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Religion as social control agency
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Metaphor, in reference to the “veins of society”, illustrates the necessity of non-conformists for a prevailing theocracy, establishing that opposition towards a totalitarian regime fuels the perpetual dehumanization among its non-adherents (115.4). It is initially stated that the act of opposing the culturally established religion is like “inject[ing] blood into the veins of society”, as if feeding societal intolerance of governmental suppression. Society is defined by individuals—a lack of dissent towards conforming behavior renders the absence of society. However, a theocratic regime’s adherence to its religious values drives the implementation of regulations in order to preserve its own culture. By upholding extremist values to maintain
religious order, the suffering of martyrs will propagate more discontent, leading to further dissent towards the regime. Retaliation against the regime fuels the enactment of harsher regulations, giving life, or “blood”, to further suppression. Thus, oppression dehumanizes individuals within society, in fear of being accused of apostasy for questioning the prevailing interpretation of the established religious culture. Ultimately, the loss of individuality as a result of theocratic superiority perpetuates the foundation of extremist values to carry out cultural tradition. The act of continual defiance drives the preservation of society, and in the absence of such conflict, society has effectively ceased to exist. (211)
Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Kourtney K. and Scott Disick broke up due to finding out that their relationship wasn't working.This shows that being in love is difficult and has a downside at times.The authors of "Love's Vocabulary", "My Shakespeare",and Romeo and Juliet use metaphors,allusions and again metaphors to illustrate how confusing love is. In "Love's Vocabulary" Diane Ackerman uses metaphors to describe how love can be a struggle when you're in a relationship.In line 1 she says "love is the great intagible" which sums up the idea
Throughout History our world has seen societies which have risen to power and publicity through pure hatred and suffering of others. Our past could yet, reveal the answer to the question, “Can a society based on hate and suffering survive?”. The most powerful and controversial of these societies will be mentioned and with hope, put an end to our uncertainty. The German Reich, modern day North Korea, Al-Qaeda, and the Ku Klux Klan. These listed had based their societies on hate, suffering, or both, which they have marked themselves forever in history.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. This is clearly evident in The Chrysalids, The Waknuk society uses the religious doctrine as a method to oppress and create ‘purity laws’. Being the only safe ‘haven’ amongst unchecked Deviation in the Fringes and beyond, the people of Waknuk are constantly afraid of being overrun by these Deviations which they perceive as intolerable evil and the ‘Devil’s work’. As a result, strict conformity with the purity standard is set up.
In this society, one does not think, speak, or act, in a way that is beneficial for oneself. Every single citizen is indoctrinated with the belief that by acting for one’s own benefit, they are sinning. From a young age, they are taught the mantra of their society, “We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen” (21).
First, ideological control is summed up as, belief systems. This control type manipulates people’s thinking patterns so they accept the ideology without question. Eitzen, et al explains that there are several agents of social control that are involved in Ideological conformity including, family, education, religion, sports, media and government. The other type of social control is Direct social control which is the attempt to punish or neutralize groups or people who deviate from society’s norms . The authors suggest that there are specific deviant targets including, the poor, the mentally ill, criminals, and political dissidents. Also, the agents of direct social control include, social welfare, science and medicine, and the government. There are many examples of how society is controlled by a variety of methods including internet’s private eye, recent surveillance of cell phone conversations, and face recognition camera in public places. These forms of society control have been challenged by protesters who feel their individual rights may be
Throughout time, works of literature have often carried messages of great social importance. It is essential to understand these significant themes and agendas in order to understand the basis of the novels. Throughout The Prophet’s Hair by Salman Rushdie, War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, there is much evidence supporting the idea of social or political ‘warnings,’ one could argue, about the functionality of society and those who govern said societies. The philosophies discovered by the reader (set there purposely by the author) provide the means to the essential bridge between reading literature and understanding the possibilities and comprehending the literature in question. Allegorically speaking, these three works all contain separate yet important contexts regarding social structures, ideas and the consequences of both notions. Religion and its relationship with the state and the people, as well as the evil of money and social detachment are just a few of the critical ideologies used by Wells, Burgess and Rushdie. There is substantial proof supporting the idea of numerous political and social agendas in both The Prophet’s Hair and War of the Worlds, and in A Clockwork Orange.
Introduction Individuals often yield to conformity when they are forced to discard their individual freedom in order to benefit the larger group. Despite the fact that it is important to obey the authority, obeying the authority can sometimes be hazardous, especially when morals and autonomous thought are suppressed to an extent that the other person is harmed. Obedience usually involves doing what a rule or a person tells you to, but negative consequences can result from displaying obedience to authority; for example, the people who obeyed the orders of Adolph Hitler ended up killing innocent people during the Holocaust. In the same way, Stanley Milgram noted in his article ‘Perils of Obedience’ of how individuals obeyed authority and neglected their conscience, reflecting how this can be destructive in real life experiences. On the contrary, Diana Baumrind pointed out in her article ‘Review of Stanley Milgram’s Experiments on Obedience’ that the experiments were not valid, hence useless.
Geertz defines religion as ‘(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.’ In this essay, I will focus on the Geertz’s idea, and Asad’s subsequent critique, of symbols. (Geertz, Clifford, and Michael Banton. "Religion as a cultural system." (1966).)
