Theories of Religion – Functionalist Theory



Theories of Religion – Functionalist Theory

Functionalist Sociologists view religion in a positive way; they see religion to play the function of maintaining harmony and social cohesion.

Durkheim

|Sacred | |

|Profane | |

Durkheim studied aboriginal societies and saw their religion to be the most basic, Durkheim called this Totemism. Aboriginal societies divide themselves up into clans; these are similar to large extended families. Each of these clans has a totem (a representative symbol) which they worship. These totems represent society and God and Durkheim drew the conclusion that by these clans worshipping these totems which represent society and God that society is the key object to religious worship.

Why use a totem?

• Easier to direct respect towards a symbol which worships the clan, rather than respecting the clan itself.

Durkheim also saw that shared values and moral beliefs are necessary for society to function properly and these shared values and beliefs make up the collective conscience – this helps hold society together.

Task: Define Durkheim’s perspective of religion on the five lines below; it must be no longer than the five lines!

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Malinowksi – Another Functionalist!

Parsons – Yet another Functionalist!

Evaluation

|Strengths of Functionalist Theory |Weaknesses of Functionalist Theory |

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What other theories can we use to compare and contrast functionalism with?

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Durkheim analysed religion and claimed:

• Societies divide the world into sacred and profane.

• Ordinary objects can create powerful emotions of respect and awe.

• The significance of the objects is what they symbolise – they MUST represent something. These are called Totems ( a representative symbol)

• What the objects represent is the collective conscience – this is a basic set of shared beliefs, norms and values which make social life possible.

Malinowksi looked at how religion can support and help us to deal with issues that cause emotional stress and tension for example:

Births

Deaths

Parsons saw the function of religion to be that it provides guidelines for human actions – it provides core values of culture which promotes social solidarity and stabilisation.

What other functions did Parsons see religion to perform?

Functionalism

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