Society & Culture Belief Systems & Ideologies general notes PDF

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Brianna Johnson, SAC, 2019

Society & Culture: Belief Systems & Ideologies Key Terminologies For This Unit: ● Beliefs: A set of opinions or ideas that we believe in as the truth. Can be derived by one's own experience and reflection or from what is told to them in their micro, meso and macro worlds. ● Customs: Established ways of acting or cultural practices that are unique groups in society, have important links to heritage, values and traditions ● Institutional Power: Power institutions and how it is used to control aspects of society, include family, school, law and government. They have the inherent ability to control our social realities ● Philosophy: Set of ideas that contains a way of thinking and having that makes up a broad field of knowledge ● Ritual: Series of action performed according to a prescribed order, they range in significance ● Secularisation: A process whereby religion loses its influence over various sphere of social life. Secular society has emerged from the modernisation process whereby the rise of scientific knowledge and technological advancements have shaped ideas about spiritual thinking in society ● Symbols: Ability to culturally unify a group of people through representation and meaning ● Values: Deeply held ideas and beliefs that guide our thinking, language and behaviour, can be part of one’s culture and can be challenged ● Worldview: A particular philosophy of life or conception of the world that is characterised by an organised and an accepted set of ideas that attempts to explain the social and cultural physical and psychological world.

The similarities & Differences between Belief Systems & Ideologies ➔ At a micro level, one might believe that their ideas are correct, even when they’re challenged by opposing ideas ➔ At a meso level, one might believe that their football team is the best, whether or not it is objectively the best ➔ At a macro level, one might believe that their nation’s values are what the whole world should adopt, even when the values of other nations are more highly commended by other bodies ➔ Beliefs are deeply personal features of our beings ➔ Belief systems: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. ➔ For followers of belief systems, their connection to their systems define who they are, how they live, their activities, marriage ➔ For those who truly hold faith in their belief systems, there may be little room for negotiation or change of mind, this is where conflict can occur. ➔ Ideologies, large ideas that are held with passion: Confucianism, feminism, environmentalism

Brianna Johnson, SAC, 2019

➔ Ideology is less organised in comparison to belief systems, but are still ingrained ➔ Belief systems & ideologies produce worldviews, for example, the worldview of many large organised religious groups (Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism) is that their belief system is most correct and should be universally & internationally followed. The Nature & Role of Shared Values ➔ Shared values underpin belief systems & ideologies. Values provide meaning, purpose, unification and identity. ➔ Shared beliefs and understanding provides the consolidation of the identity of its adherents/members Religious and Non-religious Belief Systems & Ideologies ➔ Christianity: Religous ➔ Communism, Feminism: Non-religious ➔ Buddhism: Both religious & non-religious ➔ Confucianism: Often regarded are religious but without a central god ➔ Psychologist E. D Bono says, ‘Whether a religion focuses on god, such as Islam, on an absence of god, such as Buddhism or on the total denial of a god, Atheism may not be of great importance.’ , rather it is the ability their belief systems and ideologies have to unite people and groups that is allows them the importance ➔ Not the ideology or the religion behind a value or belief system, it is the person behind the religion and whether or not they have radical, extremist motivations that encourage conflict to occur. Expression of Beliefs, Values & Perception Belief systems and ideologies are behind the values we express Atheism: Deny God Agnosticism: Potential God Humanism: Human prosperity first, can be religious and non-religious Fundamentalism: Those who only believe their own views and deny the validity of any other belief Ritual Expression of Belief Systems & Ideologies Analyse the ritual, stories and beliefs of a national custom that you are familiar with: Australia Day (26th of January) Rituals: - Bunnings Sausage Sizzle - Triple J’s Top 100 music chart - BBQ’s and Community gatherings - Going to the beach/pool Stories: Celebrating the Colonisation of Australia by British Colonies in 1788, seen as ‘when Australia was founded’ Beliefs: There exist two prominent sides of beliefs surrounding Australia Day in contemporary society - Australia Day Traditionalists: Predominantly older white-Australians who do not see why a ritual that is seemingly harmless needs to be changed to fit with a modern status quo or understanding. - Anti-Australia Day thinkers: Predominantly younger Australians or Indigenous Australians who believe that the ritual is harmful in its erasure of the genocide and colonisation of Indigenous Australia and her custodians.

