Functionalists argue that religion is a conservative force and that this is a positive function for society and for individuals. Religion helps to create social order and maintains the value consensus. Given this approach, Durkheim proposed that religion has three major functions in society: it provides social cohesion to help maintain
social solidarity through shared rituals and beliefs, social control to enforce religious-based morals and norms to help maintain conformity and control in society, and it offers … What is the purpose of religion from a functionalist perspective and a conflict perspective? Religious rituals bring order, comfort, and organization through shared familiar symbols and patterns of behavior. One of the most important functions of religion, from a functionalist perspective,
is the opportunities it creates for social interaction and the formation of groups. These include (a) giving meaning and purpose to life, (b) reinforcing social unity and stability, (c) serving as an agent of social control of behavior, (d) promoting physical and psychological well-being, and (e) motivating people to work for positive social change. There are three perspectives in
identifying religious change: giving priority to individuals, to social systems and to religion itself. Every perspective has some outcomes for understanding the place of religion in social and individual life. How does the functionalist perspective view society? KEY POINTS. The functionalist perspective sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. This approach looks at society through a macro-level orientation and
broadly focuses on the social structures that shape society as a whole. Sociologists have concluded that the most important functions of religion are social cohesion, social control, and emotional support. Theoretical Perspectives on Religion. Sociologists often apply one of three major theoretical perspectives. These views offer different lenses through which to
study and understand society: functionalism, symbolic interactionism, and critical sociology. What do functionalists generally believe to be true about gender? Chapter 9 Sociology study guide What do functionalists generally believe to be true about gender? Selected Answer: [None Given] Answers: Some social roles are better suited to one gender than the other. There are at least three complementary gender roles. Men maintain control of the most valuable roles. The
current system of gender stratification is based on conflict. Who is associated with the functional perspective on religion?This post is A summary of the key ideas of the main Functionalist theorists of religion: Durkheim, Parsons and Malinowski. According to Functionalism, religion acts as a conservative force by reinforcing social norms and promoting social solidarity. What are the basic elements of the functionalist perspective?Division of Labor by Durkheim. What does functionalist perspective mean? The functionalist perspective is a sociological viewpoint that examines how social order is possible and examines how societies remain relatively stable. It is referred to as a macro-sociological perspective as it is concerned with society as a whole and less concerned with individualism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbvShHYteJ4 Some of the most important functions of religion are as follows: 1. Religion as an Integrative Force 2. Creating a Moral Community 3. Religion as Social Control 4. Provides Rites of Passage 5. Religion as Emotional Support 6. Religion Serves a Means to Provide Answers to Ultimate Questions 7. Religion as a Source of Identity 8. Legitimating Function of Religion 9. Psychologizing Religion 10. Religion Acts as Psychotherapy 11. Religion as an Agent of Social Change 12. Religion as an Agent of De-politicization 13. Religion Controls Sexuality. Religion is a cultural universal because it fulfills several basic functions within human societies. It is a basic requirement of group life. In sociological terms, these include both manifest and latent functions. Among the manifest (open and stated) functions of religion are included defining the spiritual world and giving meaning to the divine. Religion provides an explanation for events that seem difficult to understand. By contrast, latent functions or religion are unintended, covert, or hidden. Functionalists suggest that religion is a requirement for society and individual both because it serves both manifest and latent functions. These functions are discussed below in brief: 1. Religion as an Integrative Force:Durkheim believed that the primary function of religion was to preserve and solidify society. It functions to reinforce the collective unity or social solidarity of a group. Sharing the same religion or religious interpretation of the meaning of life unites people in a cohesive and building moral order. The social cohesion is developed through rituals such as reciting prayer in the honour of God, institutions of worship (church, temple, mosque, etc.), performing Namaz, and multitudes of observances and ceremonies practised by different groups. The unifying rituals of different faiths are also observed by individuals on the most significant occasions such as birth, marriage and death. This integrative function of religion was particularly apparent in traditional, pre-industrial societies. Durkheim was particularly concerned with a perplexing question, ‘How can human societies be held together when they are generally composed of individuals and social groups with diverse interests and aspirations’. In his view, religious bonds often transcend these personal and divisive forces. It gives people certain ultimate values and ends to hold in common. Although the integrative impact of religion has been emphasized here, it should be noted that religion is not the only integrative force—the feelings of nationalism or patriotism may also serve the same end. In contemporary industrial societies, people are also bound together by patterns of consumption, ways of life, laws and other forces. 