Functionalist view on Religion

What purpose does religion have in society according to Functionalists?

It creates and maintains value consensus, order and social solidarity.

• According to Durkheim, shared rituals in religion helps to reinforce collective conscience, helping to maintain social intergration

What are the 3 applications Durkheim believes religion has for society?

• Sacred and Profane principles

• Totemism

• Collective functions and primitive classification

How does Durkheim differentiate sacred and profane principles?

Religion’s function is to distinguish sacred practices (such as; weddings and birthdays) and profane practices (such as; sleeping and school- everyday activities)

• This creates social bonds and reaffirms what is important in society, maintaining social solidarity as everybody agrees what is special and everyday rituals.

How does Durkheim apply totemism to religion’s impact in society?

He argues that totemisn is the oldest native practise and is the essence of religion as people practise rituals which worship a totem- it represents the clans identity and origin through specific emblems, such as animals.

• Those emblems’ characteristics are embedded through the tribe

Worshiping the totem reinforces collective consciousness as individuals are dependent on the clan to maintain their identity and align with it.

How does Durkheim define primitive classification?

Religion is the basis of human though and argues (along with Mauss) that it helps humans to think, communicate and reason.

• It provided use with shared, basic categories such as time.

What does Parsons’ argue religion does in society?

It acts as an ‘organ’, maintaining society since it influences the other institutions and inhibits their survival, such as the education and criminal justice system

What does Malinowski argue about religion?

Based on fieldwork, religion serves a psychological function to manage uncertainty and crisis in life.

How does religion manage uncertainty, according to Mallinowski?

According to his study, the tribe felt safer once doing their rituals of ‘canoe magic’ before fishing.

• This was to ensure a safe trip, and created group solidarity since it build confidence to undertake the task

Religion therefore filled the gap of human incapability to control world.

How does religion manage crisis’ in life, according to Mallinowski?

Crisis’, such as death, may disrupt a community and its stability, so religion helps to manage and minimise disruption.

• Funerals help to build collective solidarity of a family after death.

For Malinowski, death is the main wagon humans have religion.

What are the critiques for the functionalist view on religion?

• Durkheim didn’t actually visit the country of origin of the tribe he was studying; so it may be inaccurate

• Durkheim and Malinownski’s study on small tribes may not apply to wider society; not generalisable

• Religion isnt the main thing bringing humans together anymore, as in multicultural Britain, social media applies to our beliefs

• Religion can cause conflict, e.g; 9/11 or genocide attacks

• Meghji argues that Durkheim has a ‘decolonial perspective’ and relies on an ethnocentric viewpoint on sociology

How does Bella’s apply the functionalist perspective to today’s society?

Civil religion is essentially a belief with sacred qualities that are intrinsic to American culture and its way of life (nationalism)

• Civil religion in America involves a belief in God (non-religiously) and loyalty to the state.

As well as this, Nazi Germany and North Korea are modern day examples of a civil religion.