Functionalist- religion

• Functionalist theories of religion


  Society is a system of interrelated parts or social institutions, such as religion, the family and the economy. Society is like an organism, with basic needs that it must meet in order to survive. These needs are met by the different institutions. Each institution performs certain functions-that is, each contributes to maintaining the social system by meeting a need
• Social order and solidarity


  Society's most basic need is the need for social order and solidarity so that its members can cooperate. What makes order possible is the existence of value consensus - a set of shared norms and values by which society's members live. Without this, individuals would pursue their own selfish desires and society would disintegrate
• Durkheim on religion


  Religious institutions play a central part in creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity
• Sacred and profane


  The key feature of religion is a fundamental distinction between the sacred (things set apart and forbidden, that inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions) and the profane (things that have no special significance-things that are ordinary and mundane). Religion involves definite rituals or practices in relation to the sacred, and these rituals are collective-performed by social groups
• Totemism


  The essence of all religion can be found by studying its simplest form, in the simplest type of society-clan society. Arunta clans consist of bands of kin who come together periodically to perform rituals involving worship of a sacred totem (the clan's emblem, such as an animal or plant that symbolises the clan's origins and identity). The totemic rituals venerating it serve to reinforce the group's solidarity and sense of belonging
• Collective conscience


  The sacred symbols represent society's collective conscience or consciousness (the shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge that make social life and cooperation between individuals possible). Regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social integration. Participating in shared rituals binds individuals together, reminding them that they are part of a single moral community to which they owe their loyalty
• Cognitive functions of religion


  Religion is the origin of the concepts and categories we need for reasoning, understanding the world and communicating, such as ideas about time, space, causation and classification
• The evidence on totemism is unsound. There is no sharp division between the sacred and the profane, and different clans share the same totems. Even if Durkheim is right about totemism, this does not prove that he has discovered the essence of all other religions
• Durkheim's theory may apply better to small-scale societies with a single religion. It is harder to apply it to large-scale societies, where two or more religious communities may be in conflict. His theory may explain social integration within communities, but not the conflicts between them
• Postmodernists argue that Durkheim's ideas cannot be applied to contemporary society because increasing diversity has fragmented the collective conscience, so there is no longer a single shared value system for religion to reinforce
• Societies where religion may have caused conflict between communities


  • Northern Ireland
  • Multi-faith societies
• Psychological functions of religion


  Religion promotes solidarity by performing psychological functions for individuals, helping them cope with emotional stress that would undermine social solidarity. It provides a sense of control and confidence in the face of uncontrollable and uncertain outcomes, and helps minimise disruption during life crises such as birth, death, etc.
• Parsons: values and meaning


  Religion creates and legitimates society's central values by sacralising them (making them sacred). It is also the primary source of meaning, providing answers to 'ultimate' questions about the human condition that would otherwise undermine commitment to society's values
• Civil religion


  An overarching belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself, integrating a multi-faith society in a way that individual religions cannot. In the American case, civil religion is a faith in Americanism or 'the American way of life'
• The idea of functional alternatives or equivalents to religion ignores what makes religion distinctive and different - its belief in the supernatural
• Malinowski- religion performs psychological functions that helps people deal with stress

  study of trobiand islanders

  lagoon fishing= safe as used predicable and successful methods of poisoning- NO RITUALS

  Ocean fishing- dangerous and unpredictabl— ‘canoe magic’ rituals used to ensure a safe and successful expedition. Reinforced groups solidarity and helps people feel more in control so less tension.