Theories

• Substantive religion

  • Belief in a God with supernatural power that science can't explain.
  • You can't be either religious and non-religious, no in-between.
  • If the religion doesn't have a God, then it's not recognised and excluded from this definition.
• Functional religion

  • Provides a function to an individual or society, like the meaning of life.
  • Durkheim - brings people together and contributes to social integration.
  • Believes all practices are to be included, even those without a God.
  • Criticism - social integration however does not need religion, it can be achieved through other aspects in society.
• Constructionist religion

  • Religion is whatever the individual wants it to be.
  • No universal definition and impossible to generalize.
  • Leads to fighting and debate on if cults should be included.
• Sacred and profane - Durkheim (Functionalism)

  • Sacred - awe, wonder and forbidden.
  • Profane - no special significance, ordinary and mundane.
  • Sacred symbols vary from religion to religion, they all unite believers into a single moral community.
  • Therefore, by worshiping a symbol, you're worshiping a society.
• Durkheim's four functions of religion (Functionalism)

  • Discipline - imposes self-discipline and social order.
  • Cohesion - ceremonies allow people to reaffirm their commitment to social bonds.
  • Vitalising - transmits values from one generation to the next, ensuring norms and values are vital to organisation of society.
  • Euphoric - alleviates frustrations by allowing people to be part of something bigger than themselves.
• Totemism - Durkheim (Functionalism)

  • Religion based around worshipping a sacred symbol.
  • The totem may be representative of the clan's identity.
  • For example, South American tribes worshiping the jaguar as a deity.
• Religion providing cognitive thought - Durkheim (Functionalism)

  • Provides a way of understanding the world and being able to talk about it to other people.
  • Provides concepts such as the passage of time and the cause of events.
  • Shows how humanity is divided into small groups.
  • Durkheim argues that religion is the origin for human thought, reason and science.
• Religion providing a phycological function - Malinowski

  • Death is the main reason for the existence of religious belief.
  • Trobriand islanders use religion to provide safety and protection before going out to fish at sea.
  • Religion helps individuals deal with anxious and stressful situations.
• Criticisms of Durkheim

  • Worsley - He may explain social integration within communities, but not the conflict between them.
  • Mestrovic - Cannot be applied to contemporary society because increasing diversity has fragmented the collective conscience.
• Marxist views on religion

  • Marx - sees it as part of the societal superstructure that maintains and legitimates the base of society.
  • Marxism sees it as a feature within a class-divided society, meaning in a classless society religion would disappear.
  • It misleads the poor into believing that their suffering in this life is worth it as they will be rewarded in the after life.
  • "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven."
• Christianity vs Socialism - Engels (Marxist)

  • Both ideologies are targeted at the poor.
  • Both provide a promise of a better life.
  • Christianity only provides its followers with salvation in the after life, socialism provides it in this life.
  • Therefore religion provides no help to the poor as it prevents real change from occurring.
• Religion and hegemony - Gramsci (Neo-Marxist)

  • Sees religion as having a duel-character:
  • Supports the ruling class by showing their power is legitimate.
  • Helps the working class see through the ruling class ideology by offering a vision of a better, fairer world.
  • The ruling class has hegemony (dominance) but socialism counters this.
• Evidence of patriarchy in religion - radical feminists

  • Religious organizations (Armstrong)- Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests.
  • Places of worship (Holms) - participation in places of worship is limited. When they are menstruating, Jewish women can't touch holy books and they may be seated behind screens.
  • Religious laws and customs (Woodhead) - subject to genital mutilation or punishments for sexual transgressions, stonings for adultery or banning contraception.
• Counter to radical feminist views - Armstrong

  • In the middle east, female priesthood, fertility cults and Earth mother goddesses were found 6,000 years ago.
  • Later we saw a rise to single all powerful male God found in the Abrahamic religions (Christian, Judaism and Islam)
• Counter to radical feminist views - Woodhead

  • Women use religion to obtain status, freedom and respect in patriarchies.
  • Belonging to a Pentecostal Church or the Jehovah's witness church can be empowering for women due to their religious practices.
  • Muslim women chose to wear the hijab to escape the confines of the home to enter education and employment.
  • Wearing religious dress could be seen as a rejecting of western cultural imperialism and is thus liberating.
• Counter to radical feminist views - Nawal El-Sadawi

  • Patriarchies in old societies means that men dominated the interpretations of the scriptures.
  • Eve presented as a temptress who created sin by male theologians.
  • In the Old Testament she was gifted with knowledge, intelligence and superior mental capacities. Adam is her instrument for creativity and discovery.
  • Koran says both genders should be stoned for adultery, but men don't face that punishment as they allowed themselves to have multiple wives.
• Examples of religion becoming less patriarchal

  • Gender neutral hymns and prayers.
  • Judaism has allowed women to be rabbis in its non-Orthodox denominations since 1972.
  • Gross - Buddhism does not differentiate between males and females in terms of roles or power.
• Civil religion (Bellah)


  • Unifies American society with ‘the American way of life’
  • Involves loyalty to the nation-state and a belief in God
  • Expressed in various rituals and symbols, like the pledge of allegiance to the flag, the national anthem, the Lincoln Memorial, and the phrase ‘One nation under God’
  • Counter - Nazi Germany isn't equal and this view ignores belief in the supernatural