Demographic Characteristics of Society
Introduction
Demographics are a collection of factors and characteristics that describe the population living in a particular community or society. Some of these demographics that are collected and collated during census, survey and other research approaches and methodologies may include age, gender, religion, race, marital status, education, income level, economic status and other significant factors. Demographics are very useful and help in the analysis and study of the given population in order that the researcher could come up with the community’s profile, which will include its aspirations, political inclination, religious and cultural beliefs, and many others. This helps in understanding the society more clearly and for government or whatever governing body has jurisdiction over this place may be able to plan appropriate services and assistance for this particular community. Other users of demographic data include market study and research in order to ascertain what products and services are of interest or are satisfying to the subject community or population.
Society ‘X’
Based on the data collated, Society ‘X’ is a predominantly white, Christian community ninety percent of whom claim to be natives or where born in the locality. There is almost a balance of gender although female population dominates that of the males. Seventy percent of the population of Society X is within the bracket where they can engage in active employment while thirty percent are already in the retirement age. Interestingly, almost fifty percent of the respondents claim that they are married. On the other hand, the never married group (a fifth of respondents), may include the forty-two percent of respondents that are within the 18 to 44 age range.
While no data and on education and schools was provided, forty-three percent reported that they have 2 to 3 children while a quarter of those who are married have no children. A minority group of about five percent has more than 4 children (numbering from 5 above).
Sociological Perspectives or Theories
According to a document published by the American Sociological Association (ASA, 2008), sociology is the scientific study of society, including social patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture. It is a science that basically deals on the person’s behavior and reactions to the effects and influence of the environment. Over the years and as population grows, sociologists all over the world had developed varied views on sociology, the three most widely used of which are: functionalism, conflict and interactionism.
Functionalist perspective: or structural functionalism sees society as a system; a set of interconnected parts which together form a whole (Functionalism, 2016). It is a theory which imposes the importance of social structure over that of the individual’s self interest. It relies on the notion of integration and cooperation achieved through conformity and cohesiveness of the different groups regardless whether they belong to the majority or minority. It expects social structures such as the family, the Church, the school, the government and other social institutions to assume functional roles that are integrated and coordinated for the achievement of a common goal of solidarity and stability of the society. This is the most idealistic theory and may be true for smaller communities where every member conforms to the set culture and is tolerant of others in the group in order to avoid conflict and divisiveness.
Conflict perspective: As opposed to “structural functional theory which views society as a peaceful unit, conflict theory interprets society as a struggle for power between groups engaging in conflict for limited resources” (Conflict Perspective, 2016). This was derived from Marx (a German sociologist) whose idea on capitalism focuses on the argument that most industries are owned by the capitalist minority while the majority of productive individuals sell their labor for meager wages, and this is where conflict begins. Conflict theory propounds that those with wealth and power try to hold on to it by any means possible, chiefly by suppressing the poor and powerless (Investopedia, Conflict Theory, 2016). While others regard the feminist perspective as a separate theory, some sociologists consider it under the context of conflict perspective. Feminist theory uses the conflict approach to examine the reinforcement of gender roles and inequalities, highlighting the role of patriarchy in maintaining the oppression of women (Boundless, 2016).Interaction Perspective: The symbolic interaction perspective is a major framework of sociological theory that relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction (Crossman, 2014). This view is reflective of the looking glass self theory where one person’s social and psychological dynamics, such as his day to day interaction with others is characterized by an inherent desire to conform within the group. For example, a young woman mimics the way her friends dresses because that’s how she perceived that she will look ‘cool’ and be accepted. As such the ‘dress code’ is the symbol of being one of the group and fulfills the girl’s desire to achieve a sense of belonging.
Implications of Societal Issues
As the data shows that almost fifty percent of the respondents are Protestants, hence they may practice the ordination of women as religious ministers or pastors, such that in this particular community, the religious leader may probably be a woman. On the other hand, the Catholic group which is composed of about 22% of the respondents allows men only to be ordained as priests and therefore, the head of the Catholic Church is a man. In this case, there may be a faction (dominated by the Protestants) whose beliefs and norms may not be acceptable to the other faction and would cause conflict between the two. In some Baptist Churches, drinking is totally abhorred while for the Catholics, drinking is a way of socializing and fraternizing with friends and neighbors and considered a status symbol of acceptance within the group.
The Roman Catholic Church does not allow abortion and other forms of contraception. These are regarded as sinful acts not acceptable to God. Protestant Churches used to agree with the same belief and were previously zealous in condemning abortion and contraception. However, by the late ‘70s virtually all Protestant churches—in America as in Europe—embraced contraception and (somewhat less frequently) abortion as compatible with Christian ethics (Carlson, 2016). These differing views will also affect Society ‘X’.
There are other issues that may cause conflicting views between the two groups. This will then have implications on other issues including political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental. The almost balanced group of male and female will largely affect economic and social status while the large religious groups may influence the political scene.
Conclusion
Quick examination and analysis of data presented allows for the conjuring of a surface image of subject Society ‘X’ and at the same time helps in conceiving a more profound impression based on a deeper analysis of the information provided. In that way, significant conclusions might also be derived based on the data. Probability theories may also be formulated based on deviant factors that may surface during a more in depth analysis. The researcher can then formulate assumptions based on the data available and is able to paint a palpable image of the society being analyzed.
Additional information on the level of education and employment would help expand the analysis as it will support the correlation of income to the economic status of the community. Likewise, data on industry and other economic activity will also be useful to determine why the income level resulted in the given data.
In my opinion, despite that it has two different factions of Christians (Protestants and Catholics), Society X basically exists on a functional perspective wherein the community has already established its own culture with set values and social norms that they have adopted over the years. I based this assumption on the fact that there is a large group (90%) who reported having been born in that place, and these most probably have taken roots and lived there for decades. Thus, it can be surmised that this is a close knit community where everyone knows everybody else. Similarly, the large group (86%) that reported varying degrees of happiness may reflect the over-all contentment and satisfaction level of the residents with the way things are in their community.
References
Crossman, A. (2014) About Education: Interactionist Perspective. Retrieved from http://sociology.about.com/od/I_Index/g/Interactionist-Perspective.htm
The History Learning Site.(2015). Functionalism. Retrieved from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/theories-in-sociology/functionalism/
Sparknotes. (2016). Conflict Perspective. Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/deviance/section4.rhtml
Investopedia. (2016).Conflict Theory. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conflict-theory.asp
Boundless. The Feminist Perspective: Boundless Sociology. Boundless, Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/gender-stratification-and-inequality-11/sociological-perspectives-on-gender-stratification-87/the-feminist-perspective-506-10213
Carlson, A. History of Contraception in the Protestant Church. Retrieved from http://bound4life.com/history-of-contraception-in-the-protestant-church/
