The Functionalist Perspective of Religion

What is the function of monuments?

Generally, monuments and tourist attractions are there to: bring in tourist profit preserve ancient culture characterise a given culture/country The Statue of Liberty Liberty means freedom, and America is known as the 'Land of the Free', so the Statue itself represents the shared value of freedom among American national identityThe Eiffel Tower shows national identity and prideChrist the Redeemer, Rio shows their religion and beliefs, as Brazil is a Catholic country it not only shows the values of the country, but also the Christian values in their most popular religion

Houses of ParliamentThis is where laws are made, which progress the country and continue democracy; democracy and success are within our British values - we are proud to value democracyStonehenge place of worship? brings people together on summer solstice Pyramids of Gizashowing off about power

Overview of Functionalism

Society is a system of interrelated parts or social institutions (e.g. family, religion and the economy). Society is like an organism, with basic needs that it must meet in order to survive. These needs are met by these interrelated parts working together.  Each social institution performs a different function which maintains society. Society's most basic need is for the social order and solidarity to be maintained, so its members can cooperate. What makes this order possible is the existence of value consensus - a set of shared norms and values by which society's members live. Without this, the members of society would seek to meet their own selfish desires and society itself would disintegrate. View AS notes on this topic.

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Durkheim - Totemism

Durkheim believed that the essence of all religion could be found by studying a simple clan society; the Australian Aborigines. The Sacred and the Profane In this society, there was a distinction between the sacred and profane. Sacred objects are given a special value, and treated differently. Sacred objects also inspire feelings of awe, fear and wonder, are set apart and forbidden, with lots of surrounding prohibitions. Profane objects are the mundane, everyday items with no particular value. Religion thus also involves the rituals or practices in relation to the sacred, and these rituals are performed as a collective. Aboriginal society created sacred totems to worship, which embodied the clan's identity and origins.

Durkheim realised that these totems also inspired feelings of awe, which is similar to the monuments and tourist attractions on the previous slide. Durkheim continued to claim that people were not aware that when they worship in a religion, they are actually worshipping society itself (as Durkheim believed that only society itself was powerful enough to evoke such feelings of awe and wonder, as people felt part of something greater than themselves). Durkheim claims that although sacred symbols vary from religion to religion that they all perform the same function of uniting us as a single moral community.

The Totemism Example In his theories, Durkheim referenced the Arunta, an Aboriginal Australian tribe with a clan system. Arunta clans consist of bands of kin who come together periodically to perform rituals involving worship of a sacred totem. The totem is the clan's emblem, such as an animal or plant that symbolises the clan's origins or identity. The shared totemic rituals serve to reinforce the group's solidarity and sense of belonging. When clan member worship their totemic animal, there are worshipping society.  The totem inspires feelings of awe in the clan's members, because it represents the power of the group on which the individual is 'utterly dependent.' The Collective ConscienceReligion also unites people, and gives them a collective conscience with shared norms and values.

Durkheim - Totemism (continued)

The sacred symbols represent society's collective conscience - the shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge that makes social life possible, and without it, society would disintegrate. Regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and main social integration. This participation in rituals binds individuals together, reminding them that they are part of a single moral community to which they owe their loyalty. It also reminds them of the power of society - that they themselves are nothing, and to which they owe everything. In this sense, religion also performs and important function for the individual. By making us feel that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, religion invigorates and strengthens us to face life's trials and motivates us to overcome obstacles that would otherwise defeat us.

Durkheim - Totemism (continued)

Cognitive Functions Durkheim also sees religion as the source of our intellectual or cognitive capacities (or our ability to think and reason conceptually).  For example, in order to think at all, we need categories such as time, space, cause, substance, number, etc. (try thinking of an event that had no cause, and that occurred outside of space and time for instance). And in order to share our thoughts, we need to have the same categories as others. Religion is the origin of concepts and categories we need for reasoning, understanding the world and communicating.  In their book, Primitive Classification, Durkheim and Marcel Mauss argue that religion provides these basic categories e.g) the ideas about a creator bringing the world into being at the beginning of time Similarly, the divisions of tribes into clans gives humans their first notion of classification. 

