RELIGION AND THEORIES RELIGION AND THEORIES

Sociologists are interested in studying religion for 2 primary reasons. One, because religion is very important to many people and these people cover a large percentage of the population on the planet. The second reason is because religious values and beliefs influence the behaviour and attitudes of people which makes an impact in their lives. Religion- Religion is a set of beliefs and practicesgenerally agreed by a group of people such as Christians and Muslims. These sets of beliefs often concern the cause, nature, the purpose of life and lastly may refer to ahigher super natural power that makes sense of everything or God.

Substantive Religion- The substantive definition of religions focuses on what religion is. Therefore a simple definition for religion would be the belief in a superior power or God such as Christianity and Islam. The sociologist Max Weber defines religion as a belief in the superior or supernatural power that is above nature andcannot be explained. (Max Weber) Functional Definition- The functionalist definition of religions focuses on what religion does for society. So instead of defining it solely based on special kinds of beliefs, functionalist definitions define it in terms of thesocial and psychological functions it performs for individuals in societies. Thus the ideology here is that religion is the belief in society. The most basic needsociety requires is social order and religion reinforces this through value consensus to create a social solidarity. (Malinowski) (Religion= Belief + Rituals) For example Emile Durkhiem defines religion in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration rather thanthe belief in God or the supernatural. Milton Yinger also goes to identify other important functions that religionperforms for individuals such as answering ultimate questions such as the meaning of life and what happensafter death. These functions performed helps create social stability in society as individuals can carry on their daily lives knowing their questions are answered.

(Emile Durkhiem) (Milton Yinger) (Mestrovic)(Malinowski) Social Constructionist Definition- Thisinterpretivist approach focuses on how the individual or members of society themselves define religion. This means there is no universal definition of religion to cover all cases because in reality different groups and individuals mean very different things by religion. Therefore interpretivists are more interested in how these definitions of religions are constructed, challenged and fought over. A good example is how Alan Aldridge shows us in his studies how scientology for its followers is a religion. However many governments denied its legal status as a religion and sought to ban it. This shows that religions can be contested and can be influenced by the power to define the situation which can be by any group or an individual. The interpretivist approach therefore suggests that religion is impossible to generalise and varies from person to person, from group to group as everyone individually perceives it differently. Thus religion doesnt have to perform similar functions for everyone or involve a belief in a supernatural power or God. (Alan Aldridge) Civil Religion- A functionalist alternative, this is the belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself. Robert Bellah argues that civil religion integratessociety in a way that individual religions cannot. For example American Civil Religion involves loyalty to the nationstate and a belief in God. They have to also engage in certain rituals and practices. Therefore through value consensus, individuals see that to be a true American, you have to believe in God and engage in the rituals set such as pledging allegiance to the national flag and singing the national anthem. (Bellah)

Functionalist Approach to Religion

Malinowski- The anthropologist agrees with Durkhiems view to religion promoting social solidarity in society. Malinowski describes how religion performspsychological functions for

individuals that helps them tocope with emotional stress that would undermine society. This occurs when: 1. Where the outcome is important but uncontrollable. His study of Trobiand Islanders reveals that when they didfishing in the ocean, they performed canoe magic. This ritual helped them psychologically overcome fear and feel in control of the unforeseen natural events. 2. At times of life crises such as birth, puberty, marriage and death. Religion helps to minimise the psychological disruption for the people in society. For example, funeral rituals reinforce a feeling of solidarity among the survivorsgiving comfort to the bereaved. Malinowski argues that death is in fact the main reason for religion. Talcott Parsons- He is a sociologist that sees religion as helping people to cope with the uncontrollable outcomesand unforeseen events that occur in society such as losing a loved one. He identifies 2 functions religion performs for society. It creates and legitimates societys central values. Its the primary source of meaning. For example religion legitimates basic norms and values in society by making them sacred to societys members. In such societies like USA, it has sacralised American values such as individualism, meritocracy and self discipline which serve to promote value consensus and social stability. Religion also provides a source of meaning toanswering ultimate questions such as why people aresuffering like when people are murdered or die young. Some of the answers it gives are that it is a test of faithand those that follow the rules will be rewarded in heaven. Emile Durkhiem- Durkhiems view to religion is that it is also the origin of human thought and our reason to think conceptually. It performs cognitive functions because In order to think at all we need categories such as time, space, substance and number which he portrays in his book Primitive Classification. For example it is impossibleto think of an event that occurred outside time and space. In order to share thoughts with others, we use the same categories and ideals such as a creator or God bringing the world into existence at the beginning of time.

Durkhiem also claimed the essence of religion could be found by studying it in its simplest form. That by doing studies on Arunta, an Australian clan society he could understand the essence of religion. Arunta clansperformed rituals involving the worship to a sacred totemwhich is the clans emblem. This emblem thereforesymbolizes the clan, its origin and its identity. Thus when the clan is worshipping the totems, they are in realityworshipping society itself. (Durkheim) Even so, his views have been criticised by postmodernists like Mestrovic who point out that his study only really applies to small scale societies which are not as complex as large ones. Also, postmodernist theorists like Grace Daviewould argue about a trend towards vicarious religion. She agrees that people dont attend religious institutions as much but they still believe in God so only the obligation to attend has declined due to changes in society. (Mestrovic) (Davie) Milton Yinger- Milton Yinger is a functionalist who saw religion as a way to answer ultimate questions for people in society. Such questions are about what the meaning of life is and what occurs after death. This is because many people in societies will need answers and will not be able to contribute properly to it as it would cause disruptionunless they are answered. Therefore society wont befunctioning properly without it as it stabilizes psychological thoughts.

