Sociologically religion

Sociologically religion

Sociologically religion can be described as practices, values, and beliefs associated with spiritual or sacred concerns. The famous French sociologist Emile Durkheim in 1915 defined religion as a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things.” Music and religion relate in different ways. First, music can be used as a critique of religion and helps believers to have a discussion about God. For example, the 1995 song “If God was one of us” by Joan Osbourne elicited a lot of reactions from both atheists and Christians. Secondly, music, when composed in some way, does appear to threaten religion. For example, some music performed by heavy metal groups such as Eric Holmberg’s “Rock’ n’ Roll: A Search for God.” thirdly, on many occasions, music does support religion. For example, Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” which has been used in significant American national occasions. Music can also be spiritual music that is used to spread religion. For example, rock artist Van Morrison offers spiritual nourishment through music. Further, music can also be religious music and are very popular such “Ave Maria” has been used to denote religion ever since.

John Michael Talbot is the founder of Brothers and Sisters of Charity, which is a monastic community. JMT is popularly known as an American Roman Catholic singer and songwriter and is a classic authentic case of contemporary Christian music. John Michael Talbot is a postmodern case of authenticity because of how he is able to integrate his music, tours, and internet use in a monastic lifestyle which humble and only used to draw people towards God. His life is also quiet and does not raise headlines in famous blogs and newspapers. John Michael Talbot’s ministry is similar to my religious upbringing in which Christians were expected to act with humility and only use music as a way of praising and worshiping God.

Sociology defines ideology as a set of ideas about beliefs, values, and ideals on social conduct. Popular music has been used to promote conservatism ideology by composing songs that try to maintain the status quo. The conservative ideology is mostly fronted by affluent who would want to maintain their control over the society. The only way conservatives maintain the status quo is through selling people their preferences in a process called hegemony. Liberal or progressive music tends to take the independent and autonomous way which has been used to counter the hegemony ideology. The liberal popular music is seen as authentic and more appealing to larger masses who believe that autonomy is a crucial aspect of human lives. Liberal music is more appealing to my ideology as it allows everyone to express themselves in the way they would like to, and that is what ideological standpoint entails.

Sociologically, an institution is an organization that commences and upholds similar customs, ideologies, and beliefs. American Idol promotes meritocracy based on excellence achieved through singing before a crowd of tens of millions. The judges continue to demand similar wisdom and consent as it has been traditionally. The show is, therefore, about keeping traditions since its inception. The show is voted by millions of Americans who are swayed by the judges’ opinions about the performers. Judges such as Simon Cowell are regarded highly by the fans, and therefore their choices are always directed by the judge. The Voice and The American Idol are just like the presidential elections because ideologies about music allow people to choose their favorite singers. Similarly, the competitions are also about voting for a winner of an individual’s choice, which also occurs during the American presidential elections.

The West Memphis Three was a tragedy in West Memphis, Arkansas, which involved the death of three eight-year-old boys. The boys went missing and were discovered a day later in a wooded drainage stripped and beaten to death. The uproar from the tragedy threw the local security officials into investigations, which resulted in a local teenager being declared a suspect. The teenager Damian Wayne Echols had satanic characters, and the community believed that he was involved in a cult which led to television coverage of satanic activities around the area. Due to his following of heavy metal bands like Metallica, the community believed that Echols had probably used the children for rituals. The authorities narrowed on two other teenagers Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., who were also charged with the crime, which was now believed to have been committed because of satanic orientations. The three were convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, in 2010 after submission of DNA evidence, the three convicts were released after signing a plea agreement. The three teenagers who had grown up were released on time served despite glaring evidence on their criminal culpability of the murders.

Sociology defines doing gender as a physiological, social construct that is common in everyday human conversations and has become a regular occurrence. Sociologists, therefore, believe that gender becomes a social accomplishment that is achieved using the social norms created through social situations. Gender is therefore created out of social interactions and is not viewed as an innate quality of humans. Besides Jessica Simpson, their other celebrities are similar in stature, such as Britney Spears. Britney Spears is an American singer, actress, songwriter, and dancer. The singer has had a lot of best-selling albums and is regarded as one of the most influential pop artists in America. Britney Spears is an artist with a knack of drawing crowds to herself and has a sense of self-belief that others in her category, such as Taylor Swift and Hillary Duff, possess. The personality of the singer has helped in redefining the way her fans view female artists. Justin Beiber can be referred to as a male prima donna of the contemporary time due to the way he interacts with his fans. He has tried to redefine the male version of the celebrity status.

Authenticity in the sociological terms can be referred to as the subjective sense of an individual as to the behavior and appearance of themselves. Katty Perry believes so much in herself that she has inspired a lot more people to be like her. On the other hand, Billie Eilish burst into the scene recently and has inspired women from small beginnings to pursue their dreams as a result of her simple start. The authenticity in women’s music has changed a lot as the music scene changes. Women have gone on to make more great music and therefore inspiring many other small musicians to start their careers. The women musicians have also become autonomous and have made more independent music, which has clearly developed from the past decades.