Malinowski - Psychological Functions

Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski agrees with Durkheim that religion promotes solidarity. However, instead he argued that it does so by performing psychological functions for individuals.Malinowski identifies two situations where religion helps people cope with emotional stress which would undermine social solidarity:1) The outcome is important, but is uncontrollable, and thus uncertain In his study of Trobriand Islanders in the Western Pacific, Malinowski uses the example of fishing: Lagoon fishing is safe and use the predictable and successful method of poisoning. When islanders fish in the lagoon, there is no ritual. Ocean fishing is dangerous and uncertain, and is always accompanied by 'canoe magic' - rituals to ensure a safe and successful expedition.  These rituals give individuals a sense of control, which eases tension and allows them to have the confidence to undergo hazardous risks, as well as reinforcing group solidarity. 

Malinowski describes rituals as 'god of the gaps', as they fill the gaps in human beings' control over the world, such as being able to control the outcome of a fishing trip. 2) At times of life crises Events such as birth, death, marriage and puberty mark major and disruptive changes in social groups. Religion helps to minimise disruption. For instance, funerals reinforce a feeling of solidarity among mourners, whilst the notion of immortality comforts the bereaved by denying the reality of death. e.g) April Jones case Church was central to organising the search and helping to unite and comfort the mourners It performed two psychological functions: helping them to cope with emotional stress and life crises and bringing people together to promote social solidarity.

Parsons - Value and Meaning

Like Malinowski, Parsons sees religion as helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes. In addition, Parsons also identifies two other essential functions that religion has in modern society: 1) Creating and legitimating society's central valuesReligion creates and legitimates society's basic norms and values by sacralising them (making them sacred). e.g) In the USA, Protestantism has sacralised American values of individualism, meritocracy and self-discipline. This serves to promote value consensus and social solidarity.2) Being the primary source of meaningIn particular, it answers 'ultimate questions', such as why the good suffer, why some die young and what happens after death.

Such events can defy our sense of justice and make life appear meaningless, which may undermine our commitment to society's values.  By providing an answer to these questions, religion enables people to adjust to adverse events and helps to maintain social stability.

Bellah - Civil Religion

Like Parsons, Robert Bellah is interested in how religion unifies society, especially in a multi-faith society such as America. What unifies American society is an overarching civil religion, a non-religious religion, or a belief system that attaches itself to sacred qualities to society itself.  Civil religion in America is faith in Americanism or the 'American way of life.' Bellah argues that civil religion can unify society in a way that religion cannot. No religious denomination or faith can claim the loyalty of all Americans, however civil religion can.  The American civil religion involves loyalty to the nation-state and a belief in God, both of which are equated with being a true American. It is expressed in various rituals, symbols and beliefs; such as the pledge of allegiance to the flag, singing the national anthem, the Lincoln Memorial, and phrases such as 'One nation under God.'

It is important to remember that this is not a specifically Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish God, but rather an 'American' God.  Overall, American civil religion sacralises the American way of life and binds together Americans from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Why is civil religion important in America? Traditionally, America is comprised of immigrants; from Ireland, Holland and Italy, as well as a host of other places. The American civil religion helps to bind this people together as one single community, which stops a lot of potential conflict between their diverse differences. Are there any examples of civil religion in the Uk? The royal wedding being idolised The public reaction to Princess Diana's death

Evaluating Functionalism

Functionalism emphasises the social nature of religion and the positive functions it performs, however it neglects the negative aspects, such as religion as a source of oppression of the poor or women. It ignores religion as a source of division or conflict, especially in complex modern societies where there is more than one religion (called religious pluralism), where it is difficult to see how religion unites people and promotes integration. Whilst the idea of civil religion overcomes this problem somewhat, is it really a religion if it does not involve a belief in the supernatural? Durkheim: STRENGTH: evidence is provided for his theory - the Aborigines STRENGTH: sacred objects present in most world religions LIMITATION: Worsley said that there is no division between the sacred and the profane, as some clans shared totems. Also, even if Durkheim is right about totemism, it doesn't mean that he's right about all religions. LIMITATION: Durkheim's theory may apply best to small scale societies with a single religion, as it is harder to apply it to larger, multi-faith societies where religions may be in conflict. His theory explains social integration within society, but not the conflict between them. LIMITATION: Postmodernists such as Mestrovic argue that Durkheim's ides 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.

