Max Weber and Catholic Doctrine - Essay Example

Max Weber Max Weber, the of numerous books about sociology of religion greatly focused on the role of religion in modern society since played a great function in historic and autonomous development of the modern economic ethic. Significantly, religion according to Weber constitutes modern process and features of power relations, social and political administration, socio-economic structures, social status and stratification, and others. For instance, Catholic doctrine as formulated by Aquinas differs from earliest Christianity and Stoicism in the viewpoint concerning equality of all human beings. This doctrine greatly influenced power relations in modern society metaphysically where human beings suffer either because of the original sin, individual causality of karma, or the corruption of the dualistic world. In which case, human beings suffer violence, strife, and differences in worldly social status and position. This in return created various and modern castes and stratifications "that have been providentially ordained, and each of them has been assigned some specific, indispensable task desired by god or determined by the impersonal world order, so that different ethical obligations devolve upon each." (Weber 1993). These castes were maintained because of the regard for divinely ordained authoritarian relationship which contributes to the kind of modern social and political administration we have today. This in accordance discourage or condemn any revolt or rebellion against the authority as it only means creaturely arrogance or pride against the sanctity of God-built social order. Meanwhile, submitting to the established organic organization and functioning based from the assigned task will give person happiness in the world and in the life to come. Meanwhile, Islamic doctrine holds no regard to salvation and thus the kind of 'rulership' rejected universalism that leaves the people to decide upon any indifference to the Islamic regulations. On the other hand, social castes present in Hinduism justify discrimination and outcasts since the doctrine chiefly depends on person's fulfillment of his cast function to achieve higher chances of higher status in the next life. This can be manifested to the doctrine's affirmation to social discrimination since it believes to the idea that people who were in the lowest castes and sacrificed much can gain more in any of transmigration of souls. As Weber pointed out, political power struggle evolved to order of legal sate because of its increasing objectification. However, he also pointed that political power struggle in religion's perspective "is merely the most effective camouflage of brutality, for all politics is oriented to the reason of state, the pragmatic and self-purposive sustenance of the external and internal distribution of power. These goals must necessarily seem completely meaningless from the religious point of view. Yet only in this way does the realm of politics acquire a peculiarly rational power of its own, once formulated by Napoleon, which appears as thoroughly alien to every ethic of brotherliness as do the rationalized economic orders." (Weber 1993). Also influential is the religious antipathy to sexual acts that can be seen in cultic chastity meaningfully developed in place of the various types of magical motivation. The doctrine believes that sexual abstinence is a fundamental factor to achieve salvation. This can be done through contemplative withdrawal from worldly pleasures. Moreover, sexual drive and other related pleasures constitute the most powerful temptation that will only strengthen the hold of 'animality' to human. This religious convention greatly regarded modern sexual act as irrational and are only brought about by animalistic tendencies of human. Acts to subjugate sexual acts legitimizes marriage as a regulatory process for sexual intercourse and used the idea of legitimate child rearing to impose action fiercely against prostitution and extra-marital affairs. Karl Marx According to Karl Marx, religion depends its existence upon "the material and economic realities in a given society." Just like other social institutions. As it has no independent history and is only collectivity of human productive forces, Marx argued that religion "is but the reflex of the real world." By relating religion to other social systems and economic structures of society, religion can be understood as very dependent to economics. He argued that religion and other religious doctrines are irrelevant since economics and other social institution mold the features and processes of religion in the given society. As he clearly pointed out as interpreting religion in a in functionalist point of view, "understanding religion is dependent upon what social purpose religion itself serves, not the content of its beliefs." That is, given that religion functions not independent to different social institutions, its role to society becomes dependent to the political, social and economic structure of the society the country whishes to be served. In Marx's opinion, religion is just an illusory institution that gives the society an excuse and reasons to keep its functions and role intact. As an analogy, he used capitalism to distinguish religion as the representation of the society's highest ideals. This creates alienation of human to their value same as alienating humans from their highest aspirations which is then portrayed onto an alien and unknowable being called a god. Marx believes that religion is irrational since it constitutes delusion and worship of a being that defies appearance and veers away from underlying reality and recognition. Moreover, religion discourages and counters human pursuit for full potential and leaves the people to render incapable, servile and consistently amenable to status quo or socio-political and economic structures. He believes that the humans' creation of God to be worshipped can only leave the society to a being who "do not recognize man's self-consciousness as the highest divinity." Additionally, the valuable attitude of unity promoted by religion becomes irrelevant since it consistently created a hypocritical principle and doctrine. For instance, the Christianity taught of Jesus as being servant of the people advocating valuable principles like helping the poor. However, this was