"Running head: THE SOCIOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND SOCIALIZATION 1The Sociological Framework and SocializationSurname/name:Name of Institution:THE SOCIOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND SOCIALIZATION 2Cornerstone Baptist Church- New JerseyCornerstone Baptist church in New Jersey is an important part of my secondarysocialization. It provides spiritual and religious guidance services. It is a place where I gatherwith many other people who congregate for renewal of our religious faith. The services areusually guided by a planned program, which is distributed to each person in attendance.Values, Norms and BeliefsCornerstone Baptist church is committed to win the lost and to empower believers to becommitted to the works of God and Christ. Our church believes in soul freedom; everyone isresponsible in their own way in the way they relate to God. Evangelism and missionary work isof sole importance to our church as it helps reach people of all denominations and religiousconfigurations. The church believes that the Bible as opposed to the church is the one that shouldguide the Christians in all matters relating to faith and Christianity. We believe that baptism should be done by full immersion to an individual who has fullyaccepted God as his personal savior. The minister is like any member of the church, but he isordained to be a minister for himself as well as for others. We do not get intimidated orinfluenced by outside forces as we are an independent church with our own beliefs and values.Bible freedom is also essential in our church as an individual is the one who will interpret forhimself/herself the Holy Script using the tools available and in accordance with his/her views ofthe Bible. Our values and beliefs form our culture, especially the freedoms. We as a church havea culture to live by faith and belief as the individual members of the church (National Institutefor Urban School Improvement, 2005).Importance of Cornerstone Baptist ChurchTHE SOCIOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND SOCIALIZATION 3Cornerstone Baptist church is of great importance to the community as it helps themembers who are sick, bereaved, and homeless. It has dedicated members who make sure thatthe society in which they reside fears God. It contributes to the education of the children bymaking sure that the needy get an opportunity to go to school and learn.Theoretical Concepts of Structural Functionalism and Conflict TheoryStructural functionalism attempts to explain the way society behaves by looking intovarious social institutions that are part of the society. Institutions such as churches, government,schools are all a part of a social institution. It supports the status quo of women beingsubordinate to men, claiming that it makes society function smoothly. Structural functionalismviews society to be in constant struggle to be in a state of equilibrium as people strive to sticktogether. The structural functionalism believes in things as they are; social change is avoided asfar as possible. It believes in the best side of people of cooperating to effect social order.Conflict theory, on the other hand, views society as a system that is unequal and bringsabout change and conflict; individuals strive for limited resources that exist in the society. Theconflict theory focuses on the negative side of society that has a lot of conflict and is everchanging. This theory challenges the status quo and believes that the rich people force socialorder on the less fortunate. This theory helps one to understand the concept of culture, especiallythe fact that culture is dynamic and can be acquired when one interacts with other people or stayssomewhere for a long time (Stephens, 1963).The structural functionalism helps us explain why some things in society never change atall and why the culture of people follows the needs of their fellow members of society. Thus, forexample, the American attacks by the al Qaeda terrorists made the US government enhancesecurity in the airports and all major buildings. This change was because the society isTHE SOCIOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND SOCIALIZATION 4interrelated and interwoven and social systems strive to meet the social needs of all the membersof the society. Members of society will work together to integrate the best actions for theinterests of society as a whole. Technology, for example, has had a major impact on our societyas it has made the world a global village, and since it is in the best interest of society, it has beenadopted (Merton, 1957). The Process of Socialization in Both the Society and in the ChurchSocialization is learning from another person, mostly their culture and how they go aboutit, and even learning how to live with it. There are various types of socialization such as primary,secondary, anticipatory, and developmental. Socialization in a social institution isdevelopmental, and it may vary from one social institution to another. Socialization does notwork in the same way in a church as it works in the society as a whole (Parson, 1951). The church and the society are both agents of the socialization process and mayinfluence the way an individual relates to others. Religion is believed to be an ethnic categorywhen it comes to socialization. Therefore, people who are firmly attached to their churches mayfind it very difficult to break from their native religion and go to another religion.Socializationin the church has a positive influence on the parties involved as they grow and learn more.Society as a whole is, however, different. It constitutes various individuals and characters, and anindividual can be easily influenced by another person’s culture.Society has both good and evil;therefore, the socialization process is more complicated and has more severe consequences thanwhen individuals learn from each other in a church institution (Cornerstone Baptist Church, n.d).THE SOCIOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND SOCIALIZATION 5ReferencesCornerstone Baptist Church. (n. d). About Cornerstone. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cornerstonebaptistchurch.net/about/history.ht Merton, R. K. (1957). The social theory and social structure. Glencoe, IL: Free press.National Institute for Urban school improvement. (2005). Understanding culture. Retrieved fromwww.urbanschools.org./pdf/understanding.culture.LETTER.pdf Parson, T. (1951). The social system. New York: Free pressStephens, W. (1963). The family in cross- cultural perspective. New York: Holt, Rinehart &Winston. "