; however, I am prepared to discuss my conclusions, first by showing that Christianity is a philosophy in the true sense of the word, then by comparing it to other philosophies, and finally, by showing how it "fills in the gaps" of other Greek philosophies."
Abstract This paper is an in-depth discussion regarding the Church's position on politics. The author covers such issues as school prayer, evolution, abortion, censorship, euthanasia, the Democratic Party, and the separation between church and state.
From the paper:
"Christians have had a lock on education and government for a very long time, and they are reeling from the strides society has made away from myth and fantasy. They are ill equipped to handle their loss of power, because they have never had to deal with such a situation in their recent history."
"Christianity could not survive politically without support from a major political party, of which there are two. Irrespective of which political party Christians had allied themselves to; it would still have to compromise its beliefs. If they had chosen the Democratic Party, Christians would have had to accept a political platform that was open to homosexuals and women's liberation. The Democratic Party is also a party that is for religious freedom of choice, this to be expected from liberal organizations. The Democratic Party also has a liberal stand on censorship, which is in direct opposition to the Christian fundamentalist social agenda. For these reasons, and many others, the Christians kept shopping for a political home."
