The Sociology Guy

Organic Intellectuals Network Board: AQA A Level Sociology – Beliefs in Society

A group of clergy members in white robes, with two holding a baptismal font, gathered in a church with stained glass windows in the background. One priest in a red vestment is performing a ritual, while others observe attentively.

This interactive activity is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society. It fits the part of the specification that covers the relationship between social change and social stability, and religious beliefs, practices and organisations, so it works well for revision of debates about whether religion mainly supports the status quo or helps create change. Beliefs in Society is assessed as part of Paper 2: Topics in Sociology.

Students build a network linking clergy, poor communities, activists, protest movements, political elites, state institutions and media to test whether a religious movement is acting more as hegemony or counter-hegemony. The activity is especially useful for applying ideas such as Gramsci’s hegemony, organic intellectuals, and liberation theology in a more concrete and visual way.

AQA A Level Sociology • Beliefs in Society

Organic Intellectuals Network Board

Build a religious network and test whether it mainly supports hegemony or counter-hegemony.

How it works: give your movement a name, choose its main religious message, then activate the groups it connects. The board will show whether the network mainly reproduces domination or helps build resistance.
Step 1

Choose the main religious message

Step 2

Build the network

Select the people, groups and institutions most closely linked to the movement.

Network result

Movement summary

Build the network, then click Analyse network.

Hegemony score

0 / 10

Counter-hegemony score

0 / 10

Verdict

No verdict yet.

Network links
Evaluation paragraph

No evaluation yet.

Key sociological reminders

Gramsci
Useful for hegemony: domination works best when people give consent rather than only being forced.
Organic intellectuals
Useful when religious leaders emerge from oppressed groups and help organise resistance from below.
Liberation theology
Useful when religion is linked to justice, protest and the interests of poor communities rather than obedience to elites.
Good evaluation move
Ask whether the religion really changes the structure of power, or whether it only softens suffering while leaving domination intact.

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The Sociology Guy is a pseudonym originally used by Craig Gelling when he was working in an FE College to provide an outlet for his frustrations with how he was expected to teach and strict rules around intellectual property in his former employer. The Sociology Guy name came from his early years as a supply teacher, where students would often not know his name and ask for ‘the sociology guy’ when coming to the staff room. Initially set up in 2018 as an anonymous You Tube channel, Craig has since written, recorded and presented for many different organisations and education providers. His purpose is to try and make sociology both accessible and understandable for all students and support teachers to inspire the next generation of sociologists.