Brianna Johnson, SAC, 2019

Are national customs innately religious? No, rather they are adopted and celebrated by particular groups of people who are religious or linked with a particular religion, which in turn results in the national ritual and celebration taking on religious overtones or undertones. For example, ANZAC Day, although it is not innately religious, at many Dawn Services Catholic prayers are performed. Hierarchies & Power structures in Belief Systems There to reinforce authority & set communal agenda and tone Example: the Rigid/Formal hierarchy social structure of the Roman Catholic church, which is based on the ancient Roman Empire; Pope -> Cardinals -> Bishops -> Parish Priests -> Priests-> Laity Secularisation in Australia The process of society moving away from being shaped and managed by a close alignment with a particular faith system towards non-religious or not innately religious values and institutions Secularisation is not itself a belief system or ideology, but a socially upheld value that supports free choice over one’s life and alignment to belief systems, either religious or non-religious Statistics from 2011 Aus National Census show that 30 per cent of Australians declared that their either not believe in God or have no interest in religion = Aus has obviously undergone secularisation, moving further away from Aus’s religious foundation. Within 100 years, the total number of Christians in Australia fell from 95% to 61%, with those who identify as non-religious 0.4% to 22.3% (1911-2011). Vegan Extremists/Militant Vegans What they do: Deliberately posing the conflict theory, in turn providing an antithesis to the thesis to an attempt to change the reality in social they deem immoral What is the Fundamental belief of the group? Meat and consuming animals and animal products are immoral and not acceptable in any way whatsoever. Rather we should adopt an extreme and entirely vegan lifestyle and diet, anything that opposes this is innately immoral. How is the collective identity expressed? Protests, entering private spaces such as restaurants and farms to advocate against capitalising on animal agriculture, eating and consuming animals and animal products. Also, wear similar clothing that unifies their cause What symbols or rituals do they have? Protesting and gathering together, having a great online presence, adorning clothing which advocates their cause. More extremist rituals include entering private property and protesting. Chanting together similar slogans, similar to ‘amen’ Animals, photographing them in agriculture, portraying them online are their main symbols What happens if you disagree with them? How do they react? They often come across and talk with an extreme level of pathos. They take opposition very offensively, fundamentalists will only see their view and understanding as the truth. Thus, if someone opposes them they may react passionately or even in some instances, violently.

Brianna Johnson, SAC, 2019

What is the hierarchy in the Militant Vegan movement? 1st Powerful leaders with high, usually online influence and presence are first 2nd Followed by those who may organise the protests, movements or the group itself 3rd Followers of the group, other vegans The role of technology? Technology plays a great roll in giving the militant vegan movement exposure, which provides the group unification, meaning and purpose. This can be seen through the mass amounts of militant vegan groups congregating online on platforms such as Facebook, allowing people internationally to become unified and given a purpose and reason to continue. Salvation 101! Christianity: Belief System Example Essential Vocab: ➔ Clerics: Priests ➔ Cardinals: High-Level priests ➔ Sacraments: Actions that are holy and involved in worship, for example, Baptism ➔ Rite: Religious Rituals ➔ Sin = rebellion against God that must be punished Where are power and authority derived from and where is it delegated? Sacred Texts: The Nicean Creed Where/Who is the power: ‘He has spoken through the prophets’ = the prophets, cardinal, priests, etc are delegated a sense of power to act on the authority of caught ‘Pontius Pilate’ = a man, the governor of Judaea, has the power to crucify Jesus Where/Who is the authority: God and Jesus have the authority and legitimate power = ‘We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life who proceeds from the Father and Son… he is worshipped and glorified.’ Where is the belief, what must one believe even if it doesn't compute: ‘Incarnate from the Virgin Mary’ = a virgin giving birth ‘On the third day, he rose again’ = rising from the dead after burial Modern Day Christianity: Different forms/congregations of Christianity: ● Protestant ● Anglican ● Catholic ● Orthodox Due to conflict and disagreements that arise, a result of differing interpretations of key sacred texts and values, in order to restabilise the concept and followers of Christianity, fundamentalism was implemented and different branches of slightly differing ideologies achieve this. For example, the concept of Audultry in The Book of Mathew was interpreted and valued differently by King Henry 6th, resulting in the establishment of what we understand as The Anglican Church now in modern society. Rituals & Symbols in Christianity: Where/who is the authority? Baptism: used to ‘Take away sin’, however, the interpretation of the notion of Baptism was different amongst different subsections. Was it a physical washing of sin or just symbolic?

