CHAPTER 12
EDUCATION AND RELIGION
<fig>41099.jpg



<glos>animism
church
civil religion
credentialism
cult
cultural capital
denomination
ecclesia
education
hidden curriculum
profane
religion
sacred
sect
secularization
tracking


<np>I.   AN OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION AND RELIGION:    
       A.   Education and religion are powerful and influential institutions that impart values, beliefs, 
              and knowledge considered essential to the social reproduction of individual personalities and 
              entire cultures.
<s>        B.   Education and religion are socializing institutions: early socialization primarily takes place in families 
               and friendship networks; later socialization occurs in more formalized organizations created for the purposes 
               of education and religion.

<np>STOP: Explain why education and religion are powerful and influential forces in contemporary society.

<np>II.   SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATION
        A.   Functionalists view education as one of the most important components of society.
<w>  The National Center for educational Statistics, a division of the U.S. government collects and publishes reports on the condition of education, including students, faculty and teaching staff, school expenditures, and other useful compilations of data.  http://www.ed.gov/nces/index.html
<url>http://www.ed.gov/nces/index.html
<s>              1.   Education serves five major manifest functions open, stated, and intended goals or consequences 
                     of activities within an organization or institution:
<s>                    a.   Socialization
<s>                    b.   Transmission of culture
<s>                    c.   Social control
<s>                    d.   Social placement
<s>                    e.   Change and innovation
<s>              2.   Education has at least three latent functions -- hidden, unstated, and sometimes-unintended 
                     consequences of activities within an organization or institution:
<fig>24001<s>                    a.   Restricting some activities;
<s>                    b.   Matchmaking and production of social networks; and
<s>                    c.   Creation of a generation gap.
<np>         B.   According to conflict theorists, schools perpetuate class, race, ethnic, and gender inequalities as 
                some groups seek to maintain their privileged position at the expense of others.
<s>              1.   Reproduction of Class: education is a vehicle for reproducing existing class relationships.
<s>                    a.   According to Pierre Bourdieu, children have less chance of academic success when they lack 
                          cultural capital -- social assets that include values, beliefs, attitudes, and competencies 
                          in language and culture.
<s>                    b.   Children from middle and upper-income families are endowed with more cultural capital 
                          than children from working-class and poverty-level families.
<s>                    c.   Class reproduction also occurs through standardized tests, ability grouping, and tracking 
                          the assignment of students to specific courses and educational programs based on their test 
                           scores, previous grades, or both.

<np>STOP: Describe conflict perspectives on education and note how they differ from a functionalist perspective.

<np>II.   SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATION
        B.   According to conflict theorists, schools perpetuate class, race, ethnic, and gender inequalities as 
               some groups seek to maintain their privileged position at the expense of others.
<s>               2.   The hidden curriculum is the transmission of cultural values and attitudes, such as conformity 
                      and obedience to authority, through implied demands found in rules, routines, and regulations of schools.
<fig>24255<s>                      a.   Lower-class students may be disqualified from higher education and the credentials needed 
                            in a society that emphasizes credentialism a process of social selection in which class 
                            advantage and social status are linked to the possession of academic qualification.
<s>                      b.   Credentialism is closely related to meritocracy: persons who acquire the appropriate credentials 
                            for a job are assumed to have gained the position through what they know.
<s>                      c.   Gender bias is embedded in both the formal and the hidden curricula of schools; the educational 
                            opportunities of U.S. females are not equal to those of males in their social class.
<s>               3.   Unequal funding is a source of inequality in education.
<s>                     a.   Most educational funds are derived from local property taxes and state legislative appropriations.
<s>                     b.   Children living in affluent suburbs often attend relatively new schools and have access to the 
                           latest equipment which students in central city schools and poverty-ridden rural areas do not have.
<s>                     c.   A voucher system would allow students and their families to spend a specified sum of 
                           government money to purchase education at the school of their choice.
<np>         B.   According to conflict theorists, schools perpetuate class, race, ethnic, and gender inequalities as 
                some groups seek to maintain their privileged position at the expense of others.
<s>               4.   Segregated and Resegregated Schools
<s>                     a.   Racially segregated schools often have low retention rates, students with below-grade level 
                           reading skills, high teacher-student ratios, less-qualified teachers, and low teacher expectations 
<fig>45035<s>                     b.   Racial segregation is increasing in some U.S. schools, and efforts to bring about 
                           desegregation or integration have failed in many school districts.
<s>                     c.   African American and white achievement differences increase with every year of schooling; 
                           thus, schools may reinforce, rather than eliminate, the disadvantages of race and class.
<fig>41319<s>              5.   Class, Race, and Social Reproduction in Higher Education 
<w> The American Association of University Women regularly reports about gender and education.  http://www.aauw.org
<url>http://www.aauw.org
<s>                    a.   Access to colleges and universities are determined not only by a person's prior academic 
                          record but also by the ability to pay.
<vp>VIDEO: College costs continue to rise steeply despite low inflation in general.
<v>V15
<s>                    b.   Enrollment of low-income students in higher education has dropped since the 1980s as a 
                          result of declining scholarship funds and of many students having to hold a full- or part-time 
                          job to finance their education.
<np>         C.   Interactionist Perspective on Education
                1.   Education and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 
<s>                     a.   For some students, schooling may become a self-fulfilling prophecy an unsubstantiated 
                           belief or prediction that results in behavior which makes the originally false belief come true.
<s>                     b.   If a teacher (as a result of stereotypes based on the relationship between IQ and race) 
                           believes that some students of color are less capable of learning, that teacher (sometimes without 
                           even realizing it) may treat them as if they were incapable of learning.
<s>              2.   Education and Labeling
<w> Dropping Out of School is one of the persistent problems plagues education in America today. See the site of the National Dropout Prevention Center for information on research and programs for dropout prevention. http://www.dropoutprevention.org
<url>http://www.dropoutprevention.org
<s>                    a.   IQ testing has resulted in labeling of students (e.g., African American and Mexican American 
                          children have been placed in special education classes on the basis of IQ scores when they could 
                          not understand the tests).
<s>                    b.   A self-fulfilling prophecy also can result from labeling students as gifted.  When some 
                          students are labeled as better than others, they may achieve at a higher level because of the 
                          label, or they may face discrimination from others (e.g., Asian Americans as superintelligent).
<s>                    c.   Some analysts suggest that girls receive subtle cues from adults that lead them to attribute 
                          success to effort while boys learn to attribute success to their intelligence and ability.  
                          Conversely, girls attribute failure to lack of ability while boys attribute failure to lack of effort.

