Exam 12: Education and Religion.

Describe problems within elementary and secondary schools.

Discuss the relationship between religion and questions about the meaning of life.

Recently, __________ programs, which would allow students and their families to spend a specific sum of government money to purchase education at the school of their choice, have gained many supporters, who believe that this system might be an answer to some of the problems that plague public education today.

In the United States, the separation of church and state improves religious legitimation of political power. This formal relationship between religion and the state has been referred to as universal religion-the set of beliefs, rituals, and symbols that makes sacred the values of the society and places the nation in the context of the ultimate system of meaning.

Analyze education from the functionalist perspective.

Describe symbolic interactionist perspectives on education and explain the significance of labeling and the self-fulfilling prophecy on educational achievement.

Describe conflict perspectives on religion and distinguish between the approaches of sociologists Karl Marx and Max Weber.

From a functionalist perspective, religion has three important functions in any society: providing meaning and purpose to life, promoting social cohesion and a sense of belonging, and providing social control and support for the government.

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gratz v. Bollinger that "separate but equal" segregated schools are unconstitutional because they are inherently unequal.

Describe the functionalist perspective on education and note the societal importance of manifest and latent functions fulfilled by this social institution.

__________ is the belief that plants, animals, or other elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits or life forces having an impact on events in society.

Discuss the three sociological perspectives as they relate to religion.

Education serves five major manifest functions in society. Which of the following was not identified as a manifest of function of education?

Two approaches for reducing bullying in schools are character education and changing the social environment and norms of the school.

Some analysts believe that the high cost of education reinforces the existing social class system. Which sociological perspective would be most likely to argue this?

__________ is a social system in which status is assumed to be acquired through individual ability and effort.

According to sociologist __________, education is crucial for promoting solidarity and stability in society. Education is the "influence exercised by adult generations on those that are not yet ready for social life." In other words, we can learn from what others have already experienced.

__________ is the social institution responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills, and cultural values within a formally organized structure.

From kindergarten through college, schools teach students the student role and specific academic subjects. This illustrates the manifest function of education referred to as __________.

The beliefs of __________ include the following: Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer) are divine. Union with ultimate reality and escape from eternal reincarnation are achieved through yoga, adherence to scripture, and devotion.