Brianna Johnson, SAC, 2019

Catholic and Orthodox: At a macro level, baptism is the removal of the original sin. Authority: The word and instruction of the pope, for example, Pope Francis (2018). Protestant: at the macro level, it is a symbol of faith, on a micro/personal level, the choice to baptise can be an individual expression of faith. Authority: The Bible and its writings Salvation Army: Rejection of baptism Due to the differing interpretations, conflict arose, namely between the Protestants who saw the Bible as their authority, believing that in power deligated too the micro and individual choice of Baptism versus the Charismatic Christians who saw the authority lies within the leaders of their Church and placed importance on the meso tradition of physically washing. The Lord’s Supper/Eucharist: Catholic and Orthodox: Literally the body and blood of the religious figure, Jesus Christ. Authority: For example, the Roman Catholic Church, this authority is found amongst the previous popes and leaders interpretation of the Bible’s phrase, “This is my body, given to you. This is my blood, given to you”. Founding the concept of transubstantiation. Protestation: Symbol of faith and figures of Christianity The symbol of the Cross: What we understand to be the modern cross, Ichthys is a fish: - Each letter of the symbol Serbian orthodoxy: - Has three circles on it that seek to embody the trinity within the Christian faith Celtic Christianity: - A traditional cross with a circle in the middle Protestants: - Whilst similar in look to the Catholic cross, however, they do not predict Jesus to be on the cross. As the founding leaders of the protestant church interpreted Sample paragraph regarding the ordained females/priests: The authority for most Christians Churches and followers of Christianity is the Bible. However, the power used in the structure of older, more conservative Churches such as the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church, means that people who are higher in the power structure take on a sense of authority of their own. An example of such can be noted in the rituals of Baptism and Holy Communion. Typically, Catholics hold the view that church leaders of the past, for instance, Saint Jerome, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church have a great sense of authority. This authority says that Baptism is the removal of ‘original sin’, and thus infants are encouraged to be baptised. And that during the ritual of communions, the bread and wine consumed is literally the blood and body through the process of transubstantiation. Protestant churches typically oppose this thesis and interpretation, their personal symbolic interactionism stating that both the rituals of Baptism and Communions are symbolic expressions of their belief system. Gender Roles in Christianity: The Issue of Women in Christianity Female Ordination: making a woman a priest Authority in favour: Authority against: In late 2016 Pope Francis, the current pope of the roman catholic church affirmed what the previous pope, John Paul II said regarding females being ordained. That a female will not be ordained as priests, Jesus is a man, thus only men can accurately embody him, this doctrine and the traditions of the Catholic church

Brianna Johnson, SAC, 2019

is the authority, rather than the bible, what many other Christians (namely Protestant). Numerous times the Catholic church as cited the Bible to affirm their beliefs, however, no reputable scholar has supported the notion that the Bible explicitly says that women cannot become a priest. Predicting near-future change surrounding this issue: When disagreements or issues arise in within Christianity, what usually occurs is the conflict theory. For example, the circumstances of how the Christian denomination Anglican arose, when a antithesis surrounding marriage and divorce challenged the conservative thesis of the Catholic Church. If a large-scale conflict surrounding the concept of female-priests were to occur, it is likely that conflict theory and a similar situation were factions who hold antithesis’ surrounding female ordination would break off and differentiate from the ‘thesis’ group. Symbolic Interactionism surrounding the notion of “accept” and “accepting” “When I think of support, I think of accept” = Symbolic interactionism with the notion of ‘support’ Support = accept, agree VS Support = not necessarily agree but understand the differences and accept this and support them Those who believe the Authority as the Bible = Usually more conservative Those who believe the Authority as a mixture of Context + Bible = Usually more liberal Define the meanings of: Belief systems World View Ideology

