Protestantism

» pink101 - My Three Quotes

In response to Davis & Moore -- Continued posted by Migisi:
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My three quotes are one paragraph:
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"The reason why religion is necessary is apparently to be found in the fact that human society achieves its unity primarily through the possession by its members of certain ultimate values and ends [held] in common. Although these values and ends are subjective, they influence behavior, and their integration enables the society to operate as a system.
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"Derived neither from inherited nor from external nature, they have evolved as a part of culture by communication and moral pressure. They must, however, appear to the members of the society to have some reality, and it is the role of religious belief and ritual to supply and reinforce the appearance of reality.
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"Through belief and ritual the common ends and values are connected with an imaginary world symbolized by concrete sacred objects, which world in turn is related in a meaningful way to the facts and trials of the individual's life. Through the worship of the sacred objects and the beings they symbolize, and the acceptance of supernatural prescriptions that are at the same time codes of behavior, a powerful control over human conduct is exercised, guiding it along lines sustaining the institutional structure and conforming to the ultimate ends and values." (My bold emphasis)
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It will be interesting to find out how this movie, The Golden Compass, deals with this opening paragraph to the Davis & Moore essay.

-- posted by pink101