Theories of Religion

Question	Answer
Functionalists see society as...	like an organism
Society has basic needs it must meet to...	survive
Institutions perform certain functions to maintain the social system by meeting a need. The most basic needs are...	social order and social solidarity
Functionalists say this makes social order possible...	Value consensus (a set of shared norms and values for people to follow)
Durkheim (1915) Religious institutions play a central part in creating & maintaining value consensus, order and solidarity.	Without value consensus (created by religion) individual selfishness would cause social disintegration.
Durkheim's key feature of religion...	Distinction between the sacred and the profane.
Sacred things - set apart and forbidden, inspiring feelings of awe, fear and wonder, with taboos and prohibitions.	Profane things - ordinary, no special significance e.g a desk, a coaster.
Sacred things create powerful feelings in believers because they represent something of great power.	Durkheim believed this 'something of great power' is society itself.
Rituals - religion has sacred & collective rituals/practices. For example; worship.	People worshiping sacred symbols are worshiping society. Symbols unite believers into a single moral community.
He believed the essence of religion could be discovered by studying its simplest form in the simplest society.	He used studies (secondary data) of the Arunta - Aboriginal Australian tribe with a clan system.
The Arunta worship their emblem - the sacred totem.	The ritual reinforces the group's solidarity and sense of belonging.
Durkheim believed these clan members were really worshiping society.	The totem inspired awe as it represented the power of the group.
A criticism of Durkheim's idea is that he used secondary data of the Arunta.	This means the data collected might not be applicable to other groups/societies. Religion in its simplest society may not be applicable to other societies anyway.
Durkheim said the sacred symbols represent society's collective conscience.	This is the shared norms, values and beliefs that makes cooperation between individuals possible. Without it society would disintegrate.
Regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social integration.	Rituals also remind people of the power of society without which they are nothing and to which they owe everything.
Religions make us feel a part of something greater than ourselves, it strengthens us to face life's problems.	AO2: Religion causes conflict when multiple faiths are present. Durkheim's theory explains integration within communities, but not the conflicts between them.
The cognitive functions of religion:	Durkheim Durkheim & Mauss Malinowski
Durkheim, on the cognitive functions of religion:	He saw religion as the source of out ability to reason and to think conceptually. We need categories in order to think e.g. space and time. Religion provides the concepts & categories needed for understanding the world and for communicating.
Durkheim & Mauss (1903)	Religion provides basic categories such as time, space and causation. E.g. ideas about a creator bringing the world into being at the beginning of time. They see religion as the origin of human thought, reason and science.
Malinowski (1954)	Religion promotes solidarity by performing psychological functions for individual people that help them cope with emotional stress (stress that would otherwise undermine social solidarity).
Important with an controllable/uncertain outcome:	Malinowski: Trobriand Islanders. Contrasted lagoon & ocean fishing. Lagoon is safe while ocean is dangerous. Ocean is accompanied by canoe magic (rituals to ensure a safe expedition). People feel they have control over fate, eases tension, gives confidence & reinforces group solidarity.
In times of life crises:	Events e.g birth, death, puberty & marriage are potentially disruptive. Malinowski argues death is the main reason for religious belief. E.g funeral rituals reinforce solidarity between living, notion of life after death comforts bereaved by denying fact of death.
Parsons (1967) 2 other essential functions of religion	1. creates and legitimates society's basic norms and values 2. provides a source of meaning, answering ultimate questions
1. Religion does this by sacralising norms & values, by promoting value consensus and social stability. E.g in US Protestantism has sacralised the core American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline.	2. By answering the ultimate questions (e.g why do good people suffer?) religion helps people to adjust to adverse events and helps to maintain social stability.
Bellah (1970) Civil Religion	Civil Religion = a belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself. E.g in multi-faith America, civil religion creates a faith in the American way of life.
Civil religion integrates society in a way that individual religions can't. American civil religion involves loyalty to the nation-state & belief in God. These values equal being a 'true American'.	Civil religion is expressed in various rituals, symbols and beliefs e.g pledging allegiance to the American flag. It sacralises the American way of life and so binds together those from different ethnic & religious backgrounds.

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