defining religion

• What is religion?

  Oldest form of belief system

  84% of people have a religion

  Highly influential closed belief system as basic beliefs within cannot change overtime
• What is the substantive definition?

  Focuses on the substance or content of religious belief, needing a belief in God or supernatural to be considered a religion
• Substantive definition is exclusive


  There is a clear line drawn between religious and non religious
• What is an evaluation of substantive definition?

  There is western bias as they exclude religions eg.Buddhism so is ethnocentric
• What is the functional definition?

  Focus on the functions religion performs for people - positive functions
• What are positive functions relgion performs?

  Collective worship, comfort in times of distress
• Functional definition is inclusive


  Includes a wide range of beliefs and practices that perform positive functions
• What is an evaluation of functional definition?

  Too easy to class something as a religion EG. rugby supporters - intergrets fans and have social solidarity NOT classed as religion but according to this definition is
• What is the social constructionist definition?

  Focuses on what religion means to each individual
• Social constructionist is a interpretivist approach


  This means something is religious if an individual defines it as such

  Theres no single way of defining religion, different meanings for everyone
• What is an evaluation of social constructionist definition?

  Impossible to generalise nature of religion as it has different meanings on what counts as a religion