<np>STOP: Discuss interactionist perspectives on education, and describe the significance of the self-fulfilling prophecy and labeling on educational achievement.

<np>III.   RELIGION IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
         A.   Religion and the Meaning of Life 
<fig>Rl001319<s>                1.   Religion is a system of beliefs, symbols, and rituals, based on some sacred or supernatural 
                      realm, that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a community.
<fig>RL000562<s>                2.   Religion seeks to answer important questions such as why we exist, why people suffer and 
                      die, and what happens when we die.
<fig>Ls019831<s>                3.   Sacred and Profane
<fig>Rl001199<s>                      a.   According to Emile Durkheim, sacred refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary 
                            or supernatural; those things that are set apart as "holy."
<s>                      b.   Those things people do not set apart as sacred are referred to as profane, the everyday, secular or 
                            "worldly," aspects of life.
<s>                4.   In addition to beliefs, religion also is comprised of symbols and rituals -- symbolic actions that represent 
                      religious meanings that range from songs and prayers to offerings and sacrifices.
<fig>32082<np>               5.   Religions have been classified into four main categories based on their dominant belief:
<s>                     a.   Simple supernaturalism is the belief that supernatural forces affect people's lives either 
                           positively or negatively.
<s>                     b.   Animism is the belief that plants, animals, or other elements of the natural world are endowed 
                           with spirits or life forces having an impact on events in society.
<s>                     c.   Theism is a belief in one or more god or gods.
<s>                           (1)   Monotheism is a belief in a single, supreme being or god who is responsible for significant 
                                   events such as the creation of the world.  Examples include: Christianity and Judaism.
<s>                           (2)   Polytheism is a belief in more than one god.  Examples include Hinduism and Shinto. 
<s>                      d.   Transcendent idealism is a belief in sacred principles of thought and conduct, such as truth, 
                            justice, life, and tolerance for others.  An example is Buddhism.

<np>STOP: List and discuss the four categories of religion.

