Religion 1251 - Assignment 1
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Saint Mary's University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
1251
Subject
Religion
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by EarlWillpower12139
RELIGION 1251-1WW
ASSIGNMENT 1
Emily MacDougall
Mandy MacArthur
Religion 1251-1WW
September 25th, 2023
1.
What is Religion ?
Religion is difficult to define as it doesn't have one meaning that pertains to the world as
a whole. Religion itself can be influenced by the culture, location, and age of the people defining
it as it changes in relation to its surroundings. It can have many contextual meanings based on
who you ask, if you asked me I would probably say: “Taylor Swift is my religion” on the other
hand if you asked my grandmother she would certainly tell you all about her faith to the
presbyterian church. Its definition is never definite as it is ever changing with the evolution of
generations and their intake of culture. It's also important to think about the diluted presence of
christianity today in the 21st century and what effect that has on the definition of religion itself.
Many people are no longer practicing such beliefs, as they were quite commonly practiced by
our older generations. I think this is because of atheism becoming a more normalized term and
that it's no longer an abnormality to not believe in anything at all.
2.
In your own words, explain each of the three different ways to think about religion
There are three distinct ways we may think or portray religion, the first being substantive.
Substantive belief in regards to religion is the thought of a higher power that not only controls
and plays a role in day to day life, but is also worshiped in relation to what they contribute to us
and in abundance of the gratefulness they feel towards the higher power. The higher power in
question could be thought of as a god, deity, sacred text, ritual, or practice. (MacArthur, Module
RELIGION 1251-1WW
ASSIGNMENT 1
2, 2023) It also captures the ideas of certain traditional aspects of religion, such as the
glorification of mortality as it served as a meeting place, and the devotion to the essence of the
religion itself. Secondly, functionalism is the way of thinking of the term religion in a non-
traditional form relating it to pop culture's influences and certain aspects of life that are societally
relevant. It can be easily used as a slang term in conservation or as an exaggeration of actions
taken. Many forms of pop culture in media outlets relevant to the entertainment of ourselves as a
society are relevant to the functionalist definition of religion. Lastly, stipulative definitions are
thought of as a blend of both substantive & functionalist meanings. It incorporates not only
traditional ways of thinking of religion, but also non-conventional culture based ideologies in
order to cover multiple demographics that may consider the definition relatable in a sense.
3.
What is the difference between high culture & popular culture ?
High culture is the thought that certain concepts or ideologies are only accessible to a
certain demographic considered to be exclusive due to maintaining small realms of such
information. This is normally something that the exclusive people yearn for, or dream of having,
making it even more conceptualized as higher and out of reach to others. Popular culture is
greatly accessible and readily available to all, regardless of status. It is inclusive in the growth
and reach of the information itself in regards to its normalization in society. A great example of
this would be private education, in terms of grade school. A private education from primary-12 is
one that is covered by those who are of higher income than the majority of the public, in order to
afford the “higher” level of education the private schools provide. They are exclusive in the
sense that there is a distinct group of children who attend these schools with one thing in
common, that being income. Public schools can be thought of as the popular aspect of this
example as it is accessible and not determinate of certain traits that individuals may need or
RELIGION 1251-1WW
ASSIGNMENT 1
happen to possess. It's also interesting to think that the only way these groups cross is if the
eligible “higher culture” individual seeks a public education, and that it is no other way possible
for their paths to cross.
4.
What are three distinct ways religion & pop culture interact?
Religion & pop culture have many ties in different conceptual ways. primarily we can
think about religion in pop culture, meaning the traits of religion when they are exemplified in
the form of popular culture. This could be a recurring character, theme, or subject matter that
appears in this certain medium. An example of this could be the character Rachel in the show
`Friends” , and the recurring themes of friendship portrayed through the media of the hit TV
show. We may also connect pop culture to religion, as there are aspects of religion that reflect the
ideologies of pop culture. When I think about pop culture in terms of religious groups and how
they use them, Hillsong comes to mind. Hillsong is a christian group that focuses their worship
on modern day christianity. They utilize their music which they produce and distribute in mass
media outlets such as youtube, spotify, & apple music in a way to normalize their practice
through the pop culture outlet of music. These songs portray certain popular songs as they don't
explicitly seem religious, some of them even have wandered onto my playlists as they are very
catchy! This is an example of how religion can use concepts of pop culture in order to
communicate their religious messages. Finally, we may also view pop culture as religion. Earlier
I had stated that if you asked me what religion meant to me, I probably would say: “Taylor Swift
is my religion” and that is very true to viewing pop culture as religion. In the sense that Taylor
Swift is and always has been since I can remember a major pop culture influence on my life, I
follow her social media pages, listen to her music everyday, and even write papers about her
lyricism in some of my english courses. All of these events in my day to day life are religious
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
RELIGION 1251-1WW
ASSIGNMENT 1
schedules I follow everyday. Pop culture is much of the media we intake on a daily basis, and
especially certain trends of celebrities we may follow can all be considered an act of religion.
(MacArthur, Module 4, 2023)
References
MacArthur, M. (n.d.).
Module 2 : What is Religion?
Saint Marys University.
https://smu.brightspace.com/d2l/le/content/131564/viewContent/1207518/View
MacArthur, M. (n.d.).
Module 4 : Religion and Pop Culture
. Saint Marys University.
https://smu.brightspace.com/d2l/le/content/131564/viewContent/1207521/View