defeated by the Christian church merged with the oppressive Roman state to enslave people for centuries. Also, the concept of Christians about the glory of heaven only gave them an outright possibility to acquire property and power during the Middle Ages. In addition, Lutherian encouraged the capability of every human to interpret the teachings of Bible but ironically sided with aristocrats and encouraged the abuse and oppression of people and defies social and economic equality. The Hindu castes support the social order where people in lowest can be oppressed and discriminated which sustains the political relation and social structure governed by higher castes. Spiritual influence and the presence of religion only justify the iniquity characterized by oppression of the outcasts by promising greater gains in the next life. From a critique of Marx to Hegel's Philosophy of Law, he argued that "religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people." By recognizing that religion through the history only make the people amenable to social, economic and political oppression and discrimination, its abolition will give the people the real happiness. Religion has sedated the society to denounce any change that will pursue them to full human potential. That is, according to Marx, having a religion only manifests veering away from criticality and rational thinking based from its failed function to serve the general masses throughout history. Emile Durkheim Durkheim believes that the essentiality given by religion in a society is brought about by the idea that society is the soul of religion. In his writing of Individualism and Intellectuals, he described modern religion as not necessarily implying "symbols and rites, properly speaking, or temples and priests. This whole exterior apparatus is only the superficial part. Essentially, it is nothing other than a body of collective beliefs and practices endowed with a certain authority." (Durkheim 1973) Additionally, his last writing which was the The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, establishes that religion is not divinely or supernaturally inspired but rather a product of society. According to Durkheim, "This system of conceptions is not purely imaginary and hallucinatory, for the moral forces that these things awaken in us are quite real-as real as the ideas that words recall to us after they have served to form the ideas." (Durkheim 1973). Studying the case of Australian aborigines which for him substantially represented the most basic, elementary forms of religion within a culture, he found out that religion and religious beliefs take emphasis and affect the product of social life within a society. His finding on the relation of religion to society can be best described from an excerpt in his book "Religion is something eminently social. Religious representations are collective representations which express collective realities; the rites are a manner of acting which take rise in the midst of assembled groups and which are destined to excite, maintain, or recreate certain mental states in these groups. So if the categories are of religious origin, they ought to participate in this nature common to all religious facts; they should be social affairs and the product of collective thought. At least-for in the actual condition of our knowledge of these matters, one should be careful to avoid all radical and exclusive statements-it is allowable to suppose that they are rich in social elements." (Thompson 1982). Additionally, Durkheim pointed out that relative to sacred things, religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices. "that is to say, things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them."(Durkheim 1982). Moreover, he believes that religion is the main source of solidarity and identification for the individual members of the society. This case can be manifested especially when it functions as a part of mechanical solidarity systems or organic solidarity in its lesser context. It also reinforces morals and social norms held collectively to provide meaning of life for an individual in a given society. Despite tagging religion as a mere fantasy because of its natural origin, Durkheim recognizes its function in establishing a critical social system. It functions to achieve and provide social control, cohesion, purpose for people, much as a means of communication and individual interaction, organization and reaffirmation of social norms. Durkheim also argued that religion primarily functions as a source of national cohesion that is pulling together people in mental and physical aspect through religious services or assemblies. In return, religion gives the possible reaffirmation of the society's collective morals and beliefs. This function, according to him becomes almost imperative since individual beliefs and convictions need reinforcement which without it disintegrates when left for a considerable span of time. Whereas society continually has common norm and belief, religion maintains the concrete influence of it to society. Lastly, he maintained that "Since it [religion] is in spiritual ways that social pressure exercises itself, it could not fail to give men the idea that outside themselves there exist one or several powers, both moral and, at the same time, efficacious, upon which they depend." (Durkheim 1973). References: Wexler, P. & Stein, P. Durkheim, Social Revitalization, Education and Religion. Geoffrey Walford, & W. S. F. Pickering. Durkheim and Modern Education. England: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. 1998. Bellah, Robert N. Emile Durkheim: On Morality and Society, Selected Writings. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1973. Thompson, Kenneth. Emile Durkheim. London: Tavistock Publications. 1982. Beyer, P. Religions in Cross Cultural Perspective. Fenn, R.K. The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion. Blackwell Publishing. 2001. Tole, L.A. Durkheim and French Society. Hamilton, P. Emile Durkheim. England: Taylor and Francis. 1994. Marx, K. Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. 1844. Retrieved last 10 May 2008. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm Cline, A. Karl Marx's Analysis of Religion. About.com, http://atheism.about.com/od/philosophyofreligion/a/marx.htm Weber, Max. Sociology of Religion. 1993. Beacon Press. Read More