Malinowski: STRENGTH: more people turn to religion at times of life crises (e.g. funerals, weddings and christenings - even if they aren't religious the rest of the time LIMITATION: basing ideas on a small scale society doesn't reflect the complexities of more modern, larger societies Parsons: STRENGTH: religion provides definitive answers to ultimate questions such as why good people suffer and life after death LIMITATION: religion cannot be the primary source of meaning; scientific findings are given more weight in modern society - as Parsons was writing in 1967, perhaps his ideas can be written off as outdated. LIMITATION: Parsons says that religion helps us to stay committed to society's values, when in fact, religion can introduce new values that contradict the values of society Bellah: STRENGTH: prominent examples of civil religion in America, when compared to the UK who are much less patriotic and the national anthem is not sung as often LIMITATION: American civil religion involves loyalty and a belief in God - this discriminates against Buddhists, atheists and other beliefs which don't involve God - this separates people, instead of unifying them

Functional Alternatives

Functional alternatives or functional equivalents are non-religious beliefs and practices that perform similar functions to those of organised religion; such as reinforcing shared values and maintaining social cohesion. For example, although American civil religion involves a belief in God, Bellah argues that this doesn't have to be the case. Some other belief system could perform the same functions. For example, in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, they have secular political beliefs and rituals around which they sought to unite society. However, the problems with functional alternative are much the same as with the functional definition of religion - it ignores what makes a religion distinctly different, namely, a belief in the supernatural.

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A Summary

Durkheim - made the distinction between the sacred and profane, studied the Australian Aborignal tribe (Arunta) and observed that they worshipped the clan's totem. Because the totem was a representation of themselves and it inspired feelings of awe, Durkheim said they are worshipping society. Worship rituals give us a collective conscience, and reinforce sense of belonging and promote social solidarity. Religion also has a cognitive function of giving us concepts such as time, place and substance, so that we may discuss abstract concepts with one another more easily. Malinowski - studied the Trobriand islanders, observed that rituals were used to prepare for dangerous and uncertain ocean fishing, (helping them to cope with emotional stress and give them a sense of control). Religion is also used at times of life crises to ease the disruption within the social group. e.g) Funeral rites in a church help to unite the bereaved and instil a sense of hope with the notion of immortality

Summary Continued

Parsons - religion helps provide meaning and promote the values of society by making them sacred. In America, values of individualism and meritocracy are sacralised, serving to promote solidarity and value consensus. Religion provides answers to ultimate questions like why good people suffer and why some die young. If unanswered, these questions may defy our trust in society's values and lead us into social disorder. Bellah - in multi-faith societies, civil religion unites people and performs the same functions as religion. In America, people are united in their shared values towards freedom, loyalty to their country and a belief in God. This civil religion is expressed through singing the national anthem and pledging allegiance to the flag. This civil religion is used to bind people together of many different faiths and nationalities (as America is largely comprised of immigrants). 

Strengths of this view - emphasises social nature of religion and its unifying qualities, Durkheim, Bellah and Malinowski all give examples to support their work (Marx and Lenin don't), Durkheim's idea of sacred objects present in most religions Limitations of this view - Durkheim used secondary data (unreliable) to draw conclusions about religion which may not be entirely accurate for all religions, religion cannot unify people in multi-faith societies, American civil religion cannot claim the loyalty of all Americans as it leaves out those who do not believe in God (atheists, Buddhists)