Sociological Theories on Religion - 2049 Words

Sociological Theories Perspectives on Religion Christopher J. Reed Sociology 101 Mr. Nguyen March 14, 2011 Sociological Theories Perspectives on Religion When it comes to the social institution of religion, the three major sociological theories differ in a majority of ways. All three have their own way of how they perceive religion functions in society. The purpose of this paper is to show the impact each theory has had on religion as well as the people inside the institution itself. Religion has been around for many hundreds of years and has had a great influence on many things in societies over time and across the world, such as politics, economics, and has even led to many wars. But how would one come about with a definition of the†¦show more content†¦Religion can also be viewed with having the ability to provide assistance and ease some of the struggles during the many transitional stages of life. Transitions such as moving from one place to another, marriage, having children and death can be difficult situations throughout one’s life, but religion can help a person t hrough such difficult times. While the aspects of this paper so far have focused on the positive functions of religion, there are some negative aspects to this social institution also. One clear example of the negative aspect of religion is found in war. Since the beginning of civilizations, different religious groups have used religion as a force to conquer and kill others with differing views. This is still taking place to this day, as one can see by the conflicts that are taking place in the Middle East. The dysfunctional side of religion is where the functionalist and the conflict theorist find much in common. The conflict theorist would say that religion is a social institution that causes conflict and tension between different groups and cultures. 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In the 18th century the ‘Enlightenment’, which was a philosophical movement that stressed human reasoning over bling faith and obedience. At the time it was different to the

Changing The Pattern Of Foster Care As An Intervention...

TWO-PARENT FOSTER FAMILY FOR FATHERLESS CHILDREN: Activating The Role Of The Father An Hoang Thi Nham Columbia International University Author note An Hoang Thi Nham An is now working as a coordinator for the organization for orphans in Vietnam. This research was supported in part by Homes of Love Inc, USA. Contact: an.nham@mailbox.ciu.edu Abstract The purpose of this study was to discover and to describe the results of changing the pattern of foster care as an intervention program on basis of 3 years of application for the group of teen girls who go through childhood without the shadow of their own father. There is a dramatic impact of father absence on these children s psychological†¦show more content†¦For some reason, the fathers did not live with their women; in other words, they abandoned them. As the results of the quick love, kids are born without father. No one knows where that father goes, what he does, just know that poor single mothers with children have a hard time to do living. They struggle with financial hardship every day. Some statistics from UNICEFF reveal that the major contributing factor to child abandonment is poverty. In this research, I want to mention a program that can intervene to help the children from the poor single-parent family without fathers. Like other mothers in the world, it is rea lly not an easy task for them to send their child to others’ care because of flesh and blood relation, but they must accept it. Very few of these mothers have the opportunity to send children to the foster homes or families as their adopted children. Moreover, in Vietnam, there are not many such the families for these traumatized children. In other words, foster care is not popular. As for the kids, in the culture of Vietnam, the fact that they are motherless is okay, but if they have no father, they will be teased and even despised because they are seen as ‘bastard child’ or ‘illegitimate child’ for those around them. This severely impacted on children’s psychological and emotional development, and their school performance as well, especially on

