Postmodernism (Religion)

Question 1

View on the role of religion

Answer 1

Religion can no longer provide metanarratives to explain life and so it becomes a contextual, constructued and individual matter

Question 2

View on religion and social change

Answer 2

Religion can be positive or conservative social force depending on the perspective taken.

Question 3

Lyon (2002) ‘Jesus in Disneyland)

Answer 3

Argued that religion is no longer fully embedded into society, it no longer applies to or affets the whole of people’s lives. Therefore it is easier for people to pick and choose different bits of different belief systems.

• rather than christiany being the grand narratice which dictates people’s livies should be like, people now construct their own ‘narratives’, their own stories, but they still look to religion to help them write the stories of their lives.

Uses the example of Christian singers in Disneyland during religious celebratons among all the Disney Paraphenelia.Therefore illusrates how religion has adapted to fit in postmordern society: No longer confined into traditonal settings, and has become more diverse chaotic and fluid postmordern social landscape.

Question 4

Zygmunt Baumann

Answer 4

Argued that in mordenity people were looking for theories that were always right: universal truths. However, in postmorddenity people would find the belief, or theory, or truth that helped them at that time and in that place.

Question 5

Hervieu-Leger (2000)

Answer 5

Claims that secularisation is the result of ‘cultural amnesia’. This means that postmordern societies have experienced a collective loss of religious memory.

Notes:

• Children used to be taught in religion in the extended family, at school, and sunday school at the local parish church.
• Religion was handed down from generation by generation however not anymore instead parents often let their children decide for themselves with regard to religious belief.
• Observes that religious no longer has its status in the education system as a result younger people has limited knowledge on religion and are less likely to inherit a fixed religious identity,

Question 6

Evaluating Postmordernism AO3

Answer 6

Traditional/morden religion such as islam shows that postmordenists view is culturally biased.
Steve Bruce (2002) - rejects the postmorden concept of relativism and the idea that all truths carry equal weight,

Question 7

Steve Bruce (2002) - rejects the postmorden concept of relativism and the idea that all truths carry equal weight.

Answer 7

Notes that people can see that science is always superior in terms of its outcomes compared with religions e.g people will always see that astronomoy is more believeable than astrology or that medical science works better than faith healing or aromatheraphy.