The Social Construction of Religion (Sumblog 1)

             In the 1960’s the idea that religion is a social construction of our society became more popular and discussed. I, personally, have been a fan of Berger’s theory of how society constructs different infrastructures, specifically when I took theory we discussed his construction of reality. I think looking at Berger’s theory of the Social Constructionism is very important for understanding how we use religion today in the United States.

             The Social Constructionism theory, very briefly, is three phases that are repeated in a cycle type format. First is externalization, this is when people are discussing ideas and interacting with each other. We can see this in religion when people go out to coffee and wind up in an intense discussion of is God real while drinking a caramel macchiato. The next phase is Habitualization, this is where you do or discuss the ideas so frequently that it doesn’t take much effort or any effort at all to have them come to mind and do them. An example of this in the context of religion would be if while getting coffee a person came up to you and asked if you believed in God- your response being either yes or no or some other explanation that you don’t actually have to think about because you’ve discussed this topic multiple times. This can also be viewed as a person who goes to church frequently, or has to pray a certain number and at certain times in a day. These people get so into the habit of praying or going to church on Sunday, that it isn’t something they have to think about, it is just something they do. The final phase is Institutionalization. This I when the larger system(s) mimic the view of the larger society by way of the previous two phases. This could be anywhere from a political party trying to push a value or idea into legislation because of their religious belief. (This has been in the media very regularly now and historically—sees Gay Marriage, Women’s Reproductive Rights etc.). These systems can then create ways of maintaining these ideas or values that were habitualized in either direct (laws, policy) or indirect (strong norms, media) ways. This phase we can see when we turn on the TV and see how frequently religion in our media is discussed, either in a way that protects it, or even sometimes in a way that rejects it. These phases then repeat themselves and it is basically a never ending cycle of people trying to change the system by working through the cycle.

The Hobby Lobby ruling is a recent example of how integrated our religious system is with our political system. Here is a clip from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver where he discusses what happened with the ruling and what it means now.

               I believe that this is a very good way to look at religion at least right now in how our political systems have been interacting with our religious systems. They aren’t as Weber liked to believe separate spheres of our society, I think that they have some parts are may be external, but for the most part the majority of what goes on in their systems is very malleable to what goes on in our society. I think with the growth of religion versus science in schools, religious values impeding in human rights, and religion being used as a scapegoat for why we may believe or do something- that it is too integral in our system to not be a part of it. While I believe that religion can do amazing things, especially in connecting people and making people feel whole, I also believe that it can also do tremendous damage when not properly examined or shared among people in an open and respectful way.