Chapter 14: Education and Religion

Education is very important for a society to become powerful. In dictatorships, the fist thing dictators do is get rid of books and literature in order to make stupid the people. For if the people can not think critically,

then they will agree with everything the leader says and does. Like in the book 1984 by George Orwell, the people listened to everything the Party did even though the Party was wrong. Religion is important for each society has a certain common religion, unless it is changed and people divert from the main society.

Education consists of the roles and norms that ensure the transmission of knowledge, values, and patterns of behavior from one generation to the next. Formal education, which involves instruction by specially trained teachers who folschooling. Functionalist sociologists believe that the functions performed by education work to maintain the stability and smooth operation of society. The basic function of education is to teach children the knowledge and skills they will need in the adult world. For societies to survive over time, they must pass on the core values of their culture to following generations. Functionalist sociologists also believe that education serves to produce a society of individuals who share a common national identity. All societies must have some system for identifying and training the young people who will do the important work of society in the future. Hidden curriculum is used to describe schools' transmission of cultural goals that are not openly acknowledged. Tracking involves the assignment of students ti different types of educational programs, such as general studies, vocational training, and college-preparatory studies. Most Americans have long believed that education is the key to social mobility. Interactionist sociologists seek to explain social phenomena in terms of the interaction among the individuals involved. To explain educational achievement they look at the interaction that takes place among students and teachers. Americans have always had a great deal of faith in the institution of education. In 1983 a report was made about the American education system, and in the report, it detailed a sharp decline in the level of quality of American education. Charter schools are funded with public money but are privately operated and run. With school choice parents may receive a voucher equal to the amount their state spends on education foe their children. Homeschooling is a system in which a child's main education is undertaken by parents at home. Most schools have adopted zero tolerance policies, which involve set punishments. Bilingual education is a system in which non-English-speaking students are taught in their native languages until they are proficient enough in English to attend regular classes.

low officially recognized policies, is called

The sacred is anything that is considered to be part of the supernatural world and that inspires awe, respect, and reverence. The profane is anything considered to be part of the ordinary world and thus, commonplace and familiar. Religion may be defined as a system of poles and norms that is organized around the sacred realm and that binds people together in social groups. According to sociologists, religion is a social creation. One of the most important functions of religion is that it encourages social cohesion, which is the strengthening of bonds among people. Religion also serves as a powerful agent of social control, encouraging conformity to the norms of society. A third function of religion is to provide emotional support for people during difficult times. A ritual may be defined as an established pattern of behavior through which a group of believers experiences the sacred. Animism is a belief that spirits actively influence human life. In shamanism it is believed that spirits communicated only with one person in the group. Totemism involves a belief in kinship between humans and animals or natural objects. Theism is the belief in a god or gods. Monotheism is the belief in one god. Polytheism refers to the belief in a number of gods. Ethicalism is based on the idea that moral principles have a sacred quality. An ecclesia is a type of religious organization is which most people in the society are members by virtue of their birth. A domination is a well-established religious organization in which a substantial number of the population are members. A sect is a relatively small religious organization that typically has split off from a denomination because of differences concerning beliefs. A cult is a new religion whose beliefs and practices differ markedly from those of the society's major religions. The United States has long been a haven for religious freedom. Although 90 percent of Americans say that they believe in God, only about 66 percent are affiliated with some religious organization. Sociologists generally find it hard to measure religiosity, or the depth of people's religious feelings and how the translate these feelings into behavior. Religion has become more secular or more like the world than a religion. In recent years, fundamentalist Christians have organized to exert political influence in the United States.

As seen education and religion are very important to society. It is very essential for every society to have an educational system and a religion of some sort. The reason why this is so, is so the society can grow with education and the religion to keep order.