AQA A-level Sociology (7192): Paper 2 – Beliefs in society – Revision Notes

These notes condense the Beliefs in society study guide; read that first if any idea here is new.

They cover section 4.2.5 Beliefs in Society of the AQA AS and A-level Sociology (7191, 7192) specification, Version 1.2 (14 October 2021), for AQA A-level Sociology (7192). The topic is assessed in Paper 2: Topics in Sociology, Section B. Track your progress on the AQA A-level Sociology hub and checklist, then test yourself with the practice questions.

Paper 2 at a glance

• Paper 2: Topics in Sociology is a 2 hour written exam, 80 marks, 33.3% of the A-level.
• Section A: one from option 1: 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3 or 4.2.4. Section B: one from option 2: 4.2.5, 4.2.6, 4.2.7 or 4.2.8.
• Section B is extended writing, 40 marks. Beliefs in Society (4.2.5) is one of the four option 2 topics, alongside Global Development, The Media, and Stratification and Differentiation.
• The question split inside Section B is not printed in the specification; your teacher will confirm it.
• The five content points: (1) ideology, science and religion, including Christian and non-Christian traditions; (2) social change and stability; (3) religious organisations and New Age movements; (4) social groups; (5) religion in the contemporary world, secularisation, globalisation and the spread of religions.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Ideology	Ideas that serve a group’s interests, often by making inequality look natural
Hegemony	Gramsci: rule by consent, achieved through ideas
Open / closed belief system	Open: can be revised by evidence. Closed: explains away challenges
Paradigm	Kuhn: a science’s shared framework of assumptions and methods
Substantive definition	Defines religion by its content, such as belief in the supernatural (Weber)
Functional definition	Defines religion by what it does, such as integration (Durkheim)
Collective conscience	Shared norms and values that bind a society
Civil religion	Belief system that attaches sacred qualities to the nation (Bellah)
Theodicy of disprivilege	Religious explanation of suffering that appeals to the poor (Weber)
Liberation theology	Catholic movement in Latin America siding with the poor
Sect / cult	Sect: exclusive, high commitment. Cult: loose, tolerant, individual
Denomination	Niebuhr’s middle type, accepts other faiths and society
NRM	New religious movement (Wallis: world-rejecting, -accommodating, -affirming)
Holistic milieu	Spiritual activities focused on the self and well-being (Heelas and Woodhead)
Secularisation	Religion losing social significance (Wilson)
Vicarious religion	A minority practising religion on behalf of a majority (Davie)
Existential security	Feeling of safety from risks to survival (Norris and Inglehart)
Cultural defence / transition	Religion uniting a threatened group / helping migrants adjust (Bruce)
Fundamentalism	Return to basic texts and practices, often against modern change

Theories and studies at a glance

Who	What	Finding or claim	One evaluation point
Popper	Science	Science is open because theories must be falsifiable	Kuhn shows scientists defend paradigms
Merton (1942)	Norms of science	Communism, universalism, disinterestedness, organised scepticism	Ideal norms may not match real lab behaviour
Polanyi; Evans-Pritchard	Closed systems; Azande	Failed oracles explained away, protecting the belief	Science can do this too
Kuhn (1962)	Paradigms	Normal science resists anomalies until revolution	Revolutions show science does change
Mannheim	Ideology vs utopia	Privileged and underprivileged groups produce partial worldviews	Assumes intellectuals can rise above interests
Durkheim (1912)	Totemism, Arunta	Worshipping the totem is worshipping society	Fits small societies better than multi-faith ones
Malinowski	Trobriand Islanders	Ritual for risky ocean fishing, not lagoon fishing	Underplays religion’s role in conflict
Bellah (1967)	Civil religion	US national rituals integrate a diverse society	Is civil religion really religion?
Marx	Opium of the people	Religion eases and disguises exploitation	Ignores religion inspiring change
Weber (1905)	Protestant ethic	Calvinist asceticism helped the spirit of capitalism	Kautsky: capitalism came first
Bruce	Civil rights movement	Black churches were a resource for change	New Christian Right largely failed
Maduro; liberation theology	Neo-Marxism	Religion can be relatively autonomous and radical	The Vatican criticised the movement
Worsley	Cargo cults, Melanesia	Millenarian movements as early protest	Mainly in colonial settings
Troeltsch; Niebuhr	Types	Church, sect, denomination	Based on Christian Europe
Wallis (1984)	NRMs	World-rejecting, accommodating, affirming	Some movements fit more than one type
Stark and Bainbridge	Market theory; deprivation	Competition and compensators explain religiosity	Hadaway et al. (1993): US attendance over-reported
Heelas and Woodhead (2005)	Kendal	Holistic milieu growing but much smaller than congregations	No spiritual revolution yet
Miller and Hoffmann (1995)	Gender	Women more risk-averse and socialised into religion	Gender gap varies by faith
Pryce (1979)	Bristol African-Caribbeans	Pentecostalism’s values of hard work and thrift helped members adapt	One city, one period
Voas and Crockett (2005)	Age	Each generation less religious than its parents	Survey data may miss private belief
Davie	Believing without belonging	Belief persists as attendance falls	Belief is falling too
Lyon (2000)	Jesus in Disneyland	Religion relocated into consumption	Weak commitment may be decline
Norris and Inglehart (2004)	Existential security	Insecure societies stay religious and grow faster	Focuses on demand, not supply
Huntington (1996)	Clash of civilisations	Conflict follows religious-civilisational lines	Ignores divisions within religions

