Introduction to the New Paradigm

1
Introduction to the New Paradigm
2
Key Points

• The secularization thesis (the old paradigm)
  has enjoyed widespread consensus among social
  scientists and for many years has been
  essentially uncontested.
• The new paradigm (the religious economies
  model) proposes the opposite of each element of
  the old paradigm.
• Belief in religious doctrine can be the cause of
  behavior.
• The most fundamental aspect of religion is its
  conception of the supernatural.
• The study of religion should start with the
  assumption that all other areas of social science
  start withthe rational actor. Religious
  behavior. . . . is generally based on
  cost/benefit calculations and is therefore
  rational behavior (56).

3
More Key Points

• People seek explanations about how to obtain
  rewards and avoid costs.
• Some rewards people desire are not available here
  and now (and never will be), and therefore they
  will accept explanations about how to obtain the
  reward in the future or some other non-verifiable
  context (otherworldly rewards).
• A distinguishing feature of religion is that it
  offers explanations about how rewards can be
  received by appealing to the supernatural.
• Stark and Finke take people who claim that their
  belief motivates them at their word.
• What people believe about the number and nature
  of gods has implications for how much they are
  willing to commit to them.
• People seek to delay paying religious costs and
  try to pay as little as possible.

4
Rationality in the New Paradigm

• Within the limits of their information and
  understanding, restricted by available options,
  guided by their preferences and tastes, humans
  attempt to make rational choices (38).
• What people find rewarding varies tremendously,
  we should not label individual definitions of
  reward as rational or irrational based on our own
  conceptions of what should be rewarding.
• People will not intentionally select a negative
  cost/benefit ratio purely for the benefit of
  others (they will not be altruistic).
• In other words, humans will attempt to follow
  the dictates of reason in an effort to achieve
  their desired goals (38).

5
What is Religion?

• Religion consists of very general explanations
  of existence, including the terms of exchange
  with a god or gods (2000)
• What is included in this definition and what is
  not included? Is the group you have chosen to
  study a religion based on this definition?
• Religion consists of explanations of existence
  based on supernatural assumptions and including
  statements about the nature of the supernatural
  and about ultimate meaning (2004).
• What is the impact of changing the definition of
  religion in this way? Is it more or less
  inclusive? Is the group you have chosen to study
  a religion by this definition?
• Do you think this is a useful definition?

6
Contrasting Religion, Magic, and Science
7
Religious Organizations

• Religious organizations are social enterprises
  whose primary purpose is to create, maintain, and
  supply religion to some set of individuals and to
  support and supervise their exchanges with a god
  or gods.
• These organizations will be able to require
  extended and exclusive commitments from members
  to the extent that they offer otherworldly
  rewards.
• The extent to which they can offer these rewards
  depends largely on the attributes of the god or
  gods being worshiped and the level of confidence
  members have in the religious explanations being
  offered.

8
The Nature of God and Commitment

• What impacts the amount of commitment a god or
  gods can require?
• competition with other gods (polytheism vs.
  monotheism)
• dependability will the gods deliver and be
  consistent
• responsiveness are the gods concerned about
  humans
• scope how powerful is the god

9
The Universal Problem of Religion

• How do people come to believe in things that
  cannot be empirically proven to exist? Or, where
  does confidence come from?
• Expressions of confidence made by others
• Participation in religious rituals
• Participation in prayer
• Miracles being credited to the religion
• Having mystical experiences