Functionalist Theories Of Religion

For functionalists, what is society’s most basic need?

The need for social order and solidarity so that its members can cooperate. What makes social order possible is the existence of value consensus - 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.

For functionalist, what do religious institutions play a central part in?

Creating and maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity.

For Durkheim, what was the key feature of religion?

A fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane found in al religions. Furthermore, 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 a social group.

What is the sacred?

These are things that are set apart and forbidden, that inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions.

What is the profane?

Things that have no special significance - things that are ordinary and mundane.

For Durkheim, what did the fact that sacred things evoke such powerful feelings to its believers indicate?

That this is because they are symbols representing something of great power. In his view, this ting 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.

For Durkheim, although sacred symbols vary from religion to religion, what do they all perform?

The essential function of uniting believers into a single moral community.

What did Durkheim believe that the essence of all religion could be found by?

Studying its simplest form, in the simplest type of society - clan society. For this reason, he used studies of an Australian tribe with a clan system (the Arunta).

What do Arunta clans consist of?

Bands of kin who come together periodically to perform rituals involving worship of a sacred totem.

What is the totem?

The clan’s emblem, such as an animal or plant that symbolises the clan’s origin and identity. The shared totemic rituals venerating it serve to reinforce the group’s solidarity and sense of belonging.

For Durkheim, when clan members worship their totemic animal, what are they really worshipping?

Society - even though they themselves are not aware of this fact.

Why does the totem inspire feelings of awe in the clan’s members?

Because it represents the power of the group on which the individual is ‘utterly dependent‘.

In Durkheim’s view, what do the sacred symbols represent?

Society’s collective conscience or consciousness. The collective conscious is the shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge that make social life and cooperation between individuals possible - without these, society would disintegrate.

For Durkheim, what do regular shared religious rituals reinforce?

The collective conscious 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. Such rituals also remind the individual of the power of society - without which they themselves are nothing, and to which they owe everything.

How does religion also perform 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.

Apart from a source of social solidarity, what does Durkheim see religion as the source of?

Our intellectual or cognitive capacities - our ability to reason and think conceptually. Secondly, in order to share our thoughts, we need to use the same categories as others.

In Durkheim’s view, what is religion the origin of?

Concepts and categories we need for reasoning, understanding the world and communicating. Similarly, the distribution of tribes into clans gives humans their first notion of classification. Thus for Durkheim, religion is the origin of human thought, reason and science.

What does Worsley note?

That there is no sharp division between the sacred and the profane, and that different clans share the same totems. And even if Durkheim is right about totemism, this does not prove that he has discovered the essence of all other religions..

What may Durkheim’s theory 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.

What would postmodernists argue about Durkheim’s ideas?

That they 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.

What was Malinowski’s view on religion?

He agreed with Durkheim that religion promotes solidarity. However, in his view, it does so by performing psychological functions for individuals, helping them cope with emotional stress that would undermine social solidarity.

What does Malinowski identity?

Two types of situation in which religion performs psychological functions.

What are the two types of situation in which religion performs psychological roles, according to Malinowski?

1. At times when the outcome is important but is uncontrollable and thus uncertain (in his study of the Trobriand Islanders).

2. At times of life crises,

When the outcome is important but is uncontrollable and thus uncertain, what does Malinowski contrast?

Lagoon fishing and ocean fishing.

What is lagoon fishing?

Lagoon fishing is safe and uses the predictable and successful method of poisoning. When the islanders fish in the lagoon, there is no ritual.

What is ocean fishing?

Ocean fishing is dangerous and uncertain, and is accompanied by ‘canoe magic‘ - rituals to ensure a safe and successful expedition. This gives people a sense of control, which eases tension, gives them confidence to undertake hazardous tasks and reinforces group solidarity. He sees ritual serving as a ‘god of the gaps‘ - it fills the gaps in human beings’ control over the world, such as being able to control the outcome of a fishing trip.

How does religion perform psychological functions at times of life crisis?

Events such as birth , puberty, marriage and especially death mark major and disruptive changes in social groups. Religion helps to minimise disruption. For example, the funeral rituals reinforce a feeling of solidarity among the survivors.

What does Malinowski argue about death?

That it is the main reason for the existence of religious belief.

Like Malinowski, what does Parsons see religion as doing?

Helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes.

What does Parsons identify?

Two other functions that religion performs in modern society:

• It creates and legitimates society’s central values.

• It is the primary source of meaning.

For Parsons, how does religion create and legitimate society’s basic norms and values?

By sacralising them (making them sacred). This in the ?USA, Protestantism has sacralised the core American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline. This serves to promote value consensus and thus social stability.

How does religion provide a source of meaning?

It answers ‘ultimate‘ questions about the human condition, such as why the good suffer and why some die young. By doing so , religion enables people to adjust to adverse events or circumstances and helps maintain stability.

Like Parsons, what is Bellah interested in?

How religion unifies society, especially a multi-faith society like America.

What unifies American society?

An overarching civil religion.

What is civil religion?

A belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself. In the American case, civil religion is a faith in Americanism or ‘American way of life.‘.

What does Bellah argue?

That civil religion integrates society in a way that America’s many different churches and demonisations cannot. While none of these can claim the loyalty of all Americans, civil religion can. It involves loyalty to the nation state and a belief in God and is expressed in various rituals, symbols and beliefs.

What are functional alternatives or functional equivalents to religion?

Non-religious beliefs and practices that perform functions similar to those of organised religion, such as reinforcing shared values or maintaining cohesion.

Although civil religion involves a belief in God, what else does Bellah argue about it?

That this doesn’t have to be the case. Some other belief system could perform the same functions.

What is the problem with the idea of functional alternatives?

It is the same as with functional definitions of religions - it ignores what makes religion distinctive and different - its belief in the supernatural.

What does functionalism emphasise?

The social nature of religion and the positive functions it performs.

What does functionalism ignore?

Negative aspects of religion, such as it being used as a source of oppression. It also ignores religion as a source of division and conflict, especially in modern complex societies with more than one religion.