Panopticon: A Sociological Analysis

Religion is potentially one of the single most influential concepts in our history as individuals. In social groups, individuals who are inferior or subordinate are dealt with as subjects by the ones who exert more control and are compelled to accept societal norms free willingly. This is because they believe it is natural, while those who are superior hold power. The power of panopticon, in a church, is used to keep the members of the community in a disciplined society. In this essay I look at the way power is exerted throughout the ritual at Kennedy Road Tabernacle in a Pentecostal church, demonstrating how those in power have control over the ones who are inferior or subordinate. Throughout this examination, I will use the theories of Louis

The service only lasted an hour. It is unlikely that such a short period of time accurately reflects the entire religion. In addition, although extensive notes were taken during the observations, I was absent for about 10 minutes. It is possible that I could have missed an important part of the service that would have been important to analyze in more detail. The service took place at 3 different times – 8:30am, 10:15m, and 12:00pm. My partner and I attended the 12pm service. It is possible that more people attended the previous services. Attending a service with more people would have allowed us to make extensive notes on activities we observed. These limitations impacted and influenced my interpretation of the observations I made during the service. If these limitations did not exist, it is possible that my observations could have been more accurate when examining the way in which power was exerted by the members of the KRT

The theory represents the women at KRT, as subjects, have started to accept cultural notations such as doing menial tasks as it was something natural, and therefore, continue to give power. This power is given to those who have always had throughout history, the men, and Michel Foucault’s theory of the power of panopticon, a mechanism of internal surveillance, exerts power through the church’s physical building as well as the religion itself in order to keep the members of the church in a disciplinary society. These theories demonstrate how power is exerted by the members of Kennedy Road Tabernacle community and that those who are superior have power over those who are inferior or