2. Creating a Moral Community:Religion provides a system of beliefs around which people may gather to belong to something greater than themselves in order to have their personal beliefs reinforced by the group and its rituals. Those who share a common ideology develop a collective identity and a sense of fellowship. Members of moral community also share a common life. This moral community gives rise to social community through the symbolism of the sacred that supports the more ordinary aspects of social life. Religion then legitimizes society. It provides sacred sanction for the social order and for its basic values and meanings. 3. Religion as Social Control:Frank E. Manuel (1959) had said that ‘religion was a mechanism which inspired terror, but terror for the preservation of society’. While conservatives have valued religion for its protective function, radicals have also often recognized that religion can be a support of the established order, and have, consequently, been critical of religion. Friedrich Engels, a life-long close associate of Karl Marx, once noted that religion could make the masses ‘submissive to the behests of the masters it had pleased God to place over them’. Durkheim also emphasized that besides acting as an integrating force, religion also reinforces social control in oppressive society. Religious beliefs can influence the conduct of those who believe in them. It keeps people ‘in line’ through folkways and mores. It provides a foundation for mores of society. Religious sanctions are sought for certain desirable patterns of behaviour to persist in society in the forms of mores. Thus, many taboos in various cultures have religious sanctions, e.g., the taboo against eating of pork in Jewish and Muslims and cows meat in Hindus. 4. Provides Rites of Passage:Religion helps us in performing ceremonies and rituals related to rites of passage (birth, marriage, death and other momentous events) which give meaning and a social significance to our life. 5. Religion as Emotional Support:Religion is a sense of comfort and solace to the individuals during times of personal and social crises such as death of loved ones, serious injury, etc. This is especially true when something ‘senseless’ happens. It gives them emotional support and provides consolation, reconciliation and moral strength during trials and defeats, personal losses and unjust treatments. It provides a means whereby man can face the crises and vicissitudes of life with strength and fortitude. The concepts of karma and transmigration among Hindus and Jesus Christ as son of God and prayer among Christians seek to provide such fortitude and strength. Thomas O’Dea (1970) writes, ‘Men need emotional support in the face of uncertainty, consolation when confronted with disappointments and anxiety.’ It is often said that visiting places of worship and holy premises serves as outlets for releasing tension and stress. Religion offers consolation to oppressed peoples also by giving them hope that they can achieve salvation and eternal happiness in the afterlife. Religion increases the ‘God will provide’ the attitude. 6. Religion Serves a Means to Provide Answers to Ultimate Questions:Why are we here on earth? Is there a supreme being? What happens after death? All religions have certain notions and beliefs that provide answers to the above questions. These beliefs are based on the faith that life has a purpose, and there is someone or something that controls the universe. It defines the spiritual world and gives meaning to the divine. Because of its beliefs concerning people’s relationships to a beyond, religion provides an explanation for events that seem difficult to understand. 7. Religion as a Source of Identity:Religion gives individuals a sense of identity—a profound and positive self-identity. It enables them to cope effectively with the many doubts and indignation of everyday life. Religion may suggest people that they are not worthless or meaningless creatures and thus helps them alleviating the frustrating experiences of life which sometimes force a person to commit suicide. According to Thomas Luckman (1983), ‘The prime function of religion is to give personal meaning to life’. In industrial societies, religion helps to integrate newcomers by providing a source of identity. For example, Bangladeshi immigrants in India, after settling in their new social environment, came to be identified as Indian Muslims. In a rapidly changing world, religious faith often provides an important sense of belonging. 8. Legitimating Function of Religion:According to Max Weber (1930), religion may be used to explain, justify or rationalize the exercise of power. It reinforces the interests of those in power. Even in societies not as visibly ruled by religious dogma, religion legitimates the political sector. For example, India’s traditional caste system defined the social structure of society. According to one theory, caste system is a creation of the priesthood (Brahmins)—the uppermost stratum of this system, but it also served the interests of political rulers by granting legitimacy to social inequality. Marx has acknowledged that religion plays an important role in legitimating the existing social structure. The values of religion reinforce other social institutions and the social order as a whole and as a consequence it perpetuates social inequality in society. 9. Psychologizing Religion:The notion of ‘positive thinking’ serves as an example of psychologizing religion. It provides peace of mind, promises prosperity and success in life, as well as effective and happy human relations. It is thus a source of security and confidence, and also of happiness and success in this world. But at times religion can be debilitating and personally destructive. Persons convinced of their own essential wickedness can suffer extreme personal difficulties. As Kingsley Davis (1949) noted, ‘Like other medicines, it (religion) can sometimes make worse the very thing it seeks to remedy. Innumerable are the psychoses and neuroses that have religious content’. But, in this role, religion is not always harmful. Many times, it serves as a liberating and integrating force for individuals. For instance, it helps in bringing change (sobriety) to seemingly hopeless alcoholics. 