Emile Durkheim, a sociologist known for his critiques on other disciplines, established his idea of sociology as the science of institutions, of their genesis and their functioning; and the study of social facts: behaviors, whether fixed or not, had the ability to exercise constraint external to the individual, and maintained its “own” existence, independent of its individual manifestations (Thompson). More specifically, he places emphasis that social facts are to be seen as “things,” for they are external to the individual. They were not to be reduced to disciplines such as psychology or biology because those disciplines maintained things internal to the individual. In Durkheim’s discussion of social facts, he mentions that they are constructed through a collective consciousness. Meaning, that worldviews on the basis of a shared set of beliefs, ideas, and morals work to maintain a society’s solidarity. Through this solidarity we can see that there is a division of labor. According to Durkheim, the “level” of the division of labor determines what kind of solidarity is maintained by the society, in which he categorizes as mechanical and organic solidarity.
In order to understand the difference between the types of solidarity, the division of labor must be examined. Durkheim refers to this concept as to how society becomes differentiated along occupational lines; it is not about the actual labor process, but rather how certain tasks are divided and specialized in order to fulfill society’s needs. Essentially, mechanical solidarity is achieved within a low division of labor, thus less specialized roles. Also, the society is based on homogeneity; it has a strong collective consciousness, values the society’s interests as a whole, and has weak social bonds with strangers. However, social interaction is based on relationships. On the contrary, the division of labor within organic solidarity is much higher, thus, there are more specialized roles that provide a stronger social bonds with strangers. The collective consciousness has less hold over individual, individual interests are more emphasized, and relationships are based on status and roles. Taking a closer look at the Westboro Baptist Church, we can say that they possess a mechanical solidarity, for they operate through their “likeness” and have a strong emphasis on their collective consciousness.
The Westboro Baptist Church is a church that teaches the Bible’s word, and preaches against all forms of sin mentioned in it. However, they do so in very radical ways. The public has considered the WBC as a hate-group who preaches through radical practices, and hateful messages aimed at specific groups in society. According to the WBC, they mainly focus on homosexuals because they feel that “fags” have brought upon special attention. They claim that “God does not hate them because they are homosexuals, they are homosexuals because God hates them.” It is also important to note that the Westboro Baptist Church is lead by Fred Phelps and a large portion of his family. Here, it is evident that there is a homogeneity among the group considering that it is consisted primarily of his family. Thus, anyone born into the family is immediately socialized into the same morals, beliefs, and values of the WBC. This group, nonetheless, shares a collective consciousness because of their common understanding of the world, i.e. anyone committing an act shunned in the Bible shall repent, or otherwise be condemned to hell. In addition, their interests as a society matter more than the individual within it. For example, they are known to push members, even of their own family, outside of the WBC if they choose to commit a “sin” as miniscule as chatting with a member of the opposite sex online. By doing so, they maintain their “sameness” by pushing away anyone who chooses to believe in other things they don’t.
In a news story by ABC’s Nick Watt, he made a weekend trip to visit the WBC in order to understand why they did the things that they did. In the video posted by ABC, it shows a part where Watt speaks to one of the members of WBC about his eldest daughter Lauren, who was thrown out due to online chats she had with a boy. The father, Steve Drain, said that he did not miss her at all. Here is an example of the collective consciousness operating as a mechanism to determine which behaviors are allowed or not. The members of the WBC do not tolerate anything that they feel goes against the Bible’s words; their beliefs are considered extremist ideologies of what the Bible actually preaches. In addition, the youth members in the video expressed very extremist qualities as well. They claimed that the WBC is the only way they know, “it’s how they were raised.” The collective consciousness holds a strong power over the individuals in the group.
Overall, the Westboro Baptist Church contains very concrete qualities of what makes up a society under mechanic solidarity. Under their extremist ideologies of the Bible, they posses a collective conscious within their community, express a strong social bond within themselves, and overall are concerned with their reputation as a society rather than the individuals in it.
