DURKHEIM functionalist: religion Flashcards
1
Q
functionalist perspective of religion
A
- all societies differentiate between sacred and profane as religion is based on this division
2
Q
sacred definition
A
- things that are special and symbolic and significant, inspiring feelings of awe with taboos and prohibitions
- e.g. Bible, water, bread, hair etc
3
Q
profane definition
A
- things that are ordinary and secular that have no significance
4
Q
rituals
A
- a religion is more than a set of beliefs, it has sacred collective rituals performed by social groups
5
Q
Durkheim’s vie won religion
A
- sacred things create powerful feelings for believers since they’re symbols representing something of greater power and it can be only done in society
6
Q
worship sacred symbols
A
- people are worshipping society itself when worshipping scared symbols
- Durkheim; sacred symbols perform the function of uniting believers into a single moral community
7
Q
durkheim; essence of all religion
A
- its essence can be found by studying its simplest type of form of society
- e.g. Arunta, Aboriginal Australian tribe with a clan system
8
Q
in Durkheim’s research of Arunta there were..
A
- bands of kin come together to perform a ritual to worship of a sacred totem which is the clan’s emblem
- the totem symbolises the clan’s identity
- totemic rituals reinforces the group’s solidarity and sense of belonging
9
Q
Arunta research; clan members worship totem
A
- when worshipping they’re in reality worshipping society
- totem inspires awe since it represents the power of the group
10
Q
DURKHEIM: COLLECTIVE CONSCIENCE
A
- sacred symbols represent society’s collective conscience (shared norms and values) that make cooperation
- regular shared religious rituals reinforce the collective conscience and maintain social integration
- rituals remind people the power of society
- religion performs a function for the individual by being part of something greater than us
11
Q
DURKHEIM; COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS
A
- religion is the source of how to reason and think conceptually
- to think at all we need categories e.g time, space
- religion provide concepts and categories we need to understand the world and communicating with others
- e.g. CURKHEIM & MAUSS; religion provide categories with ideas about a creator bringing the world together
12
Q
criticisms
A
- not everyone is religious/follow a religion
- religions sometimes causes conflict instead of value consensus/social solidarity
- Durkheim said anything can be sacred and some people may exaggerate on what and who can be scared
- religion can cause false consciousness due to blind faith and teachings
