Religioon ja sotsiaalne kontroll tänapäeva kultuuriruumis
Religion and Social Control in Contemporary Cultural Space

Summary/Abstract: In this article we consider relationships between religion and social control from an anthropological perspective. The concept of culture – the learned and shared ideas, feelings, behaviors and norms – is central to anthropology. Anthropological studies of religion and culture focus on public and observable practices. The emphasis on the local is in service to say something about the general. All religions and cultures include behavioral exhortations and norms. We will survey the relation between religiously motivated practices and behavioral deviance in society. We also acknowledge that violations and transgressions are part of social reality. It is often assumed that religion is about how we should live, and that truly religious people are always lawabiding. Contemporary Western societies are largely secularized, thus we want to know if and when religion fulfills its function as a source of „ultimate sanctions“, and creates an integrated, cohesive and safe environment for individuals and societies. We will review the most important theories about social control and religion (by Hirschi, Stark, Tittle, Welch and others). The empirical studies tend to affirm that there is a relationship between religion and social order but the positive impact of religiosity is strong only in certain locations and under certain conditions. Research in this area needs to be developed further, especially as both religiosity and deviance are ambiguous concepts which can be defined and measured in different ways. Further individualization of religiosity in contemporary societies may indicate that the social order and religiosity may become disconnected for the people.

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