Social Growth

Weber’s “Social Psychology of the World Religions,” is an outline of how the main popular world religions known as Confucian, Hinduism, Buddhist, Christian, and Islamic are being influenced over time through the different generations. This article outlines these five main world religions and their strata’s according to their generational theme.

Weber grasps the socially decisive strata, ethical strata, intellectual strata, and overall cultured strata. The generational twists that bind these world religions do so in way of abstinence, diet, visionary means, and creating holy places and items. These religions grow with each new step they take together in the modern world. As the needs of the religious group grow, the strata of the group will shift into a new supportive development that followers will abide by. Popular demands of modern day worshipers are changing as we are becoming a more worldly population of individuals. With that growth the social strata of these world religions must grow. Without this growth these religions would not grow themselves, and their followers would soon dwindle. In addition to these new means of growth there is another key factor in the religion that is they must interpret for change. They must re-submerge themselves in the words of their leaders and define new meaning, not only for themselves, but also as a group. Weber touches on this aspect of re-submersion in his own way when he talks about the psychological stamps that these religions have gained through the magical states they have experienced. They want new magical states, and therefore must grow and develop accordingly.

The world religions are manifesting themselves as experiencing the strata in a new way. Rather than having a holy experience, or seeing a mighty sign these religions are finding everyday signs and visions that can relate to their common day rituals and experiences. Weber pulls together the economic, educational, social class, and stereotyped influences that the strata have gained and how they are reflecting upon the world religions today.