UPSC Sociology Mains Syllabus
Paper 1 – Chapter 8
Religion and Society:
(a) Sociological theories of religion.
(b) Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults.
(c) Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious revivalism, fundamentalism.
Functionalism is a value consensus theory and so functionalists see religion as a positive apparatus in society which promotes social solidarity and allows society to run smoothly. Therefore, functionalists are interested in the social and psychological functions that religion performs for the individual and society.
According to them, Religion helps to create social order and maintains the value. consensus.
THINKERS AND THEIR VIEWS
- Durkheim, Parsons and Bellah argue that religion performs important functions for society, while Malinowksi argues that it performs an important function for the individual.
- All agree that religion promotes stability and helps to preserve the status quo and prevent upheaval and rapid social change.
Emile Durkheim
- Religious symbols are simultaneously symbols of God and Society, and thus when people worship religion they are also ‘worshipping society’, religious symbols serve as a simplified representation of a more complex whole, reminded individuals that they are merely small and part of a much ‘bigger picture’.
- Religion acts as a constraining (conservative) force: through religious worship (ceremonies) the ‘collective conscience’ is imprinted on the individual: they literally ‘feel’ the weight of the community on them.
- Religion reinforces a sense of belonging and shared identity to society.
Malinowski
- Religion helps individuals to deal with the psychological stresses which occur in times of social change – such as births, marriage and deaths.
- Beliefs can help people ‘make sense’ of death for example and can act as a source of catharsis for the bereaved.
Religious rituals also help society through the disruption to social order caused by life changing events such as death.
Talcott Parsons
- Parsons saw the function of religion to be that it provides guidelines for human actions – it provides core values of culture which promote social solidarity and stabilisation.
- Parsons also saw religion as helping individuals to cope with unforeseen events/uncontrollable outcomes (like Malinowksi) and as the primary source of meaning (like Durkheim).
Robert Bella
- Civil religion is a belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself.
- Useful because civil religion integrates society in a way that individual religions cannot.
- However, it is not a true religion.
CRITIQUE
- They ignore the conflict perspective and dysfunctions of religion.
- P. Worsley have criticised Durkheim’s study of the Arunta from an anthropological and theological perspective, suggesting that he misunderstood certain aspects of the religion.
- These theories are outdated and arguably tell us little about religion today.
- Malinowski’s study was unusual for a functionalist in that it was a participant observation.