Must-know distinctions

• Conservative force vs force for change: conservative can mean upholding tradition (beliefs) or upholding the existing social order (function). Weber and Bruce show change; functionalists and Marxists show stability.
• Church vs sect: both claim a monopoly of truth, but churches accept society and sects reject it.
• Sect vs cult: sects are exclusive and demanding; cults are tolerant and individualistic.
• Religion vs spirituality: organised, external authority vs self-directed belief (Heelas).
• Belief, belonging and practice: three different measures of religiosity that can move in different directions.
• Decline vs change: secularisation theorists see decline; Davie, Lyon and Hervieu-Léger see religion changing form.
• Cultural defence vs cultural transition: defending identity under threat vs adjusting after migration.
• UK vs global picture: census figures show decline in England and Wales, but Norris and Inglehart and Berger argue the world as a whole is not secularising.

Mini essay plan

Question type: evaluate the view that religion is in decline in society today.

1. Introduction. Define secularisation (Wilson). Name the measures: belief, belonging, practice.
2. Evidence for decline. Census 2021 for England and Wales: Christian 46.2%, down from 59.3% in 2011; “no religion” 37.2%. Bruce: technological worldview and diversity. Voas and Crockett: generational decline.
3. Explanations. Weber’s disenchantment; Parsons’s structural differentiation; Berger’s sacred canopy.
4. Against: changing form. Davie’s vicarious religion; Lyon’s relocation; Hervieu-Léger’s spiritual shoppers; Heelas and Woodhead on the holistic milieu.
5. Against: global and market views. Stark and Bainbridge’s religious market; Norris and Inglehart’s existential security; growth of Pentecostalism; migration and the spread of Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism to the UK.
6. Evaluate. Measurement problems; the UK is not the world; Bruce says New Age commitment is too weak to count as revival.
7. Judgement. Base it on your evidence; for example, organised Christianity in the UK is declining, while the global picture is more mixed.

Quick self-test

1. What did Merton call the four norms of science?
2. Which study showed how the Azande protected belief in the poison oracle?
3. What did Durkheim say people really worship when they worship the totem?
4. Why did Trobriand Islanders use ritual for ocean fishing but not lagoon fishing?
5. Name the religious doctrine at the centre of Weber’s Protestant ethic.
6. Give Wallis’s three types of NRM.
7. What is a “theodicy of disprivilege”?
8. What did Heelas and Woodhead conclude about a spiritual revolution in Kendal?
9. What two roles does Bruce say religion plays for minority ethnic groups?
10. What does Davie mean by “believing without belonging”?
11. What is existential security theory?

Answers

1. Communism, universalism, disinterestedness and organised scepticism.
2. Evans-Pritchard’s study, used by Polanyi as an example of a closed belief system.
3. Society itself.
4. Ocean fishing was dangerous and uncertain; ritual helped people cope with stress.
5. Predestination (Calvinism).
6. World-rejecting, world-accommodating and world-affirming.
7. A religious explanation of suffering, often promising later reward, that appeals to marginal groups.
8. The holistic milieu was growing but still much smaller than the congregational domain, so a spiritual revolution had not yet taken place.
9. Cultural defence and cultural transition.
10. People keep private religious beliefs but no longer attend or join religious organisations.
11. Norris and Inglehart’s view that people who feel secure from risks to survival need religion less.

Where marks are usually lost

• Defining secularisation only as “fewer people going to church”. Include belief and social significance.
• Quoting census figures without saying they come from England and Wales, or treating them as world data.
• Saying Weber argued Calvinism alone caused capitalism.
• Describing every new movement as a “cult” in the everyday negative sense.
• Writing about Christianity only when the specification names non-Christian traditions.
• Listing studies without linking them to the question’s view.
• Treating Huntington’s thesis as a description of fact rather than a contested argument.
• Leaving out research design, which the specification makes integral (for example, how Kendal was studied or how attendance is counted).
• Ending with a judgement that does not follow from the evidence you used.

For broader perspective links, revisit the Crime and Deviance revision notes and the A-level Sociology course structure. For globalisation, see the Global development revision notes.

Official syllabus

These notes are based on the AQA AS and A-level Sociology (7191, 7192) specification, Version 1.2 (14 October 2021), section 4.2.5 Beliefs in Society and the Paper 2 assessment details. Your teacher will confirm anything the specification does not print.