Ideology & Belief Systems (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Religion as an ideology

• Religion can act as an ideology - a worldview that shapes how people understand society, power, and inequality

• It often explains why society is organised the way it is and can be used to justify existing social arrangements

Closed belief systems

• Many religions operate as closed systems, claiming a monopoly on the truth (the only valid worldview)

• This means they reject competing explanations from science, philosophy, or other religions

Polanyi (1958): self-sustaining beliefs

• Religions protect themselves from challenge in three ways:

  • Denial of legitimacy

    • Dismissing rival worldviews and convincing their followers that they are the only possible answer

    • E.g., Creationist religions reject evolution entirely and insist on strict obedience to their teachings

  • Subsidiary explanations

    • Failures are explained away

    • E.g., unanswered prayers may be blamed on weak faith; natural disasters are explained as 'God’s will'

  • Circularity

    • Beliefs justify themselves

    • E.g., it is true because the holy text says so, and the text is true because it comes from God

Evans-Pritchard (1936): The Azande

• Evans-Pritchard studied the animistic religion of the Azande people of Sudan

• They explained misfortune through witchcraft

• They used an oracle called 'benge' (a potion made by elders)

  • A chicken was fed the benge, and if it died, the accusation of witchcraft was confirmed

  • The accused would then apologise to repair the relationship, even though the belief system itself could not be challenged

Criticisms of closed belief systms

• Closed belief systems are seen as

  • conservative

  • rigid

  • resistant to change

• Some sociologists argue that this inflexibility contributes to secularisation, as religion loses relevance in modern societies

Open belief systems

• In contrast, some religions adapt to social change to stay relevant, becoming more open systems rather than rigid ones

• Instead of rejecting change, they adjust core practices or doctrines to fit with modern society

Herberg (1960): internal secularisation

• Herberg describes how religions dilute or modify core beliefs to maintain their connection to wider society

• This process is known as internal secularisation

Examples

• Church of England (2015):

  • Voted to allow women bishops, responding to wider societal demands for gender equality

  • Without this change, the Church risked becoming irrelevant and out of touch

• Reform Judaism:

  • Adapted traditional Jewish practices to suit modern life

  • Examples include mixed seating in synagogues, ordination of women rabbis, and prayers in local languages rather than strictly in Hebrew

  • Shows how a religion can soften traditional rules while still keeping a sense of identity

Criticisms of open belief systems

• Some argue that by weakening core beliefs, religions risk losing their distinctiveness and spiritual authority

• Internal secularisation may make religions more acceptable to modern society, but it can also lead to declining commitment, as they no longer offer something unique compared to secular values

Science as an ideology

• Since the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution (1800s), science has increasingly replaced religion as the dominant belief system in Western society

• Science has transformed modern life by improving health, technology, and productivity

• It offers explanations based on evidence and reason, rather than faith

• However, science (opens in a new tab) is still a socially constructed belief system, built on shared principles such as:

  • pursuit of facts supported by evidence

  • objectivity (claims should not be based on personal opinion)

  • study of cause-and-effect relationships using reliable and testable data

Open belief systems

• Popper (1959): Science succeeds because it is an open belief system — ideas are always open to testing, criticism, and falsification

  • If evidence disproves a theory, it is rejected and replaced with a better explanation

  • Knowledge in science is cumulative, building on earlier discoveries to deepen our understanding

  • No theory is ever treated as absolute truth — there is always the possibility of disproof

  • E.g., for centuries, people believed the sun revolved around the Earth until Copernicus demonstrated the opposite

The CUDOS norms (Merton, 1973)

• Merton explained science’s rapid growth by identifying an ethos — a set of norms that encourage knowledge production:

  • Communism: knowledge must be shared; otherwise, progress cannot happen

  • Universalism: work is judged by universal standards, not personal characteristics (e.g., race, gender)

  • Disinterestedness: scientists should aim for truth, not personal gain, and report findings honestly

  • Organised scepticism: all knowledge is open to questioning and criticism

Closed belief systems

• Science may not be as open as Popper suggests

• Kuhn (1970) argues that science can act like a closed system when dominated by a paradigm

