How is Beliefs in Society examined in AQA A-Level Sociology?

Beliefs in Society is one of the two optional topics in Paper 2 (Topics in Sociology), worth 40 of the 80 marks (the other 40 come from Families and Households for most centres). It uses short outline items (such as 10-mark outline and explain questions) and a 20-mark applying material from the item evaluate essay. As with Families, there is no Methods in Context question, but evaluation using theory strengthens answers.

Which theories of religion do I need?

You need functionalism (Durkheim on the sacred and profane and the collective conscience, Malinowski on uncertainty, Parsons on values), Marxism (Marx: religion as ideology and the opium of the people), and feminism (religion as patriarchal, Armstrong, El Saadawi). Each offers a different answer to what religion is and does: uniting society, serving the ruling class, or oppressing women, though some feminists also note religion can empower.

Is religion a conservative force or a force for change?

Both, depending on context. As a conservative force, religion maintains the status quo and traditional values (functionalist and Marxist views). As a force for change, Weber argued the Protestant (Calvinist) ethic helped bring about modern capitalism, and liberation theology and the US civil rights movement used religion to challenge injustice. Fundamentalism can also mobilise believers. The balanced view is that religion is neither inherently conservative nor radical.

What is the secularisation debate?

Secularisation is the claim that religion is declining in social significance. Evidence in the UK includes falling church attendance, fewer religious weddings and clergy, and declining belief, explained by rationalisation (Weber), structural differentiation (Parsons) and religious diversity (Bruce). Critics such as Davie argue religion is changing rather than dying (believing without belonging, vicarious religion), and point to new spiritual movements and the strength of religion in the USA and globally.

How should I revise Beliefs in Society?

Organise material around debates: what religion is and does (functionalist, Marxist, feminist), whether religion causes or resists change, whether religion is declining (the secularisation debate), the types of religious organisation and why new movements grow, and why religiosity varies by gender, ethnicity, class and age. Learn named sociologists and concepts, and drill the 10-mark and 20-mark item-based questions.

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AQA A-Level Sociology Beliefs in Society: a complete overview of theories of religion, social change, secularisation and organisations

A deep-dive AQA A-Level Sociology guide to the Beliefs in Society topic. Covers theories of religion, the relationship between religion and social change, the secularisation debate, religious organisations and movements, and the religiosity of different social groups, with the debates and exam patterns AQA repeats.

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Jump to a section

What the Beliefs topic demands
Theories of religion
Religion and social change
Secularisation
Organisations and religiosity
How Beliefs is examined
Check your knowledge

What the Beliefs topic demands

Beliefs in Society is a popular optional topic, examined in Paper 2. It asks you to compare theories of religion, evaluate religion's relationship to social change, debate secularisation, classify religious organisations and movements, and explain the religiosity of social groups. It rewards organised debate and precise use of named sociologists.

This guide walks through the topic in specification order, then sets out the exam patterns AQA repeats. Each part has a matching dot-point page; this overview ties them together.

Theories of religion

Three theories answer what religion is and does: functionalism (Durkheim on the sacred and profane and the collective conscience, Malinowski on uncertainty, Parsons on values), Marxism (Marx: religion as ideology, the "opium of the people", legitimating inequality), and feminism (religion as patriarchal, Armstrong, El Saadawi, with some noting it can also empower). The debate is whether religion unites society, serves the ruling class, or oppresses women.

Religion can be a conservative force (maintaining the status quo and traditional values) or a force for change. Weber argued the Protestant (Calvinist) ethic helped cause modern capitalism; liberation theology and the US civil rights movement (Bruce) used religion to challenge injustice; and fundamentalism mobilises believers. The balanced conclusion is that religion is neither inherently conservative nor radical.

Secularisation

The secularisation debate asks whether religion is declining in significance. Evidence (falling attendance, fewer weddings and clergy, declining belief) is explained by rationalisation (Weber), structural differentiation (Parsons), the loss of the sacred canopy (Berger) and religious diversity (Bruce). Critics (Davie: "believing without belonging", vicarious religion) and the growth of new spirituality and the strength of religion in the USA suggest religion is changing, not dying.

Organisations and religiosity

Organisations and movements. The church, denomination, sect and cult typology (Troeltsch); Wallis's world-rejecting, world-accommodating and world-affirming new religious movements; Stark and Bainbridge's cult types; New Age movements; and explanations for growth (marginality, relative deprivation, social change).
Religiosity and social groups. Why women, minority-ethnic groups and older people tend to be more religious (socialisation, cultural defence and transition, the ageing and generational effects, Bruce, Davie, Voas and Crockett).

How Beliefs is examined

A typical AQA profile for the Beliefs topic:

The 10-mark "outline and explain" question. Two developed reasons or ways, with named concepts.
The 20-mark "applying material from the item" essay. Evaluating a view (for example on the functionalist theory of religion, whether religion is a conservative force, or whether religion is declining) with named sociologists and a justified conclusion.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and application questions covering the Beliefs topic. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.

Explain what Durkheim means by the sacred and the profane. (4 marks)
Explain what Marx meant by religion as the "opium of the people". (4 marks)
Explain what Weber meant by the Protestant ethic. (4 marks)
Outline one example of religion acting as a force for change. (2 marks)
Explain what Davie means by "believing without belonging". (4 marks)
Explain the difference between a church and a sect. (4 marks)
Outline one reason new religious movements grow. (2 marks)
Explain what Bruce means by cultural defence. (4 marks)

Solutions

Q1: The sacred is set apart and revered, inspiring awe; the profane is ordinary and everyday. Collective worship of the sacred expresses and reinforces social solidarity.
Q2: Religion acts like a painkiller, easing the suffering of oppression with comfort and the promise of an afterlife, while preventing the working class from recognising and overturning the real source of their misery.
Q3: The ascetic, hardworking, profit-reinvesting lifestyle produced by Calvinist beliefs (predestination and the calling), which helped cause the rise of modern rational capitalism.
Q4: Liberation theology in Latin America, or the Black church in the US civil rights movement.
Q5: People retain religious beliefs even though they no longer attend or belong to a church, so falling attendance does not necessarily mean falling belief.
Q6: A church is large, formal and inclusive, often linked to the state; a sect is small, exclusive, demanding and in tension with wider society.
Q7: For example marginality and a theodicy of disprivilege (Weber), or relative deprivation and the appeal of meaning during social change.
Q8: Religion unites and protects a community's identity when it feels under threat, for example from a hostile majority culture, migration or oppression.

Sources & how we know this

AQA A-level Sociology (7192) specification — AQA (2015)