Abortion Should Not Be Banned Free Essays

Abortion is a widely debated topic that has been conflicting politicians and women around the world. Abaluck’s article, â€Å"Late-Term Abortion Should Not Be Banned† did not provide half as many sources or facts as Boland’s article, â€Å"Second Trimester Abortion Laws Globally. † Boland provided more statistics and alternant resources for the reader. We will write a custom essay sample on Abortion Should Not Be Banned or any similar topic only for you Order Now It can look impressive if an author throws in an extensive reference list, but if he does not persuade you in an argument, all he has done is give you a history lesson. This is a perfect example of what Boland did in his essay. Of the two articles I researched, Abaluck’s article was more argumentative and forced me to question my own morals and view-points on abortion. Abaluck stated his opinion immediately by having his argument presented in his title. I loved this about his article because when I am reading something, it is hard for me to follow only numbers. I do not want a math lesson; I want my brain and beliefs to be challenged. I believe Abaluck’s article provides the necessary evidentiary support to persuade the audience to have mutual feelings about his stance on late-term abortion. There are two completely different vibes given off in each article. Abaluck’s article, â€Å"Late-Term Abortion Should Not Be Banned† was definitely my favorite because he gave an actual argument. With all of the facts he provided, he seems to know a significant amount of information about abortion and acts so passionate about it. However, Boland’s piece is the polar opposite of an argumentative article. This is one of the most informative pieces I have ever read and I feel much more aware of how other countries view abortion. I know this is the effect Boland was going for, and the article succeeded its purpose. Boland’s article was just straight facts and kind of boring. Although I was given more information in Boland’s article, I was not persuaded either way on the argument. The credibility of each author is high, but when it comes down to who I would want on my side in an argument, it would be Abaluck. Both authors work for Harvard in different areas. Jason Abaluck is the president of the Harvard Liberal Monthly Magazine and Reed Boland is a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health. This spikes heir credibility through the roof and gives me no doubt that they know what they are talking about when it comes to research. Since Abaluck writes for a liberal magazine, I am sure his argument is a little biased considering his political views, but unlike Boland, he actually has an opinion. I am more apt to be pulled towards something with a little bit of passion and heart. Part of human nature is forming an opinion by listening to, reading, or watching someone else’s opinion and deciding if you agree or disagree depending on your moral beliefs. I believe late-term abortion should not be banned. A woman’s health should always be taken into consideration especially when there are expected complications. During a second trimester check up, you are likely to be able to see any abnormalities developing in your child. This is the time where it is not only crucial to be able to ensure your baby’s life is developing correctly, but also that the woman is remaining healthy. Most late-term abortions are not done just because a woman changes her mind about having a child. These abortions should not be banned because a lot of times, it is crucial to the woman’s life to have this done. Not only does this affect her physical well-being, it also affects her mentally. For the rest of any woman’s life, she will remember and think about the baby she â€Å"almost† had and she will likely require therapy. Yes, there is always the chance a woman is not having an abortion for all the right reasons, but the attachment that forms between a mother and child cannot be torn so easily. If late-term abortion were to be made illegal, a woman would have no choice but to have a child and risk her own life due to the known abnormalities of her child. The claim in Boland’s article is strictly informative. His article not only provides multiple, if not too many, statistics but also gives a table showing every country’s abortion laws. Maybe his intended audience was for people who were visiting the United States and wanted to see how their country lined up next to others. Most likely, he was writing this article just to inform whoever wanted to know about all the abortion laws worldwide. Regardless of who his audience is, he provides no information on what his personal view of abortion is. This fact made it hard for me to assess which article is better all around. I decided against Boland’s article because with all of the numbers and statistics, it was hard for me to follow along. If Boland had provided a little of his own opinion to spice things up, I would have gladly and openly considered his stance. The claim in Abaluck’s article was argumentative in that he gave his opinion and allowed no room for the other option. I liked that Abaluck’s article was argumentative rather than being strictly factual because he states his opinion, but was not pushy about it. Granted he does not acknowledge the other stand-point, he does not really make it seem like you should believe his argument. It is hard for an author to persuade their point without seemingly throwing it in your face, and I believe Abaluck demonstrated this perfectly. I was definitely persuaded by his article and took all of his ideas into consideration and even adjusted my view on the idea of late-term abortion. When beginning this assignment of researching my selected topic, I was completely against all types of abortion. Now, I realize there are a couple of reasons to reconsider this because you must always take the woman’s health into consideration. By including three personal stories in his article, I was forced to put myself in another person’s shoes and asked myself, â€Å"What would I do if this were me? † During the last few months of pregnancy, if the baby shows many signs of abnormalities or is going to threaten the life of the mother, late-term abortion should definitely be considered. If the unborn child stands little to no chance of survival, is it worth putting the woman’s life at risk? If Abaluck were to read Boland’s article, I believe it would only reinforce his viewpoint by giving him more reason to pull for not banning abortion. Since Boland does not provide an argument, it is easy to state that there is no disagreement shown when comparing the articles. If I were to sit down with both authors, I would first ask both of them to state their opinions and hopefully allow them to hash it out. It would not be difficult for me to assume that it would be an interesting debate knowing both writers know so much about the topic. Not knowing Boland’s stance makes it hard to assume that the two authors would argue, however I would love to assume there are at least a few differences in their beliefs. With Abaluck being a liberal, I am sure they would disagree on something. Or else, I hope they would because that would make sitting down with both of them way more entertaining. â€Å"When asked whether abortion should be legal, 80 percent of Americans say yes. When asked the same question about so-called ‘partial-birth’ abortion, 20 percent said yes. (Abaluck, 2007) Seeing this statistic, it is proven that terminology is crucial when presenting an argument. This proves that regardless of your argument, it would be easy to persuade an audience using harsh language like â€Å"partial-birth†. Even when I read an article against abortion, they used harsh terms like this and it made me resent people who would even consider having an abortion. However, once I learned the facts, I became aware that the language you use in an article is crucial to how you may persuade your audience. Abaluck brings this quote to your attention in the first paragraph of his article and clarifies the difference between real and harsh accusations against late-term abortion. By clarifying how to identify faulty terminology, Abaluck brings it to your attention that it is easy to sway people in your favor. I would undoubtedly say that Abaluck’s article was way better in not only getting a specific point across, but also persuading me and challenging my beliefs and morals. Being informed and having an opinion always go hand in hand and Abaluck’s article depicts this fact perfectly. On the other hand, Boland’s article was informative but very boring. To keep my attention, it is important to incorporate your opinion in order to challenge my beliefs. Although I was educated thoroughly on the topic of late-term abortion, I was not able to form an accurate argument after reading Boland’s article. He did not attempt to persuade me in either direction on the topic, so it was easy for me to determine the better of the articles. How to cite Abortion Should Not Be Banned, Essay examples