  • Scientists usually work within this paradigm, limiting creativity

  • Those who challenge it are often dismissed or marginalised

• This makes science similar to other ideologies, as it can reject alternative viewpoints that threaten its foundations

Criticisms of science as an ideology

• Science doesn’t just reflect 'truth' — it can serve social and political interests

• It has solved many problems (disease, famine, natural disasters) but also created new risks, e.g.,

  • pollution, climate change, weapons of mass destruction, surveillance technologies

• Feminist view: science has historically reinforced patriarchy, excluding women and justifying male dominance

• Marxist view: scientific knowledge has been shaped to serve capitalist interests, reinforcing inequality rather than being a neutral search for the truth

Theoretical views of ideology

• Both science and religion can be seen as ideologies:

  • Systems of beliefs organised around core principles that attempt to explain how the world works

• Sociologists, however, disagree on the purpose and significance of ideology

Marxist view

• Ideology as a ruling-class tool: Marxists argue all ideologies — including science and religion — serve the interests of the bourgeoisie

• They justify inequality, support capitalism, and prevent working-class revolution

• Religion creates false consciousness by legitimising poverty and promising rewards in the afterlife

• Scientific discoveries are often driven by the pursuit of profit rather than truth

  • E.g., pharmaceutical companies selling drugs at prices affordable only to wealthy nations, fuelling global inequality

• The ruling class maintains control through hegemony — dominance of ideas as well as economics

• Ideology convinces workers to accept the system as fair and inevitable

Feminist view

• Both religion and science have historically reinforced patriarchy

• Women were often excluded from scientific education and institutions, which meant their voices and perspectives were ignored

• Many scientific 'findings' reflected patriarchal assumptions, portraying women as biologically weaker, more emotional, or less rational than men

• Oakley (1972): Beliefs such as maternal instinct and women’s 'natural' childcare role are socially constructed ideologies

• Bowlby (1951): His theory of maternal deprivation suggested children are 'damaged' if mothers work, justifying women’s exclusion from the labour market and reinforcing patriarchal roles

• Religion also legitimises male dominance, e.g., by restricting women from leadership roles or teaching their subordination to men

Postmodernist view

• Lyotard (1984): In postmodern society, there is no single 'truth' or meta-narrative

• Science, religion, and political ideologies are just competing stories; none has a monopoly on truth

• Knowledge becomes relative, shaped by individual perspectives and diverse cultural contexts

Karl Mannheim (1929): ideology and utopia

• Mannheim argued that all belief systems are partial worldviews, shaped by the social groups that produce them

• He distinguished between two types of ideology:

  • Ideological thought: supports the existing order, reflecting the interests of powerful groups (e.g., the ruling class)

  • Utopian thought: justifies social change, reflecting the views of disadvantaged groups, and offers visions of alternative societies

• Marxism is an example of utopian thought

• Mannheim proposed the idea of the 'free-floating intelligentsia'

  • Intellectuals not tied to a particular class who could combine elements of different ideologies to create a more balanced, universal worldview

The ideology of nationalism

• Nationalism is a powerful political ideology that has shaped societies over the past 200 years

• It presents itself as a natural, common-sense belief system that unites people, but sociologists see it as socially constructed, crafted through symbols, rituals, and shared narratives, rather than something naturally existing

Core claims of nationalism

• Nations are real and distinctive communities, each with its own unique culture and identity

• Every nation should be self-governing, free from outside interference

• National loyalty should come before other loyalties (e.g., class, religion, ethnicity)

Marxist view

• Nationalism acts as false consciousness, distracting workers from their shared class interests

• Instead of uniting against capitalism, workers are divided by nationality

• E.g., workers are persuaded to fight wars in the 'national interest', when in reality, wars often serve the ruling class

Benedict Anderson (2006)

• Nations are imagined communities — people never know most of their fellow citizens, but still feel a bond because of shared symbols and rituals

• This imagined unity can bring together strangers across class and religion

Gellner (1994)

• Nations didn’t exist before nationalism—they were created by it

• It emerges alongside modernisation and industrialisation, helping societies to adapt by providing a shared culture and identity