A2 Sociology- Religion- Topic1- Theories of religion

Functionalists Theory of Religion:

• Durkheim on religion:
• The sacred and the profane: The key feature of religion=fundamental distinction between the sacred & the profane found in all religions. Sacred= things set apart and forbidden that inspire feeling of awe, fear+wonder and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions. Profane= things of no significance/ordinary and mundane. A religion is never just a set of beliefs, it relies on rituals and practices on relation to the sacred and these rituals are collective (in groups). Sacred evoke power because they're symbols representing something of great power. This thing can only be society-when they worship the sacred symbols they worship society itself. Durkheim says although the sacred vary from religion to religion- they perform the same function of uniting believers into a single moral community. Durkheim and Mauss
• Totemism: Durkheim found that the essence of religion could be found when researching it in its simplest form- clan society. He used Aboriginal Tribe consisting of kin who came together to perform rituals involving worship of a sacred totem (the clan's emblem e.g. an animal or plant) the totemic rituals reinforce the groups solidarity and sense of belonging. When the clan members worship their totem, they're actually worshipping society (unawarely). The totem inspires feelings of awe in the clans members precisely because it represents the power of the group on which the individual is utterly dependant.
• The collective conscience: the sacred symbols represent societies collective conscience (shared norms, values, beliefs, knowledge that make social life and co-operation between individuals possible). Regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social integration- participating binds individuals together reminding them they're part of a single moral community which they owe their loyalty. Also that the power of society>their power. Religion performs an important function for the individual-making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves-religion strengthens us to face life's trials and motivates us to overcome obstacles.
• Cognitive functions of religion: source of our intellectual/cognitive capacities. In order to think we need to categories and use the same categories as others. argue religion provides the basic categories such as time, space etc. Divisions of clans= classification. Religion= origin of human thought.

Slide 2

• Psychological functions; MALINOWSKI agreed with Durkheim that religion promotes solidarity. However, it does this by performing psychological functions for individuals, helping them cope with emotional stress that would undermine social solidarity. He identifies 2 types of situations where religions performs this role: 1) Where the outcome's important but is uncontrollable and uncertain- Trobiand Islanders of Pacific, Malinowski contrasts fishing in the lagoon and fishing in the ocean. Lagoon= safe and uses the predictable and successful method of poisoning- no ritual. Ocean fishing= dangerous and uncertain accompanied by 'canoe magic'- rituals to ensure a safe and successful trip. It gives people a sense of control giving them confidence and reinforcing group solidarity- the ritual fills the gaps in human beings control over the world. 2) at times of crisis- e.g. births, puberty, marriage and death- causes disruption and change in social groups. Religion helps minimalise the disruption. At funerals- rituals reinforce feeling of solidarity among survivors and the notion of immortality gives comfort to the bereaved by denying the fact of death.
• Parsons: values and meaning: Agrees with Malinowski that religion helps individuals cope with uncontrollable outcomes. PARSONS identifies 2 other essential functions that religion perform. 1) creates and legitimate's society's central values; by sacralising them e.g. in the USA Protestanism sacralised the American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline= promotes value consensus and social stability., 2) it's the primary source of meaning; answers ultimate questions about the human condition, religion provides answers to such questions.
• Civil religion: BELLAH like Parsons is interesting how how religion unifies society. What unifies American society is civil religion- a faith in Americanism. Civil religion integrates society in ways individual religions cannot. None of individual churches/denominations can claim loyalty of Americans, civil religion can- it involves being loyal to the nation-state and belief in God ('American God')= true American. It's expressed in various rituals, symbols and beliefs e.g. pledge of allegiance to the flag.
• Functional alternatives: functional alternatives/equivalents to religion are non-religious beliefs and practices that perform functions similar to those of organised religion, such as reinforcing shared values or maintaining social cohesion. Bellah-E.g. although America's civil religion involved a beleif in God, it's not always the case. Nazi Germany and Soviet Union had secular political beliefs and rituals around which they sought to unite society. However this ignores what makes religion distinctive and different- belief in supernatural.

Evaluation of functionalism: Ao2:

• Functionalism emphasises the social nature of religion and the positive functions it performs.
• Durkheim's theory may apply better to small-scale societies with a single religion. It's 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 doesn't explain conflict between them.
• Postmodernists- Mestrovic- Durkheim's ideas cannot be applied to contemporary society because of increasing diversity fragmenting the collective conscience so there's no longer a single shared value system for religion to reinforce.
• The evidence on totemism is unsound- Worsley- there's no sharp division between the sacred and the profane, and that different clans share the same totems. Even if Durkheim's right about totenism, it doesn't prove that he has discovered the essence of all other religion. It neglects negative aspects such as religion as a source of oppression of the poor or women.
• It ignores religion as source of division and conflict, especially in complex modern societies where there's more than one religion. Where there's religious pluralism it's hard to see how it can unite people and promote integration.
• The idea of civil religion overcomes this problem by arguing that societies may still have an overarching belief system shared by all but is it really a religion?