10. Religion Acts as Psychotherapy:In modern world, religion has also become a supporting psychology—a form of psychotherapy. Now, God is conceived of as a humane and considerate God. Such a hopeful perception helps the sufferer in alleviating his/her personal and social crisis. A new vocation of religious practitioner has recently come up in the mental health field as a helping professional. It already existed in village India and other places in the form of shamans, priests and magicians (shamans are treated as super-humans endowed with supernatural powers in some tribal societies). 11. Religion as an Agent of Social Change:While religion supports the status quo in its priestly function, it inspires great change in its prophetic function. It can enable individuals to transcend social forces; to act in ways other than those prescribed by the social order. Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus, Thomas More all died upholding spiritual beliefs that were not those of the social order in which they lived. Religion, in its prophetic function, provides individuals with an unshakable foundation of social criticism which later on becomes the basis for social change. Many religious groups of the world protested against Vietnam and Iraq wars and an age-old Buddha statue in Afghanistan. Generally, religion is regarded as an impediment in the path of social change but many religious groups, by criticizing existing rules of social morality and social injustice, and community or government actions, help in bringing about social change. In this regard, Max Weber’s pioneering work on the relationship between economy and the religion. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1930) can be cited that how Protestant ethic had helped in the development of spirit of capitalism in certain European nations. Weber’s major theoretical point to be noted here is that ideas can change history, and in so doing can contribute to changes in the material context of life. Despite establishing relationship between religious ethic and economy, Weber argued that the effects of religion on society are unpredictable and varied. Sometimes it might have conservative effect, whereas in other cases it might contribute to social change. Thus, Buddhism militated against the development of capitalism in China, whereas in Northern Europe, Calvinism had the opposite effect. Contrary to Weber, Marx has put forth a quite opposite thesis. He opined that religion impedes social change by encouraging oppressed people to focus on other worldly concerns rather than on their immediate poverty or exploitation. He said, ‘Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the feelings of heartless world …. It is the opiate of the people.’ Whereas Marx had seen religion as a consequence of the economy, Weber believed that religion helped to shape a new economic system. It should be noted that many religious leaders have acted in the forefront of many social and political movements. For example, Martin Luther King fought for civil rights of Blacks in America. Swami Dayanand worked aggressively for women education and widow remarriage in India. 12. Religion as an Agent of De-politicization:According to Bryan Wilson (1976), religion functions as an agent of de-politicization. Marxists suggest that by inducing a ‘false consciousness’ among the disadvantaged, religion lessens the possibility of collective political action. In simpler terms, religion keeps people away from seeing their lives and societal conditions in political terms. 13. Religion Controls Sexuality:According to B. Turner (1992), ‘religion has the function of controlling the sexuality of the body, in order to secure the regular transmission of property via the family’. In feudalism, and now in capitalism, religious control of sexuality is an important vehicle for the production of legitimate offspring. In the end, it may be said that in spite of being regarded as superstition, religion is persisting for such a long time as a social institution because of its varied functions cited above that it performs for the welfare of the individual and the society both. At many times, even the so-called educated people regard religious laws as superior to the man-made laws. In primitive and traditional societies and even some sections of modern societies, despite all-round attack over it, religion is a pervasive matter, and religious beliefs and rites play an important part in the activities of various kinds of groups—from family to occupational groups. Though inhabitants and citizens of a ‘modern’ society, many remain traditional in their religious and moral outlook. For some, this means that religious authority and principles override that of secular law. What are the 5 functions of religion?Religion serves several functions for society. These include (a) giving meaning and purpose to life, (b) reinforcing social unity and stability, (c) serving as an agent of social control of behavior, (d) promoting physical and psychological well-being, and (e) motivating people to work for positive social change.
What is the function of religion according to functionalist?According to Functionalism, religion acts as a conservative force by reinforcing social norms and promoting social solidarity. This post is A summary of the key ideas of the main Functionalist theorists of religion: Durkheim, Parsons and Malinowski.
What are the main functions of religion?Religion ideally serves several functions. It gives meaning and purpose to life, reinforces social unity and stability, serves as an agent of social control, promotes psychological and physical well-being, and may motivate people to work for positive social change.
What is the purpose of religion from a functionalist perspective and a conflict perspective?In the Interactionism theory religion is a form of interaction while in the conflict theory and the functionalism theory it serves only as a means of governance. Conflict theory addresses religion as a social construct while Interactionism and functionalism view religion as a means for the functioning of the society.
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What are the five major functions of religion according to the functionalist perspective?
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