What is Religion and what is its Role?
Religion can be defined as a form of culture consisting of shared beliefs in the supernatural that holds a set of teachings, such as the bible. This teaches values, norms and ideas that create a common identity amongst a group of people. The beliefs take the form of ritualised practices and it provides a sense of purpose, offering meanings and explanations.
As individuals, we perceive a force much greater than ourselves and explain it in the only possible way we know how to; a supernatural force.
There are roughly 4200 religions in the world today.
Religion in society provides:
Individual support – provides comfort in times of hardship and crisis, gives an individual a sense of belonging to a group who have similar morals and values and it can provide an explanation and meaning to life’s questions.
Social integration – religion provides society with norms and values and whether an individual is religious or not, most members of society adhere to these morals to maintain peaceful social relations.
Social control – regulates individual and group behaviour which means conformity and compliance within society.
A Sociologist’s Approach
Sociologists look at the role of religion in society by studying the way in which religions are formed, developed and organised by human beings.
They ask the following questions:
Why have they been formed and what is their purpose?
Why are beliefs and practices a central feature within society?
Why have they taken such diverse forms?
It is important to note that Sociologists are not concerned by the beliefs held by a religion but its role on the structure and dynamics of society.
Emile Durkheim and Religion
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) defined religion as being “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things that is to say, things set apart and forbidden; beliefs and practices which unite in one single community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.”
As a functionalist, Durkheim wanted to examine religion in terms of a society's needs and functions.
Functionalists believe that institutions within society perform a function, much like the human body with each institution working together to achieve value consensus within society. Durkheim wanted to investigate the function of religion.
He studied Australian Aborigines, naming their religion Totemism; Durkheim claiming this to be the most basic and simplest form of religion. The Aborigine society was divided into several clans, who each had a totem as a representation of the clan and on occasion, they would gather to worship the totem.
Durkheim stated that all societies divide the world into two categories: the sacred and profane (non- sacred) and religion was built on this division (Haralambos et al., 2000) Sacred things inspires feelings of awe, fear and wonder and are surrounded by taboos and prohibitions whereas profane things have no significance and were ordinary and mundane.
The totem was considered to be sacred through collective beliefs, practices and rituals, and special religious treatment which Durkheim described as collective conscience.
A collective conscience gives a group shared norms and values, beliefs and knowledge that encourage members of the group to cooperate and through group rituals it encourages individuals to come together.
Durkheim argued that the difference between the sacred and the profane was society’s attitude and behaviour towards these objects, meaning that the object of worship was society itself.
Durkheim concluded that the functions of religion in society were social cohesion, social control and social solidarity.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
He took a positive view of religion, explaining the unity that exists within a religious group.
Weaknesses
Durkheim’s study was conducted on a micro scale, studying a small Aborigine clan. Therefore, can we really compare this to all religions worldwide, some of which have an enormous amount of followers in different countries all over the world? Social and religious groups are much more complex and diverse in modern society and have immensely different rituals and beliefs.
Whilst he is able to explain unity within a religious group, he is unable to explain conflict between religious groups such as terrorism and war.
Karl Marx and Religion
Karl Marx (1818–1883) famously said "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people".
He was not a religious man and did not study religion in depth although his theories on religion became very influential (Harcourt, 2016)
He believed that religion served as a sanctuary from the harshness of everyday life by assuring people that if they accepted conditions in this life, it would bring happiness and rewards in the afterlife.
Marx described religion as being similar to opium as he believed the religion was a man-made concept, used to dull the pain of oppression (Haralambos et al., 2000)
He believed that religion diverted people’s attention from the real source of oppression by delivering illusions leaving the powerful to remain powerful.
Marx argued that religion was an illusion within a Capitalist Society, used as a form of social control, diverting people’s attention from the real source of oppression leaving the powerful to remain powerful; for example, the Bourgeoisie controlling the Proletariats. However, he also believed that religion was used by the ruling classes to justify their position.
Based on his theory, he believed that in a communist society, religion would not exist and in time, religion would disappear.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Marx’s theory shows that religion is used as a form of oppression that masks exploitation and creates false consciousness.
There has been evidence for many years that supports his theory such as King Henry VIII forming the Church of England to meet his own personal needs.
Weaknesses
Marxism has been criticised for being economically deterministic.
Marx ignored the positive functions of religion.
His theory does not account for the middle class having religious beliefs, only the suffering and oppressed.
Some religions, such as Buddhism reject materialism.
Max Weber and Religion
Max Weber (1864-1920) famously said “The process of sanctifying life could thus almost take on the character of a business enterprise” in his most famous book, The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism. The book focused on the impact of Christianity on the development of Western industrial capitalism.
Max Weber’s investigation into religion was more detailed than Durkheim and Marx, studying religions worldwide. He studied Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and ancient Judaism but his most famous work focused on Christianity, in particular Calvinism; a movement within orthodox Protestantism, created by John Calvin.
He described Christianity as a “Salvation Religion”.
Calvinist's believed that there were predestined members selected by God for salvation and God would only let the worthy prosper. No one would know if they had been selected until the day of judgement came and therefore, to combat their anxiety over this, they were encouraged to live an ascetic life, dedicating their lives to maximising their productivity and living a life of abstinence.
However, the fruits of their labour could not be enjoyed because of the need to live an ascetic life, therefore playing a crucial role in social change and the rise of Capitalism.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Weber‘s investigations were performed on a macro scale, looking at several religions, therefore his theory is more generalised, more reliable and more valid.
He successfully highlights that ideas, in this case religious ideas, can lead to social and economic change.
Weaknesses
Capitalism did not develop in every country with a Calvinist population, for example, Scotland.
Some argue that Calvinism was a product of Capitalism
Philosophy and Religion
Philosophy tries to find ways to make sense of the world.
The study of religion is evident from the earliest records of philosophy.
In The Philosophy of Religion, a book by John Hick, he says that the philosophy of religion “studies the concepts and belief systems of religion as well as the prior phenomena of religious experience and the activities of worship and meditation on which these belief systems rest and out of which they have arisen”.
In contrast to sociologist’s studying the role of religion in society, a philosopher’s study is broad and diverse, looking at the meaning and nature of religion, studying religious concepts, practices, beliefs and rituals.
The philosophy of religion not only asks questions such as “is there a God” but also the question, “if there is, then what is he like?” and “what does that mean for us?”
Although much of the study is abstract theory, it is also relevant to practical concerns, addressing social and personal practices.