Marxist Approach to Religion

Marxist views on religion are based on class conflict. They see religion as an instrument that divides society into two classes, the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The Bourgeoisie own the means of production exploiting thelabour of the Proletariat for their own profits in modern capitalist society. Karl Marx identifies how religion is used as a tool to blind the Proletariat from the truth through the ideological processes it performs for society. Marx also saw religion like opium used to dull the pain of exploitation because religion is a product of alienation. Alienation involves loss of control over something that one has produced. The working class dont have the means of production in society so they cannot express themselves fully as creative beings.

Similarily Lenin describes how religion is an intoxicantdoled out to the masses by the ruling class in order toconfuse them and keep them in their place. Therefore the ruling class are manipulating the masses so their ruling power cant be overthrown. An example of religion being a way of controlling the masses is that it legitimates power given to those in theruling class such as Kings. For example during the 16thcentury, there was an ideology created of a King beingGods representative on earth which inflicted total obedience to the people. Thus, being disobedient to such a man would not only be illegal but a sinful challenge to Gods authority.

Feminist Views of Religion

Feminists see religion as institutions serving the purpose of keep society patriarchal through the ideology it invokes to its followers. For example: Women are segregated in places of worship. They are placed in non-important locations of some religious institutions therefore showing how devalued they are in contemporary religions. (Jean Holm) Religious organisations are mainly male dominated despite the fact women may often participate more in them. For example Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbidwomen to become Priests. Armstrong sees how womens exclusion from priesthood is evidence of marginalisation. Also in many Christian religions, women were forbidden to become priests until recently in 1992. It is found that Sacred Texts largely feature male Gods and prophets such as Muhammad from Islam or Moses from the Christianity religions. The texts also have stories that are anti-female stereotyped such as Eve in the Christianity religion being the cause of humanitys fall from Eden. Religious laws and customs give women fewer rights than men such as how many spouses they can marry, dress codes and decision making choices. In some Muslim religions, women have to cover up their body completely. Such customs are

likely to benefit men who can marry more than one wife in some religions and make decisionsthat women must obey. (Woodhead) Woodhead- She found how religious laws and customsgive women fewer rights than men. For example, some males can marry more than 1 partner. Women are also given less power in decision making and have strict dress codes. In some Muslim religions, many women have tocover up their body completely. Jean Holm- She did studies to find that women aresegregated at places of worship. They are placed in non-important locations of these institutions therefore showing the devaluation of them in contemporary religion. (Limits on female participitation) Armstrong- She sees how organisations are male dominated. This is because such religions like Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women to become priests. Therefore this shows evidence of marginalisation. El Saadawi- The sociologist explained the theory of how patriarchal society creates patriarchal religion. Patriarchyinfluenced and re-shaped religious ideas since the last few 100 years. The sociologist argues that religion is not thedirect cause of womens subordination. Men for instancereinterpreted religious beliefs in a way that favoured patriarchy.

Postmodernist Views to Religion

Many sociologists reject the secularisation thesis of religion declining in modern society. Instead, theyexamine and explain that religion is rather changing instead of declining. This is because changes in religion are the result of changes in society such as greaterindividualism, consumerism and a shift from modern to post-modern society. Davie- Grace Davie argued against secularisation. She believed that religion is not declining but simply taking amore privatised form. People no longer attend churchbecause they feel they have to or that it is respectful to do so. She accepts that church attendance has declined but it is a matter of personal choice rather than the obligation it use to be.

She notes a trend towards vicarious religion where a smallnumber of professional clergy practice religion on behalf of the rest of society. This pattern is typical in Britain andNorthern Europe. For example, even though there are low levels of attendance, there are still a large proportion ofpeople using churches for rites of passage- which are rituals that mark a change of status such as weddings, baptisms and funerals. Another example is Bibbys Canadian survey which found that only 25% of them attended church on a regular basis. However 80% agreed that they had religious beliefs. (Davie) (Bibby) (Canadian Survey) Davie is however criticized by Voas and Crocket whoargue that there isnt more believing than belonging.British Social Attitude Surveys from 1983-2000 show that both church attendance and a belief in God aredeclining. (Voas and Crocket) Leger- She pointed out how in our postmodern society, we are spiritually shopping. This means we are consumers of religion where we pick and mix our own hybrid versions of reality possibly from many different religions. This is also caused by cultural amnesia and we are able toconstruct our own spiritual identity or metanarrative of the world. Lyotard- He explained how the death of metanarrativeshas occurred in post-modern society. This means thatpeople dont believe everything they are thought fromreligions who claim to be able to explain everything. Instead they take pieces from many diverse religions and institutions to form their own beliefs.

Calvinist Approach to Religion

Calvinism is a form of Protestantism founded by John Calvin in the 16th Century. This was during thereformation of prostestantism helping to bring out a major social change. Max Weber notes that before societies hadcapitalism in the sense of greed and wealth, it was oftenspent on luxury consumption. However it is now based onsystematic, efficient, rational pursuit of profit for its own sake rather than for consumption. Weber calls this thespirit of capitalism.

Conservative Functions of Religion

Religion is also seen as a conservative force that reinforces traditional beliefs of how society should be. Therefore it functions to preserve things as they are and maintain status quo. Functionalists, conservatives and New Right favour the conservative functions to religion. However Marxists like Engels see religion as aconservative ideology that prevents social change. That it is only there to legitimate class inequality through false class consciousness which prevents societys evolution.