<np>III.   RELIGION IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
          B.   Religion and Scientific Explanation
                 1.   During the Industrial Revolution, rapid growth in scientific and technological knowledge 
                       gave rise to the idea that science ultimately would answer questions that previously had been 
                       in the realm of religion.
<s>                 2.   Many scholars believed that scientific knowledge would result in secularization -- the process 
                       by which religious beliefs, practices, and institutions lose their significance in sectors of society 
                       and culture -- but others point out a resurgence of religious beliefs and an unprecedented development 
                       of alternative religions in recent years.
<np>IV.   SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON RELIGION
         A.   Functionalist Perspectives on Religion 
<fig>60250<s>                1.   According to Emile Durkheim, the central feature of all religions is the presence of sacred 
                      beliefs and rituals that bind people together in a collectivity.
<s>               2.   Religion has three important functions in any society:
<s>                      a.   providing meaning and purpose to life;
<s>                      b.   promoting social cohesion and a sense of belonging; and
<s>                      c.   providing social control and support for the government.
<s>               3.   Civil religion is the set of beliefs, rituals, and symbols that make sacred the values of the 
                     society and place the nation in the context of the ultimate system of meaning.
<s>         B.   Conflict Perspectives on Religion
<s>               1.   According to Karl Marx, the capitalist class uses religious ideology as a tool of domination to 
                     mislead the workers about their true interests; thus, religion is the "opiate of the people."
<np>               2.   By contrast, Max Weber argued that religion could be a catalyst to produce social change.
<s>                      a.   In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber linked the teachings of 
                            John Calvin with the growth of capitalism.
<s>                      b.   Calvin emphasized predestination -- the belief that all people are divided into two groups, 
                            the saved and the damned, and only God knows who will go to heaven (the elect) and who will 
                            go to hell, even before they are born.
<s>                      c.   Because people cannot know whether they will be saved, they look for signs that they are 
                            among the elect.  As a result, people work hard, save their money and do not spend it on 
                            worldly frivolity; instead, they reinvest it in their land, equipment, and labor.
<s>                      d.   As people worked ever harder to prove their religious piety, structural conditions became 
                            right in Europe for the industrial revolution, free markets, and the commercialization of 
                            the economy, which worked hand-in-hand with their religious teachings.
<s>         C.   Interactionist Perspectives on Religion 
<fig>32082<s>               1.   For many people, religion serves as a reference group to help them define themselves.  
                      Religious symbols, for example, have a meaning to large bodies of people (e.g., the Star of 
                      David for Jews; the crescent moon and star for Muslims; and the cross for Christians).
<s>               2.   Her Religion and His Religion.  All people do not interpret religion in the same way.  
                     Women and men may belong to the same religions, but their individual religion will not 
                     necessarily be a carbon copy of the group's entire system of beliefs.


<np>V.   TYPES OF RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION
        A.   Some countries have an official or state religion known as an ecclesia a religious organization that 
               is so integrated into the dominant culture that it claims as its membership all members of a society. 
               Examples include: the Anglican Church (the official Church of England), the Lutheran Church in Sweden 
               and Denmark, the Catholic Church in Spain, and Islam in Iran and Pakistan.
<s>         B.   The Church-Sect Typology.
<s>                 1.   A church is a large, bureaucratically-organized religious organization that tends to seek 
                       accommodation with the larger society in order to maintain some degree of control over it.
<s>                 2.   Mid-way between the church and the sect is a denomination: a large, organized religion 
                       characterized by accommodation to society but frequently lacking in ability or intention 
                       to dominate society.
<s>                 3.   A sect is a relatively small religious group that has broken away from another religious 
                       organization to renew what it views as the original version of the faith.
<s>         C.   A cult is a religious group with practices and teachings outside the dominant cultural and religious 
               traditions of a society
<s>                 1.   Some major religions (including Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) and some denominations 
                       (such as the Mormons) started as cults.
<s>                 2.   Cult leadership is based on charismatic characteristics of the individual, including an unusual 
                       ability to form attachments with others.

<np>STOP: Distinguish between the different types of religious organizations and note why a religious group may move from one category to another over time.

<np>VI.   TRENDS IN RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES
          A.   The rise of a new fundamentalism has occurred at the same time that a number of mainline 
                 denominations have been losing membership.
<vp>VIDEO: One of the fastest growing religions in America is Islam.
<v>V11
<s>          B.   Some members of the political elite in Washington have vowed to bring religion "back" 
                 into schools and public life.

<w> Academic Info Religion maintains a site which serves as a reference to numerous Internet resources on religion. It includes links to sites on diverse religious faiths, religious studies programs, directories of religion in the U.S., new religious movements, and special topics such as women and religion.  http://www.academicinfo.net/religionindex.html
<url>http://www.academicinfo.net/religionindex.html

<np>VII.   EDUCATION AND RELIGION IN THE FUTURE
          A.   Education will remain an important social institution in the future.  Also remaining, however, will 
                 be the controversies over what should be taught and how to raise levels of academic achievement 
                 in the United States.
<s>          B.   Religious organizations will continue to be important in the lives of many people; however, 
                 the influence of religious beliefs and values will be felt even by those who claim no religious 
                 beliefs of their own.
<s>          C.   In other nations, the rise of religious nationalism has led to the blending of strongly held 
                 religious and political beliefs.
<s>          D.   In the United States, the influence of religion will be evident in ongoing battles over school 
                 prayer, abortion, gay rights, and women's issues, among others.  On some fronts, religion may unify 
                 people; on others, it may contribute to confrontations among individuals and groups.
<end>
<nq>20