References
Westboro Baptist Church Home Page. “GodHatesFags.” 2014. Web. Accessed February 20, 2014.
<http://www.godhatesfags.com/>
Watt, Nick. “My Weekend with the Westboro Baptist Church.” ABC News. 2013. Web. Accessed
February 20, 2014. <http://abcnews.go.com/US/weekend-westboro-baptist-church/story?id=19431495>
In order to understand the difference between the types of solidarity, the division of labor must be examined. Durkheim refers to this concept as to how society becomes differentiated along occupational lines; it is not about the actual labor process, but rather how certain tasks are divided and specialized in order to fulfill society’s needs. Essentially, mechanical solidarity is achieved within a low division of labor, thus less specialized roles. Also, the society is based on homogeneity; it has a strong collective consciousness, values the society’s interests as a whole, and has weak social bonds with strangers. However, social interaction is based on relationships. On the contrary, the division of labor within organic solidarity is much higher, thus, there are more specialized roles that provide a stronger social bonds with strangers. The collective consciousness has less hold over individual, individual interests are more emphasized, and relationships are based on status and roles. Taking a closer look at the Westboro Baptist Church, we can say that they possess a mechanical solidarity, for they operate through their “likeness” and have a strong emphasis on their collective consciousness.
The Westboro Baptist Church is a church that teaches the Bible’s word, and preaches against all forms of sin mentioned in it. However, they do so in very radical ways. The public has considered the WBC as a hate-group who preaches through radical practices, and hateful messages aimed at specific groups in society. According to the WBC, they mainly focus on homosexuals because they feel that “fags” have brought upon special attention. They claim that “God does not hate them because they are homosexuals, they are homosexuals because God hates them.” It is also important to note that the Westboro Baptist Church is lead by Fred Phelps and a large portion of his family. Here, it is evident that there is a homogeneity among the group considering that it is consisted primarily of his family. Thus, anyone born into the family is immediately socialized into the same morals, beliefs, and values of the WBC. This group, nonetheless, shares a collective consciousness because of their common understanding of the world, i.e. anyone committing an act shunned in the Bible shall repent, or otherwise be condemned to hell. In addition, their interests as a society matter more than the individual within it. For example, they are known to push members, even of their own family, outside of the WBC if they choose to commit a “sin” as miniscule as chatting with a member of the opposite sex online. By doing so, they maintain their “sameness” by pushing away anyone who chooses to believe in other things they don’t.
In a news story by ABC’s Nick Watt, he made a weekend trip to visit the WBC in order to understand why they did the things that they did. In the video posted by ABC, it shows a part where Watt speaks to one of the members of WBC about his eldest daughter Lauren, who was thrown out due to online chats she had with a boy. The father, Steve Drain, said that he did not miss her at all. Here is an example of the collective consciousness operating as a mechanism to determine which behaviors are allowed or not. The members of the WBC do not tolerate anything that they feel goes against the Bible’s words; their beliefs are considered extremist ideologies of what the Bible actually preaches. In addition, the youth members in the video expressed very extremist qualities as well. They claimed that the WBC is the only way they know, “it’s how they were raised.” The collective consciousness holds a strong power over the individuals in the group.
Overall, the Westboro Baptist Church contains very concrete qualities of what makes up a society under mechanic solidarity. Under their extremist ideologies of the Bible, they posses a collective conscious within their community, express a strong social bond within themselves, and overall are concerned with their reputation as a society rather than the individuals in it.
References
Westboro Baptist Church Home Page. “GodHatesFags.” 2014. Web. Accessed February 20, 2014.
<http://www.godhatesfags.com/>
Watt, Nick. “My Weekend with the Westboro Baptist Church.” ABC News. 2013. Web. Accessed
February 20, 2014. <http://abcnews.go.com/US/weekend-westboro-baptist-church/story?id=19431495>