The role of religion in politics is a topic that has long been argued, and has contributed to the start of wars, schisms (both political and religious), and other forms of inter and intra-state conflict. This topic, as a result of its checkered past, has become quite controversial, with many different viewpoints. One argument, put forth by many people throughout history, is that religion and the government should remain separate to avoid any conflicting interests. This view also typically suggests that there is one, or several, large and organized religions like the Roman Catholic Church, which would be able to use their “divine” authority to sway the politics of a given state by promising or threatening some form of godly approval or disapproval. By leveraging their divine power, individual figures within a religion, as well as the religion as a whole, could gain secular power for themselves, or over others. A second view, which was developed by many theologians through history, suggests that that without religion there would be a general lack of morality in the people and leaders of a given state, which would give way to poor political decisions that would not be in the interest of the people and perhaps even God (or the gods). This argument, however, does not address the fact that morality can exist without religion. In sociology, it is commonly accepted that social norms, which include morality, can result from any number of things. Religion, laws, or the basic desire of survival can all create these norms, so it suffices to say that as a society, our morals reflect our desire to live in relative peace through the creation of laws that serve to help us to survive. The argument of whether or not religion and politics should mix...
Hazel Grace Lancaster was a shy and depressed girl who knows she’s going to die soon, she met, Augustus Waters, (Gus) a smooth talking boy who knows what he wants. Gus changed Hazel’s whole life by just meeting at a cancer meeting. After the meeting they were outside and he asked her out to go see a movie, and right after that he pulls out a cigarette and puts it in his mouth. Hazel asked why are you doing that! That is Disgusting! Gus says to her it’s a metaphor. Hazel says, A Metaphor? Yep, you see you put the thing that does the killing between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do the killing. So there for it’s a metaphor. With Augustus’s smooth moves and Hazel charmingness, they slowly fall in love with each other. Hazel gets
There is no doubt that life in the Middle East is a far cry from life as we know it in the Unites States. Having freedom of religious expression is a luxury many are not afforded in these areas; however, it is a freedom we often times do not give a second thought. Religion plays a significant role in all societies and all aspects of present-day life. Furthermore, religion gives many a reason to live, and a better understanding of the unknown. On the other hand religion has long been a controversial issue causing widespread global unrest. The ideology of religion is to promote peace, happiness, and unity; however, more times than not, it produces hatred and anomie. Sociologist Emile Durkheim introduced this concept to explain social instability resulting from the erosion of standards and values, as well as, alienation and purposelessness experienced by a person or group. (Schaefer, 2013) The differences between the eastern and western ideologies continue to be a talking point in our current events; however, to comprehend the lifestyle and culture in the Middle East remains a mystery to many not living in that region; by applying the sociological perspectives to religion sociologists are able to better grasp the complex issues that surround it. “In some instances religious loyalties become dysfunctional; that is they contribute to tension and even conflict between groups and nations” (Schaefer, 2013). Orhan Pamuk, a Turkish novelist, brings major issues many are dealing with in areas of Turkey and Europe to the forefront in his novel Snow, especially those at the intersection of religious expression and needs for secular authority in the modern world.
The tradition of following particular notions and dogmas in our culture shape our role as individuals in society. In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” we are introduced to the destructive influence that unchallenged or unquestioned dogma has on an entity's life and death in a community. In this paper I will engage in textual analysis with the purpose of demonstrating and comparing how Salman Rushdie’s outlooks of organized religion and its effect on society in his essay, “Imagine there’s No Heaven” compares to those implied in Jackson’s short story. “The Lottery,” conveys the argument of the endangerment in thoughtlessly following rituals in cultural society. In Rushdie’s essay he perceives these traditional followings of dogmatic
Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, it has received a rise in the late twentieth century. It occurs differently in different parts of the world but arises in societies that are deeply troubled or going through a crisis (Heywood, 2012, p. 282). The rise in Religious Fundamentalism can be linked to the secularization thesis, which implies that victory of reason over religion follows modernization. Also, the moral protest of faiths such as Islam and Christianity can be linked to the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, as they protest the influence of corruption and pretence that infiltrate their beliefs from the spread of secularization (Heywood, 2012, p. 283). Religious Fundamentalists have followed a traditional political thought process, yet, have embraced a militant style of activity which often can turn violent (Heywood, 2012, p. 291).
Love is a vital key to our health, it can provide us with happiness when it is good, yet can cause major depression when is it bad. The metaphors Love is a nutrient vs. Lovesick, expresses that love impacts our health greatly. The affects of love can be very good to our health or very poor and even fatal. Many might not realize how possibly these two love metaphors can exist in us. This essay explores metaphors of love and its connections to science. Taking this subject of love to a different level of the human biology and psychology.
Therefore, rejection of religious symbols in public sphere by the government even destabilizes whole country as well as causing obvious concerns within society. For example, after illegalization of wearing adornments that are explicitly associated with a religion for university students by French law, students have refused to vote in the elections in favor of the government. Consequently, the current vote balance of the country has changed in visible degree, ant it caused broking of consensus in national society (Hermann & Singh, 2013). This argument can be concluded from Chinese leadership’s (2001) point of view that “religion must be used in the aim of preserving national unification and the unity of nationalities” (“State Control of Religion”, p.