<ques>_____is the social institution responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills, and cultural values within a formally organized structure.
<c1>Religion
<c2>Mass media
<c3>The government
<c4>Education
<ans>d<expl>Education is the social institution responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills, and cultural values within a formally organized structure. (p. 340)

<ques>Which of the following is a manifest function of education?
<c1>Creation of a generation gap
<c2>Restricting some activities
<c3>Matchmaking and production of social networks
<c4>Social control
<ans>d<expl>Which of the following is a manifest function of education? social control (p. 342)

<ques>_____functions are hidden, unstated, and sometimes unintended consequences of activities within an organization or institution.
<c1>Manifest
<c2>Dormant
<c3>Latent
<c4>Covert
<ans>c<expl>Latent functions are hidden, unstated, and sometimes unintended consequences of activities within an organization or institution. (p. 343)

<ques>Sociologist_____has suggested that students come to school with differing amounts of cultural capital.
<c1>Emile Durkheim
<c2>Pierre Bourdieu
<c3>Jeannie Oakes
<c4>Clifford Geertz
<ans>b<expl>Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has suggested that students come to school with differing amounts of cultural capital. (p. 344)

<ques>The assignment of students to specific courses and educational programs based on their test scores, previous grades, or both is known as:
<c1>tracking.
<c2>the hidden curriculum.
<c3>equitable assessment.
<c4>class reproduction.
<ans>a<expl>The assignment of students to specific course and educational programs based on their tests scores, previous grades, or both is known as tracking. (p. 343)


<ques>According to the_____perspective, the hidden curriculum affects working-class and poverty-level students more than it does students from middle- and upper-income families.
<c1>functionalist
<c2>conflict
<c3>interactionist
<c4>feminist
<ans>b<expl>According to the conflict perspective, the hidden curriculum affects working-class and poverty-level students more than it does students from middle- and upper-income families. (p. 344)

<ques>According to the text, schools for students from elite families:
<c1>work to develop students' analytical powers and critical thinking skills.
<c2>focus on creative activities in which students express their own ideas.
<c3>have decreased in number during the past decade.
<c4>have lowered their tuition in recent years in order to increase minority enrollment.
<ans>a<expl>According to the text, schools for students from elite families work to develop students' analytical powers and critical thinking skills. (p. 344)

<ques>Most educational funds are derived from:
<c1>the federal government.
<c2>private resources.
<c3>local property taxes and state legislative appropriations.
<c4>students' tuition and fees.
<ans>c<expl>Most educational funds are derived from local property taxes and state legislative appropriations. (p. 345)

<ques>Which of the following statements regarding higher education is true?
<c1>The enrollment of low-income students has increased since the 1980s.
<c2>There has been an increase in scholarship funds over the past decade.
<c3>The ability to pay for a college education reproduces the class system.
<c4>African American enrollment as a percentage of total college attendance has increased over the past two decades.
<ans>c<expl>Which of the following statements regarding higher education is true? The ability to pay for a college education reproduces the class system. (p. 349)

<ques>A teacher who believes (as a result of stereotypes based on the relationship between IQ and race) that some students of color are less capable of learning and treats them accordingly is an example of:
<c1>a self-fulfilling prophecy.
<c2>the labeling process.
<c3>tracking.
<c4>the hidden curriculum.
<ans>a<expl>A teacher who believes (as a result of stereotypes based on the relationship between IQ and race) that some students of color are less capable of learning and treats them accordingly is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. (p. 350)

<ques>According to Emile Durkheim,_____refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural.
<c1>religion
<c2>sacred
<c3>profane
<c4>superhuman
<ans>b<expl>According to Emile Durkheim, sacred refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural. (p. 351)

<ques>Three of the major world religions Christianity, Judaism, and Islam  are characterized as:
<c1>simple supernaturalism.
<c2>animism.
<c3>polytheism.
<c4>monotheism.
<ans>d<expl>Three of the major world religions Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are characterized as monotheism. (p. 352)

<ques>According to the functionalist perspective, religion offers meaning for the human experience by:
<c1>providing an explanation for events that create a profound sense of loss on both an individual and a group basis.
<c2>offering people a reference group to help them define themselves.
<c3>reinforcing existing social arrangements, especially the stratification system.
<c4>encouraging the process of secularization.
<ans>a<expl>According to the functionalist perspective, religion offers meaning for the human experience by providing an explanation for events that create a profound sense of loss on both an individual and a group basis. (p. 354)