Marxist Theories of Religion:

• There's potential for class conflict: MARX- w/c would become conscious of their exploitation and unite to overthrow capitalism= classless society- so there'd be no more exploitation. Religion is a feature of class-divided society- no need for religion in classless society.
• Religion as ideology: The r/c controls the economic production& also controls the production and distribution of ideas in society through institutions such as the church. Religion is an ideological weapon to justify the suffering of the poor as something inevitable/god-given. Religion misleads the poor into believing their suffering will be worth it in the afterlife (e.g. Christianity- easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the gates of heaven). These ideas create false consciousness (distorted view of reality preventing the poor from acting to change their situation). LENIN- religion is like 'spiritual gin'- an intoxicant doled out to the masses by the r/c to confuse them and keep them in place. The r/c use religion cynically to manipulate the masses to keep them from attempting to overthrow the r/c by creating 'mystical fog' that obscures reality. Religion legitimate's the power and privilege of the dominant class by making their position appear to be divinely ordained, e.g. 16th century idea that Kings were Gods representative on earth and is owed total obedience.
• Religion and alienation: MARX also sees religion as product of alienation- becoming separated from/losing control over something that one has produced or created. Under capitalism, workers are alienated because they don't own what they produce and have no control over the production process and no freedom to express their true nature as creative beings. In the dehumanising conditions, the exploited turn to religion as a form of consolation- Marx 'religion is the opium of the people'. Religion acts as an opiate to dull the pain of exploitation.
• Marx sees religion as the production of alienation, it arises out of suffering and acts as a consolation for it but fails to deal with it's cause namely class exploitation. Religion also acts as an ideology that legitimating both the suffering of the poor and privileges of the r/c.

Evaluation: Ao2:

• Marx shows how religion may be a tool of oppression that masks exploitation and create false consciousness.
• However, he ignores posiitve functions of religion such as psychological adjustment to misfortune. Neo-Marxists see forms of religion as assisting not hindering the development of class consciousness.
• ALTHUSSER (Marxist) rejects the concept of alienation as unscientific and based on the romantic idea that humans have true self- inadequate bass for a theory of religion.
• Religion deosn't necessarily function effectively as an ideology to control the population. ABERCROMBIE AND TURNER- pre-capitalist society while Christianity was a major element of r/c ideology, it had only limited impact on the peasantry.

Feminist Theories of Religion:

• Society is patriarchal- Religion is also a patriarchal institution that reflects and perpetuates this inequality. Religious beliefs function as a patriarchal ideology that legitimate female subordination.
• Evidence of patriarchy:
• 1) Religious organisations are mostly male-dominated despite women participate more. ARMSTRONG; women's exclusion from priesthood of most religions as evidence of their marginalisation.
• 2) Places of worship often segregate the sexes and marginalise women e.g. seating women behind screens, restricting their participation. Taboos e.g. menstruation not allowed to touch the Qu'ran).
• 3) Sacred texts feature males more than females - usually written/interpreted by males. Also usually reflect anti-female stereotypes e.g. Eve who caused humanity's fall from grace.
• 4) Religious laws and customs give women fewer rights than men e.g. access to divorce, dress codes etc. Religion influences cultural norms leading to unequal treatment etc. Many religions legitimate/regulate women's traditional domestic and reproductive role. Catholic church banning abortions

Evaluation; A02

• However, ARMSTRONG- women aren't always subordinate to men- early religions place women in the centre e.g. earth mother goddesses. It's the monotheistic religions which have established one single, all-powerful male God e.g. male prophets. Church of England permitted women preists since 1992.
• SAADAWI argues while religion may be used to oppress women, it's not the direct cause of their subordination, it's the result of patriarchal from of society coming into existence. One in existence patriarchy reshaped religion. thus region contributed to women's oppression due to the rise of monotheism.
• WOODHEAD: Religious feminists: criticises feminists explanations that simply equate religion with patriarchy and the oppression of women. She accepts many traditional region's patriarchal but not all religion. There are religious forms of feminism- where women gain greater freedom and respect. E.g. the Hijab worn by Muslim women is seen as a form of oppression but some Muslim women wear it to escape the confines of the home and enter education/employment- it's a symbol of liberation. Women also use religion to gain status and respect for their roles within the private sphere of home and family e.g. belonging to an evangelical group can be empowering for some women- a strong belief is that men should respect women- giving women the power to influence men's behaviour by insisting that they must practice what they preach thus refraining from 'macho' behaviour.