Belief System: A set of principles or beliefs which form the basis of a large belief, eg: religion, philosophy or moral code World View: A way in which a particular individual or group understand the world in which they live in Ideology: A system of ideas or ideals which forms the basis of a belief, usually an economic or political theory

Identify the nature and extent of Christianity both within and outside Australia?

Australia: Due to the contemporary secular nature of Australia, Christianity and all the denominations of Christianity, for the most part coexist with other dominant religious groups, for example Islam. However, it should also be noted that due Christianity being the religion of the English who colonised Australia in the 1700s, Christianity has prevailed and is still a very dominant religion in Australia. Internationally: In many non-western countries, where religion is either banned or governmentally regulated, Christianity either doesn’t ‘exist’ (North Korea) or is the ‘absolute’ religion (Medieval Western Europe during the Saxon Wars) and no other religion exists in tandem with it.

Identify some of the questions that humans have asked about human existence, societies, environments and time that have led to the development of varied belief systems

Human existence: Why must one follow a moral code, specifically surrounding killing? Because of a higher power? Depending on what morals and the culture, a variety of belief systems very similar in nature have developed. Societies: How should society be composed and interact with one another? Environments: How should one interact with the environment and nature? Time: What has occured in the past and what is to come in our future (particularly post-death)

Identify the difference between religious and non-religious

Religious belief system: Based on a or many sacred texts, aims to provide an answer or explain the existence of a higher power. Religious belief systems are usually rather formal/strict and has traditions, rituals and customs

Brianna Johnson, SAC, 2019

belief systems

Non-Religious belief system: Can be derived or founded on anything, not necessarily based on sacred texts. However, like religious belief systems, also units a group of people under a core set of beliefs, for example Confucianism.

Examine the nature and role of ideology and beliefs in societies and culture

Ideologies such as Communism and Feminism’s nature and role in societies is to unite a demographic under a core set of beliefs or understandings. For many beliefs and ideologies, they coexist in contemporary society (Christianity in Aus), however many were founded to challenge the social thesis and invoke social change, usually through conflict theory (Western, 3rd wave feminism).

Identify the impact of Christianity upon persons, societies and cultures across time

Persons: On a micro level, the Christian doctrine through the sacred texts, namely Holy Bible, Ten Commandments and Paul in Romans 8 dictates how an individual is to conduct themselves individually and interact on a meso and macro scale. Past: the impact can be noted as more rigid, as within the Catholic and Orthodox denominations throughout time and still largely till this day. Contemporary: Progressive Christianity movement that can be found in many denominations of Christianity, example: Protestant. Many progressive Christians interpret the ideas in Romans 8 as contextual, and not to be translated literally Societies: New Testament, Galatians states that society should operate, namely surrounding relationships, sexual relations, envy and intoxication. To ensure all those “Inherent God’s Kingdom”, society must function and adhere to these notions. Past: More rigid, especially within the Catholic denomination where those who didn’t adhere to these notions, they would face prosecution, social exile, and sometimes physical violence. Contemporary: Due to the development of Western secularism, for the most part churches under Christianity now adopt the ideology of ‘religious coexistence’ and this, with the exception of hate crimes and religion-fueled terrorism, as proved quite effective in allowing many denominations and religions to exist without mass quantities of conflict. Cultures: Past: In the past the impact of Christianity on cultures was varied, for many cultures it replaced and defined the societies it came in contact with, for example Rome. In other places, such as in Eastern Europe and Serbian Orthodox or Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox, both culture and religion merged to create an amalgam and a nationalistic tie with Christianity. Contemporary: In many western secular societies both religion and cul...