<ques>Celebrations on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July are examples of:
<c1>religious tolerance.
<c2>civil religion.
<c3>patriotic ethnocentrism.
<c4>separation of church and state.
<ans>b<expl>Celebrations on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July are examples of civil religion. (p. 355)

<ques>According to _____, the capitalist class uses religious ideology as a tool of domination.
<c1>Emile Durkheim
<c2>C. Wright Mills
<c3>Karl Marx
<c4>Max Weber
<ans>c<expl>According to Karl Marx, the capitalist class uses religious ideology as a tool of domination. (p. 356)

<ques>In regard to religion, Max Weber asserted that:
<c1>church and state should be separated.
<c2>religion could be a catalyst to produce social change.
<c3>religion retards social change.
<c4>the religious teachings of the Catholic church were directly related to the rise of capitalism.
<ans>b<expl>In regard to religion, Max Weber asserted that religion could be a catalyst to produce social change. (p. 356)

<ques>"Her religion" and "his religion" have been examined from a(n) ____________ perspective.
<c1>functionalist
<c2>neo-Marxist
<c3>conflict
<c4>interactionist
<ans>d<expl>"Her religion" and "his religion" have been examined from an interactionist perspective. (p. 357)

<ques>The Anglican church in England and the Lutheran church in Sweden are examples of a(n):
<c1>church.
<c2>sect.
<c3>denomination.
<c4>ecclesia.
<ans>d<expl>The Anglican church in England and the Lutheran church in Sweden are examples of an ecclesia. (p. 358)

<ques>In a_____membership largely is based on birth, and children of members typically are baptized as infants.
<c1>church
<c2>sect
<c3>denomination
<c4>cult
<ans>a<expl>In a church, membership largely is based on birth, and children of members typically are baptized as infants. (p. 358)

<ques>According to the text, religious nationalism has led to the blending of strongly held religious and political beliefs is especially strong today in:
<c1>the United States.
<c2>Middle Eastern nations.
<c3>Japan.
<c4>Brazil.
<ans>b<expl>According to the text, religious nationalism has led to the blending of strongly held religious and political beliefs is especially strong today in Middle Eastern nations. (p. 363)

<tf>15
<ques>Debates about the appropriate relationship between public education and religion have occurred only recently in the United States.
<ans>F<expl>Debates about the appropriate relationship between public education and religion have occurred for many years. (p. 358)
<ques>According to Emile Durkheim, teachers are the functional equivalent of priests in teaching students about morality.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 340)
<ques>Manifest functions in education include teaching specific subjects, such as science, history, and reading. 
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 342)
<ques>Meritocracy is the process of social selection in which class advantage and social status are linked to the possession of academic qualifications.
<ans>F<expl>Credentialism is the process of social selection in which class advantage and social status are linked to the possession of academic qualifications. (p. 344)
<ques>Through reading materials, classroom activities, and treatment by teachers and peers, female students learn that they are less important than male students.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 345)
<ques>Current supporters of a voucher system primarily want to provide central city students with additional educational options.
<ans>F<expl>Current supporters of a voucher system primarily are members of affluent families and conservative religious groups who seek an alternative to public education and hope to use tax monies to subsidize their children's private school tuition. (p. 345)
<ques>Tracking and ability grouping may produce resegregation at the classroom level.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 347)
<ques>The issue of IQ and race/ethnicity originated with the highly controversial book by Herrnstein and Murray.
<ans>F<expl>The issue of IQ and race/ethnicity first arose in regard to early-twentieth-century immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe who scored lower, on average, on IQ tests than did Northern Europeans. (p. 350)
<ques>Across cultures and in different eras, a wide variety of things have been considered sacred.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 351)
<ques>Secularization is the process by which religious beliefs, practices, and institutions lose their significance in sectors of society and culture. 
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 354)
<ques>According to functionalist theorists, religious teachings and practices help promote social cohesion by emphasizing shared symbolism.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 355)
<ques>Karl Marx wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism to explain how religion may be used by the powerful to oppress the powerless.
<ans>F<expl>Max Weber wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism to explain how religion may be a catalyst for social change. (p. 356)
<ques>Religious groups vary widely in their organizational structure.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 358)
<ques>Denominations tend to be more tolerant and less likely than churches to expel or excommunicate members.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 358)
<ques>"New-right" fundamentalists have encouraged secular humanism in the schools.
<ans>F<expl>"New-right" fundamentalists have been especially critical of secular humanism in the schools. (p. 360)
<qend>