Functionalist theories of religion

• Durkheim on religion - the sacred and the profane:


  The key feature of religion was not a belief in gods, spirits or the supernatural, but a fundamental distinction between between the sacred and the profane found in all religions.
• Durkheim on religion - the sacred and the profane:


  The sacred are things set apart and forbidden, that inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions.
• Durkheim on religion - the sacred and the profane:

  The profane are things that have no special significance - things that are ordinary and mundane.
• Durkheim on religion - the sacred and the profane:


  A religion is never simply a set of beliefs. It also involves definite rituals or practices in relation to the sacred, and these rituals are collective - performed by social groups.
• Durkheim on religion - the sacred and the profane:


  The fact that sacred things evoke such powerful feelings in believers indicates to Durkheim that this is because they are symbols representing something of great power.
• Durkheim on religion - the sacred and the profane:


  In his view, this thing can only be society itself, since society is the only thing powerful enough to command such feelings. When they worship the sacred symbols, therefore, people are worshipping society itself.
• Durkheim on religion - the sacred and the profane:

  Although, sacred symbols vary from religion to religion, they all perform the essential function of uniting believers into a single moral community.
• Durkheim on religion - totemism:


  Durkheim believed that the essence of all religion could be found by studying its simplest form, in the simplest type of society - clan society.
• Durkheim on religion - totemism:


  He used studies of the Arunta, an Aboriginal Australian tribe with a clan system. Arunta clans consist of bands of kin who come together periodically to perform rituals involving worship of a sacred totem. The totem is the clan's emblem, e.g. animal or plant that symbolises the clan's origins and identity. The shared totemic rituals venerating it serve to reinforce the group's solidarity and sense of belonging.
• Durkheim on religion - totemism:

  When clan members worship their totemic animal, they are in reality worshipping society - even though they themselves are not aware of this fact. The totem inspires feelings of awe in the clan's members precisely because it represents the power of the group on which the individual is 'utterly dependent'.
• Durkheim on religion - the collective conscience:


  The sacred symbols represent society's collective conscience or consciousness.
• Durkheim on religion - the collective conscience:

  The collective conscience is the shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge that make social life and cooperation between individuals possible - without these, society would disintegrate.
• Durkheim on religion - the collective conscience:


  Regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social integration.
• Durkheim on religion - the collective conscience:



  Participating in shared rituals binds individuals together, reminding them that they are part of a single moral community to which they owe their loyalty. Such rituals also remind the individual of the power of society - without which they themselves are nothing, and to which, they owe everything.
• Durkheim on religion - the collective conscience:



  Religion also performs an important function for the individual. By making us feel part of something greater than ourselves, religion reinvigorates and strengthens us to face life's trials and motivates us to overcome obstacles that would otherwise defeat us.