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Summary SOCIOLOGY A LEVEL BELIEFS NOTES (A*)
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functionalism and religion + definitionsDefinitions of religion
Substantive definitions
focus on the content/substance of religious belief e.g. belief in God/supernatural
Weber - defines religion as belief in a superior or supernatural power that is above
nature and cannot be explained scientifically
draw a clear line between religious and non-religious beliefs - exclusive
to be a religion - a set of beliefs must include belief in God/supernatural
conform to a widespread view of religion as belief in God
criticism -
leaves no room for beliefs and practices that perform similar functions to religion but
not not involve a belief in God
accused of Western bias - exclude religions (Buddhism) that do not have the Western
idea of a god
Functional definitions
rather than defining religion in terms of specific kinds of belief - define it in terms of
the social or psycological functions it performs for individuals in society
Durkheim - defines religion in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration
rather than any specific belief in god or the supernatural
Yinger - identifies the functions that religion performs for individuals e.g. answering
'ultimate questions' about the meaning of life
advantage - inclusive - allows us to include a wide range of beliefs and practices that
perform functions such as integration
also - do not specify belief in god or the supernatural - no bias against non western
religions
criticism
just because an institution helps intergrate individuals into groups, this does not make
it a religion
Constructionist definitions
take an interpretivist approach that focuses on how members of society themselves
define religion
argue that it is not possible to produce a single universal definition of religion to cover
all cases
in reality different individuals and groups mean very different things by religion
interested in how deifinitions of religion are constructed, challenged and fought over
do not assume that religion always involves a belief in God or the supernatural or that
it performs similar functions for everyone in all societies
allows them to get close to the meanings people themselves give to religion
,criticism
this makes it impossible to generalise about the nature of religion - people may have
widely differing views about what counts as a religion
FUNCTIONALIST theories of religion
Durkeim on religion
The sacred and the profane
key feature of religion - the distinction between the sacred and the profane
sacred - things set apart and forbidden - inspire feelings of awe + wonder
profane - things that have no special significance - ordinary and mundane
religion is never simply a set of beliefs - involves rituals or practices which are
collective
sacred things evoke such powerful feelings because they are symbols representing
something of great power - which can only be society itself
when they worship scared symbols, people are worshipping society itself - perform
the essential function of uniting believers into a single moral community
Totemism
believed that the essence of all religion could be found by studying its simplest form,
in the simplest type of society - clan society
used studies of the Arunta - Aboriginal Australian tribe with a clan system
consists of bands of kin who come together periodically to perform rituals involving
worship of a sacred totem
The collective conscience
the sacred symbols represent society's collective conscience
which is - the shared norms, values, beliefs and knowledge that make social life and
cooperation between individuals possible
regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social
integration - part of a single moral community to which they owe their loyalty
remind the individual of the power of society - whithout which they themselves are
nothing and to which they owe everything
religion also performs an important function for the inividual - makes us feel part of
something greater than ourselves - motivates us to overcome obstacles that would
otherwise defeat us
Cognitive functions of religion
also sees religion as the source of our intellectual or cognitive capacities - our ability
to reason and think conceptually
in order to think, we need categories and in order to share our thoughts, we need to
use the same categories as others
religion is the origin of the concepts and categories we need for reasoning
religion therefore is the origin of human thought, reason and science
, Criticisms
evidence on totemism is unsound
no sharp division between the sacred and profane - Worsley
Durkeims theory may apply better to small scale societies with a single religion - is
harder to apply it to large scale societies where two or more religious communities
may be in conflict
may explian social integration within communities but not the conflicts between them
postmodernists argue that Durkheim's ideas cannot be applied to contemporary
society - increasing diversity has fragmented collective conscience
no longer a single shared value system for religion to reinforce
Psycological functions
Malinowski (functionalist) - agrees with Durkheim that religion promotes solidarity
his view - it does so by performing psycological functions
e.g. coping with emotional stress - otherwise would undermine social solidarity
two types of situations where religion performs this role-
where the outcome is important but uncontrollable - e.g. lagoon fishing is safe, but
ocean fishing is dangerous and so a ritual is performed
at times of life crisis - events such as birth and death mark major and distruptive
changes in social groups - religion helps to minimise distruption e.g. funeral rituals
reinforce a feeling of solidarity and comfort
Parsons - values and meanings
agrees with Malinowski that religion helps individuals to cope with unforseen events
and uncontrollable outcomes
two other essential functions that religion performs in modern society
creates and legitimates society's central values - through sacralising them - serves to
promote value consensus and thus social stability
primary source of meaning - answers ultimate questions about human condition e.g
why the good suffer and why some die young (events that may defy our sense of
justice and undermine our commitment to society's values) - religion helps individuals
to adjust to adverse events and therefore maintain stability
Civil religion
Robert Bellah - interested in how religion unifies society - especially in a multi faith
society
e.g. what unifies American society is civil religion - a belief system that attatches
sacred qualities to society itself
civil religon integrates society in a way that America's many different churches
cannot
none of these can claim the loyalty of all Americans - civil religon can
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